How do we transition between techniques utilizing effective questioning?
It is amazing how these weekly investments seem to be lining up just perfectly with where my mind is going and what questions I have in terms of how to make myself a better teacher for my future students.
Key Questions:
1. Are all questions the same?
-Through the reading this week, I have not only discovered why questions are important, but that there are in fact different types of questions. Questions can be effective, open-ended, and closed-ended. I also learned that different questioning strategies are also beneficial for my students. Questions can be geared towards explanations, comparing and contrasting, how to do something, and making predictions.
-One of the coolest things that I got out of this reading was from the Pursue Passion article. The article describes how Google allows their employees to spend one full work day working on a project that they are passionate about. As a result- approximately 50% of Google's products were originated from their employees spending this 20% (one full work day) on their passions. I would really like to incorporate this kind of mindset into my agriculture classrooms. On Fridays, I would like to incorporate either FFA Fridays or SAE Fridays. During these times, I would like students to plan a workshop, come up with an SAE project, come up with a class project, or come up with something else that they are passionate about to work on for a small portion of the class period. By incorporating this into my classroom, I believe that my students will be more motivated to come to class and more enthusiastic about the subject. By allowing students to pursue their passions, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and responsibility. They will have a say in what they decide to create.
-I believe that asking questions at a higher level of cognition matters because it allows us, as teachers, to see that our students are not just remembering and regurgitating the information, but that they are able to analyze and evaluate the topics as well. Asking questions at higher levels of cognition allows teachers to recognize what they taught well, or what they need to work on so that students are really grasping the concepts.
Cornell University Center for Teaching Excellence. (2015). Using Effective Questions. Retrieved from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/engaging-students/using-effective-questions.html
Dyer, J.E. (n.d.) Effective Questioning Techniques. Retrieved from https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC08400.pdf
Read/View: Tweak Your Teach: Dr. Tae's Building a New Culture of Teaching and Learning
Read: Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% Time at School
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKayla,
ReplyDeleteI look forward to hearing about the implementation of your FFA Fridays- I would caution you to have strict guidelines about the expectations of this idea development time to be sure it doesn't turn into a chatting/phone session.
As for questioning- it can be difficult to reach these higher level questions on the spot- I encourage you to write out your questions in your lesson plans and refer to them to help you reach these question techniques. It can be very easy to fall into lower level questioning.
It looks like things are beginning to build as your prepare for the Spring!
Kayla, speaking from personal experience, FFA Fridays are an awesome way to connect to students' passion for ag, IF you make it purposeful and there is a protocol in place and a clearly defined set of procedures for what they are expected and allowed to do. You do a nice job reflecting on the importance of questioning, but make sure to include your connections for the ag classroom!
ReplyDeleteKayla, the research you found from Google is very common among well designed/operated organizations. Autonomy has been found to be a huge motivating factor in getting people to do something. As the other comments have already stated, be careful of students manipulating that freedom to do nothing at all or doing things they shouldn't be. You'll find in the field that no great idea goes untested by students.
ReplyDeleteAwesome job incorporating plans for your future classroom into this post! My only question is (the same as other comments); what kind of procedures would you have for your SAE/FFA Fridays?
ReplyDelete