Blog Assignment #4

      As teachers we are known to ask questions, but what if the questions we ask are not really benefiting our students? In Ben Johnson's post "The Right Way to Ask Questions In the Classroom" he mentions how teachers are always assuming things from the answer of a child. Teachers usually ask the question "Does everybody understand?" just assuming that if the class responds with anything but a no, then yes everybody understands. Johnson, however, says that in fact the student probably does not know that they do not understand.

   To also be an effective teacher by asking questions we need to be able to give more open ended questions. In Andi Stix's video "Open Ended Questions"she says that teachers need to change that "solid" question to an open ended one. Having more open ended questions allows the students to think more not only on the question, but the answer and facts to support it. Being a teacher does come with some tough times on asking questions since maybe we would not know how exactly to word it to allow it benefit the student. Also to be an effective teacher asking questions to maybe one certain child could also help.
Some students do not want participate or would rather let the smarter kids answer it so they do not have to so calling on a child would not be calling them out, but helping them.

     With also asking questions asking a student to even simply draw or self express about something could be an effective way of teaching. In the video "Questioning Styles and Strategies", they have fifth graders draw about what they pictured from the book "Bridge to Terabithia". The students were able to give feedback about what they pictured from the book would let them express themselves in the sense to let other students what they thought. Having drawings will also help the teachers in a different way to possibly see how the students are seeing things in the way they are learning them.

     Everyday teachers ask questions, but effective teachers ask the  more deeper thinking questions. To truly help students by questions we need to get them thinking, but also more engaged within the learning process. Asking simple yes or no questions does not help benefit the child as say an open ended one. Also drawings will get the students involved and can be something different to do every once in a while to change things up. To be an effective teacher we need to know the right and wrong ways to ask questions to our students.