Questions in the classroom take on a new significance for us as education providers and we should all be aware of this.
As teachers, we pose questions towards our students as well as towards our colleagues regularly, so they definitely have a new meaning and impact.
Questions in the Classroom
When reflecting on our teaching practice, it is a good idea to focus on our speech and delivery. When you look back at a lesson you have taught, consider how many questions you were asking and what was the impact on students?
Sometimes we get carried away with questioning and it becomes quite overwhelming for students so we need to find a balance in how we use our questions.
There are generally 3 different modes of questioning when in the classroom; polite and respectful greetings towards our students on arrival, assessment for learning questions and behaviour management questions.
All of these are equally important, but consider how you feel when you become bombarded with questions? It can be quite intimidating and exhausting, so imagine how a young person may feel.
With this in mind, we should consider sprinkling questions throughout the lesson rather than over-powering our lesson with questions.
Questions Outside the Classroom
It is also important to consider how and when we use questions outside the classroom.
When in school, it is important to remain professional and there are many ways to do this. When we talk to colleagues we could offer support towards them; it could be through asking if they need help with specific students or you could ask if they would like to share resources and ideas about lessons with you.
This will develop your professional relationships with colleagues and both of you can move forward with best practice in teaching.
Consider how you use questions in your workplace and are you using them in an effective and non-threatening manner?
Have a look at our new Asking Questions in the Classroom course for more information about questioning.
Improve your questioning skills with Teach2030
Questioning in the Classroom
The “Questioning in the Classroom” series will examine the significance of questioning and questioning techniques in our roles as educators. Questioning takes on a different perspective and emphasis, one in which we need to understand in detail to ensure it becomes an effective teaching tool for us.
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