Are Questions Over Used in School Today?
The topic, are questions over used in school today came up during the presentation and I had found that to be ironic and was happy that another classmate had commented on it. As we, student teachers, go through the education program we are being encouraged and trained to teach in the form of inquiry. This process asks a teacher to step back to evaluate or assess a situation and then ask the question why something had worked or didn’t and then asks us to ask why and how can it be better improved. In the end the process helps to ask a question with more questions to keep a teacher sharp and to always be curious. So when are questions too much?
I believe that the idea of inquiry is a good one and paramount to the success of not only a teacher but the student as well. It helps a teacher remain a critical thinker and prevents them from being stagnant or disjointed from their students. I have had teachers in the past who seem to have found a magic formula that worked for them possibly a decade or longer before I took their course and have stuck to the formula ever since. While it may have worked in the past it seems to leave the teacher uninspired to do their job and the teacher had troubles relating to the students. If they were to step back and evaluate how the class was doing and if there was something that he or she as a teacher could have done better than maybe the teacher would have been more effective in the room. Inquiry is also great for students. It allows them to grow and mature as thinkers and hopefully motivate them to explore disciplines with a focused eye. As long as inquiry helps to keep open ended questions then I don’t believe that questions are over used.
Where I do believe questions are over used are yes/no questions. They are an assessment done by teachers to see if their students have done the work but from what I have experienced they do not motivate a student to do anymore than what is required of them. I believe a teacher could do the same assessment with open ended questions and through class discussions. If there are quieter students in the class a teacher can be patient and encourage a student to get involved. Classrooms don’t always have to be quiet and it’s important that students learn that it is okay to speak and be heard. It’s up to us, as teachers, to develop a safe classroom atmosphere so that everyone feels confident to speak. With the combination of a safe environment and a teacher helping to facilitate open ended questions to help motivate and invigorate learning in students then I don’t believe there could be enough questions asked.