Many would agree that for inquiry to be alive and well in a classroom that, amongst other things, the teacher needs to be expert at asking strategic questions, and not only asking well-designed ones, but ones that will also lead students to questions of their own.
[box type=”shadow” align=”aligncenter”]
Keeping It Simple
Asking straightforward, simply-worded questions can be just as effective as intricate ones. With that in mind, if you are a new teacher or perhaps not so new but know that question-asking is an area where you’d like to grow, start tomorrow with these five:
1. What do you think?
This question interrupts us from telling too much. There is a place for direct instruction where we give students information yet we need to always strive to balance this with plenty of opportunities for students to make sense of and apply that new information using their schemata and understanding.
2. Why do you think that?
After students share what they think, this follow-up question pushes them to provide reasoning for their thinking.
3. How do you know this?
When this question is asked, students can make connections to their ideas and thoughts with things they’ve experienced, read, and have seen.
4. Can you tell me more?
This question can inspire students to extend their thinking and share further evidence for their ideas.
5. What questions do you still have?
This allows students to offer up questions they have about the information, ideas or the evidence.[/box]
In addition to routinely and relentlessly asking your students questions, be sure to provide time for them to think. What’s best here, three seconds, five, or seven? Depending on their age, the depth of the material, and their comfort level, this think time will vary. Just push yourself to stay silent and wait for those hands to go up.
Also be sure to vary your tone so it genuinely sounds like a question and not a statement. When we say something in a declarative way, it is often with one tone and flat sounding. On the other hand, there is a lilt in our voice when we are inquiring and questioning.
To help student feel more comfortable and confident with answering questions and asking ones of their own, you can use this scaffold: Ask a question, pause, and then invite students to “turn and talk” with a neighbor first before sharing out with the whole group. This allows all to have their voices heard and also gives them a chance to practice their responses before sharing in front of the whole class.
]]>
Transformational teachers don’t react, instead, they anticipate and prepare. Expert teachers should be able to have cognitive understanding of how students learn, emotional preparation to relate to many students whose needs aren’t always noticeable, content knowledge so that you can have different ways to introduce an idea; and, lastly, the ability to act on your teaching decisions quickly.
So how can you do that? Check out how below.
1. Transformational Teachers Create Constructivist Experiences
Instructors tend to use one of two instructional orientations:
- Transmission: Where “the teacher’s role is to prepare and transmit information to learners” and “the learners’ role is to receive, store, and act upon this information.”
- Transformational: Where students’ active engagement in developing knowledge and skills, critical thinking, higher order skills, and communication are facilitated by the instructor.
It is difficult to accomplish transformational teaching without understanding and implementing constructivist pedagogy — facilitating hands-on experiences — where students construct meaning through active learning. However, the checklist below suggests some tactics:
What Does Transformational Teaching Look Like?
1. Have students ask questions and solve real-world problems.
2. Questions should require students to:
- Analyze
- Synthesize
- Create
- Empathize
- Interpret
- Reference background knowledge
- Defend alternative perspectives
- Determine what they know and don’t know
3. Organize students into learning groups.
4. Make learning segments manageable through modeling and mastery.
5. Guide, facilitate, challenge, and support.
6. Let learning transform you.
2. Transformational Instructors Teach Like Scientists, Artists, and Essayists
Transformational teachers know that artful teaching without science lacks efficacy, and scientific teaching without aesthetics lacks vision. Says child psychologist Dr. David Elkind, “The art comes from the teacher’s personality, experience, and talents. The science comes from knowledge of child development and the structure of the curriculum.” The art and science of teaching work in harmony. Writes Richard Bankert, an eighth grade science teacher, “The best teachers are artists who know the science of teaching.”
In contrast to immature teachers who fill a 90-minute class with activities (and ignore targeted objectives), a transformational teacher treats those 90 minutes like a carefully crafted persuasive essay — with a clear purpose and unique sense of style, a memorable beginning and end, a logical sequence, important content, nimble transitions, and contagious passion. These characteristics persuade students to believe that learning the content and skills really matters.
3. Transformational Teachers Model Symphonic Thinking
To be effective in advancing human potential, teachers need to manifest what Daniel Pink calls “symphonic thinking” — critically appraising and synthesizing new ideas. Someone with symphony thinking skills is able to do the following:
- Understand the logical connections between ideas.
- Identify, construct, and evaluate arguments.
- Detect inconsistencies and common mistakes in reasoning.
- Combine different ideas to form a new concept.
- Identify the relevance and importance of ideas.
- Reflect on the justification of one’s own beliefs and values.
Such thinking is necessary in order for students to thrive in the new economy, according to Pink. It’s also necessary for teachers to model.
4. Transformational Teachers Facilitate Productive Struggle
It’s hard not to rescue kids when they beg for help. But that altruistic instinct can get in the way of learning. In a Wired Magazine piece, “Telling You the Answer Isn’t the Answer,” Rhett Allain explains why letting students engage in productive struggle is the unpopular and necessary approach to instruction:
What if a person was having trouble doing a pull up for exercise? Instead of giving them some other exercise, I could help them by doing the pull up for that person. Right? No, that wouldn’t actually be useful. However, if I push on the person’s feet a little bit, they can still struggle and still exercise.
Warning: allowing productive struggle to occur will consume more class time. However, when the learning process is frictionless, retention is less likely. Struggle actually saves re-teaching time in the long run and is the best way for new dendrites to grow.
Allowing productive struggle to occur, using artistic and scientific instruction, modeling symphonic thinking, and encouraging students to lean into constructivist problem solving can lead to the holy grail of transformational teaching: epiphany. We hope you’ll tell us about your transformational teaching in the comment area below.
[button color=”blue” size=”small” link=”http://www.edutopia.org/blog/big-things-transformational-teachers-do-todd-finley” target=”blank” ]Source[/button]
]]>