Questioning Techniques
THE WRONG QUESTION WON'T PROVIDE THE RIGHT ANSWER
Asking questions of your students gets them to participate in the pursuit of knowledge, but the wrong approach can hamper this involvement.
- Avoid asking complex questions — "Who knows the cause of the war of 1812 and how the British government reacted to it?'' Instead, ask one question at a time, as simply as you can.
- Avoid asking railroading questions to get the answer that you want — "Who knows a cause for the War of 1812, that was an economic one, that had to do with personal pride?'' Try to get the student to consider the factors themselves.
- Avoid asking "yes'' or "no'' questions — "Did the British win the war of 1812?'' This limits the participation of the student to a 50/50 role of being correct.
- Avoid calling on the first person who raises their hand — This will indicate that you are willing to give them all time to think about the answer.
- Avoid repeating every comment, answer or question a student has — Students will get in the habit of waiting for you to give the answer. You should not become the official answer giver.
- Avoid asking the same type of question all the time — Mix up the demands of your questioning from factual to opinion to summarizing.
- Avoid immediately saying if an answer is correct — Make sure that the student is confident of their answer and not just guessing.
HOW TO HANDLE RIGHT ANSWERS
Give praise and rewards at the right time.
A right answer must be both complete and correct.
Praise your student after every correct answer.
When your student gives a right answer on the first try, without help, give special recognition.
If your student fishes for answers, get a commitment before you respond.
Let the student know it is all right to try even if unsure of the answer.
If your student doesn't answer, do these things:
Calmly ask the question again, give a hint, ask another question that might elicit the same answer, be encouraging!
Sound pleased when you get an answer, and praise the student if it's right.
Don't make an issue of the resistance to answer.
- Have the student think out loud rather than say nothing
HOW TO HANDLE WRONG ANSWERS
Correct your student's work without being discouraging
Don't say "no'' or "that's wrong'' and never make fun of answers.
Always try to get a right answer before going on to the next problem.
If the student's answer is incomplete, help the student with the question and the answer.
If the answer is incorrect, give clues to help discover the answer.
Once the student has discovered the right answer, repeat the question, have the student repeat the right answer, and provide praise.
Be sure the student understands what the error was and give another opportunity later to repeat the question and answer so that the correct answer is reinforced.
If the student consistently gets the wrong answer, review the different ways you might involve the student and try another approach until you find one that provides success for the student.