Weekly Writing: Effective Questions and Languaging in Instruction

This week's readings related to effective questioning and languaging in instruction, field trips, and cooperative learning. When I think of high school, the most effective teachers concerning questioning were the math teachers. They had developed excellent wait time, as they waited and waited until someone in the class figured out the math problem or started flipping through equations to try to figure it out. As a student, is was so frustrating when a teach posed a question but interrupted before anyone could think through the question or look at past notes to figure it out! Or it was always frustrating when a dominate student would interrupt an activity or Q & A session. These readings were helpful to prepare us as teachers to prevent or handle these situations.

Dyer gave gave excellent advice on how to use questioning effectively. The majority of questions that teachers ask tend to be low level rather than high level. A teacher can choose to ask directed or general questions or open or close-ended questions, depending on how he or she would like to engage the students. While student participation may be difficult, techniques can be used such as calling on names and being aware of dominant students.  Finally it is essential to give at least 5-7 seconds of wait time. While I could imagine that this is incredibly painful and long for teachers sometimes, it gives students time to process the question and retrieve an answer.

The reading from Myers discussed effective field trips. Remembering  my high school years, and even college experiences, some field trips were the highlight of the course! However, for some, as I think now, I can barely make a connection to the subject content in focus on those trips. How do we make field trips fun and also reinforce the subject content too? Myers explained this. There are three parts to field trip planning: pre-trip, trip, and post-trip. All three phases have clear connections to the content matter on hand. Also an important note that jumped out at me was the role of facilitator that the instructor plays during the field trip. It is his or her job to make sure the trip is being connected to the content. I am really looking forward to taking my students out on a field trip this spring.
                                           
Groseta discussed the implementation of cooperative learning. This is a fantastic opportunity for students to work with their peers and gain social and academic benefits. However, there are difficulties implementing this teaching technique, such as; assigning groups, behavior management, and evaluation of learners. The article discussed how to handle a lot of these difficulties. I am looking forward to incorporating cooperative learning in my classroom. I also think that the more I incorporate it, the more I and my students will be comfortable with it.