Questions’ Musings

Q is for Questions’ Musings

In Life

Questions are very important in life. They help us to pause, reflect, and identify what we don’t know that we’d like to know; whether out of interest or necessity. They come in a variety of ways and words; and you can ask them in different tones depending on your aim. The older we get, the more our learning depends on them; may it be in relation to general day-to-day life, or specific situations like job interviews.

This is because questions breed understanding and the desire to understand breeds more questions. There is so much that can be deduced about a person, a thing, or a situation via questions; most jobs are for example allocated to individuals based on their responses to questions. 

In the Classroom

They are a very important teaching and learning aid. They enable teachers to find out what students already know and what they might like to find out about a subject. Teachers use them to review their students understanding of what they have been taught and their ability to apply their learning. They also use them to assess students achievement of lesson objectives and outcomes. In addition, they use them to guide students to remember previous learning and to lead them in making learning connections between concepts.

Students use questions to check their understanding of what they have been taught, clarify their misconceptions, and confirm their achievement of lesson aims and outcomes.

Exam boards of course use them to test students understanding, and their ability to convey the extent of the knowledge they’ve gained within the set learning area. They also use them to assess how much students can apply these knowledge.

Questions offer students the opportunity to both learn and showcase their learning. Through questions, students learning effort are partly rewarded; as they’re recognised and praised for what they know – verbally and through their grades.

Thoughtful enquiry and reasoned responses to questions are also an avenue of gaining some respect; from teachers or/and students, and one’s peers.

In Lesson Observations

Effective use of questions features very highly in top grades when teachers are observed. I assume that unlike other teaching and learning tools, it’s a quick way to assess the level of most students’ engagement with what is being taught. It tends to reflect the depth of the teacher’s subject knowledge, as well as students interaction with what they are being taught. I must say that it played a significant role in the outstanding grades I achieved in my last 3 observations; 2 external and 1 internal.

I love asking questions and I mostly enjoy answering them.

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What’s your take on questions? Do you like or loathe them? 

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#AtoZChallenge: Considering my Teaching from A – Z in April 2015

E is for Exam Musings             || F is for Friendships at School           

G is for Grades: Important but …               ||  M is for My Marking Rant