Education is most often a very passive activity as all that students have to do is sit in class and listen or at most, take notes. Little wonder that students get bored, distracted, lose attention or tune out completely.
Instead, why not create a more interactive environment by getting them to talk about what they are learning! The key here is questions – an obvious but oft overlooked teaching methodology – to galvanise the class and make it more stimulating, challenging and above all, fun.
As Dr. Soumendra N Bagchi, HRM faculty, XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur puts it, “This moves teaching from the normal one-way delivery of knowledge as we know it, to a situation where students and faculty are co-travellers in exploring the subject and in the process both gaining knowledge that is far more in-depth than the static format in traditional pedagogy.”
This simple tool works as a springboard for teaching by encouraging students to carefully think, reflect and search for answers. The creative inquiry probes and provokes, thus stimulating interest and promoting class participation. As everyone is actively engaged, it becomes easy to absorb the ideas and concepts. Ensuing discussions further multiply involvement and increase effectiveness of the learning manifold. Questions not only reveal students' reasoning, imagination and creativity, but also help them develop important problem-solving skills. The overall result is a very effective learning experience!
Then again, questions also serve as an assessment and feedback tool as educators can easily check what students are understanding/retaining, correct gaps/misunderstandings and ensure that the learning is on track.
What kind of questions?
Questions work as a valuable teaching tool per se. But the quality of questions can make all the difference. For instance, direct, closed or leading questions that require specific answers can never set the class thinking. Similarly, evaluative questions are just about knowledge recall.
The utility lies in using open, divergent, cognitive and hypothetical questions (depending on the situation) that stretch student thinking and increase their learning. Some teachers purposely use vague questions and then build on the random thoughts of students with follow-up questions thus provoking interesting discussions. Even debating why some ideas are not correct/applicable/feasible can spark exciting arguments.
Moreover, educators should vary their questioning techniques to support different aspects of teaching – impart knowledge, convey analytical precision, probe assumptions, seek alternatives or elicit fresh perspectives. Knowing the students and their requirements will also improve the effectiveness of questions manifold.
The great philosopher Socrates was a major proponent of active learning, especially using questioning as a teaching tool to build critical thinking skills. His questioning methodology identified six major types of questions: clarification, assumptions, evidence, viewpoints, consequences and questions about the question.
Mr. Nishant Saxena, President and CEO Designate, CL Higher Education, IWSB elaborates, “The Socratic Questioning method is a proven tool to make the audience ‘think' deeply about the topic versus simply listening to the instructor. The intent is to increase internalisation of knowledge by provoking curiosity and making students ‘find' their own answers, rather than being spoon-fed by the faculty!” Even Professor A. Gandhi, Head- MBA & Placement, Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai upholds, “Socratic Questioning method is an amply proven and effective method of teaching by asking than by telling. But the right and relevant questions help to generate clarity and help better learning”.
In practice
Using questions is a vital teaching skill that should be inculcated wilfully. Educators should:
Consciously set aside time for questioning or make it a regular part of their pedagogy
Use them creatively in lectures by slipping in probing questions here and there
Habitually draw on questions to encourage independent thinking even while applying core course principles to deduce varied responses
If needed, give students time to reflect on the questions, react to fellow students and even revise opinions accordingly
The questioning can range from gentle to rigorous to even provocative – the intention being to compel students to use their brains and explore an idea, solve a problem, apply what they have learnt or elicit what they have really understood.
“Teachers should use the five ‘Ws' and one ‘H' (What, Where, Why, When, Who and How) to frame gradually tougher questions that the students can answer. By the end of this questioning session, the student will understand the subject effectively”, says Prof. R. Dheenadayalu, Dean (ICT), Saveetha Engineering College, Chennai.
Teachers should notice how students respond – is it an immediate response, do they contemplate before answering or if they inquire further with more questions.
Pay special attention to shy/slow students and slowly encourage them to air their thoughts.
To sum up in the words of Meeta Sengupta, an educator and advisor for business education, coaching and mentoring, “Questions are far more powerful than lectures or books, for they unleash the forces of learning.
Once a question has crashed through traditional barriers in a learner's mind the journey of discovering more and more begins. And there is true joy in learning!”
Source: The Hindu
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