December 6, 2021 | Traditional questioning of students in the classroom, with its emphasis on teachers eliciting a quick answer and moving on, winds up excluding many students and creating a lackluster learning environment. Better questioning strategies can help students deepen and extend their learning, and McREL instructional expert Cheryl Abla recently shared some ways to ask better questions in the classroom with Edutopia. Focusing first on the youngest students, Cheryl says such instructional tactics as providing more think time and whisper-sharing with a partner help communicate that what you’re really after is not a piece of information, but a thought process. And here’s a familiar scenario to avoid: students raising their hands before you’ve finished asking your question, which can lead other students to avoid participating.
McREL consultant shares tips on Edutopia for engaging students with better questioning
