“Good learning starts with questions, not answers”- is said by Guy Claxton, Professor in Education of the University of Bristol. Questioning enables teachers to check learners’ understanding. It also benefits learners as it encourages engagement and focuses their thinking on key concepts and ideas. In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the center of attention, the owner of knowledge and information. Asking questions as an effective learning process
Teachers often ask questions to their students to gauge comprehension, but its a passive model that relies on students to absorb information they need to reproduce on tests
Masum Billah
Good learning starts with questions, not answers- is said by Guy Claxton, Professor in Education of the University of Bristol. Questioning enables teachers to check learners understanding. It also benefits learners as it encourages engagement and focuses their thinking on key concepts and ideas. In a traditional classroom, the teacher is the center of attention, the owner of knowledge and information.
Teachers often ask questions to their students to gauge comprehension, but its a passive model that relies on students to absorb information they need to reproduce on tests. In this kind of classroom students are underestimated ignoring the idea how well our learners can think. But if we ask them questions and allow them to question us it accrues fourfold benefits. It makes the students more engaged in the classroom which is a must in an effective teaching learning process.
Students take more ownership of the class. They get scope to learn more as they feel encouraged to ask questions and for asking questions they read and try to learn more about a topic. Finally, students develop higher order thinking skills that will help them make decisions and think for themselves in any situation throughout their life
We know Socrates wandered around Athens asking questions to get at a deeper truth. Since then philosophy and law teachers have used questions as a way to get students to think more deeply, rather than giving them the information directly. Thinking is not driven by answers but by questions.
Had no questions been asked by those who laid the foundation in the field of Physics or Biology the field would never have been developed in the first place. To think through or rethink anything, one must ask questions that stimulate our thought. Questions define tasks, express problems and delineate issues. Answers on the other hand, often signal a full stop in thought.
So, we can say that the students who have questions are really thinking and learning. But it is unfortunate that most of our students only ask questions which will be helpful for their examinations or whether the things they are learning in the classroom will be set in the examination. Thinking is of no use unless we can ask to determine where our thinking goes. In fact questioning is a part and parcel of our practical life. We exchange our greetings with questions such as How are you?/ Are you okay? Where are you going?
We start our class asking questions such as How are you- my dear boys and girls? What are we going to learn today? What is our topic today? Are you ready to listen to me? Please open at page 20. Have you opened page 20? Have you done your homework? We also ask questions while discussing a point e.g. have you understood the point? Can you explain it, please? /Who can explain this line or point?.
We must continually remind ourselves that thinking begins with respect to some content only when questions are generated by both teachers and students. No questions equals no understanding. When students remain silent, it means their minds are also silent. If we want thinking we must stimulate it with questions that lead students to further questions.
When students ask questions it means they are then self-motivated learners. When they ask questions teachers can understand that their classes are understood and received by them. Questions give teachers immediate feedback on what they need to do or how to do.
Research relies on a fundamental concept: the process of questioning. A scholar constantly asks fundamental questions about the facts and techniques that make up his or her discipline. The scholar then answers these questions in unique and original ways. Because of the importance of questions to the research process, one of the things a teacher tries to teach students is how to ask good questions, and how to answer them appropriately. For all of these reasons, questions should be actively and constantly encouraged.
So, as a teacher you need to develop an environment in the classroom which will be conducive to the learners to ask questions. Even a stupid question need to be encouraged by saying great, its a good question. Teachers must learn the psychology of the students that in a full class some students may not feel encouraged to ask any question to prove their stupidity.
But it is the teachers who must encourage and explain the reason why students need to ask questions. He must keep close to the students. If it is generally asked have you understood almost all will answer yes sir. Large classes discourage dialogue and questions because any intimacy or friendliness between students and teacher is discouraged by the sheer size of the class. Teachers attitude and personality play an important role in creating a question answering classroom. Teachers cannot encourage questions solely by standing at the front of the class and asking, Are there any questions? The most important technique that teachers can use to encourage questions is to always answer questions kindly.
Even if they have answered the same question three times already, the fourth answer should even be friendly. Or can encourage another student to answer the question to develop his\her confidence and ensure their more participation. Teachers can put students into groups so that shy students first start asking questions in a small group which will help them develop courage to ask questions in a full classroom.
As students asking questions is to assess achievement or mastery of goals and objectives of a particular lesson and to stimulate their independent learning, we should encourage our students to ask questions.
We must remember that education is a dialogue between students and teachers. It is not a monologue. If it had been monologue students could simply buy the textbooks and read them at home by themselves. They need not come to schools. They come to school and attend classes to make a two way communication. And questions are an important part of this communication.
The writer is Program Manager of BRAC Education Program
