Challenges – Elementary 2009
At the conclusion of the summer session, you assessed your questioning practices and made a commitment to focus a couple of areas. Review this list (on page 173-174 in your QUILT Teacher Manual) and share one area that has been challenging for you so far. What have you tried? What steps have you taken to overcome this challenge?
56 Comments
- Linda Korpics replied:
I find that I need to provide more opportunities for the students to pose questions and interact with one another. So far, the questions have been more teacher directed and discussed as a group . Using the Think-Pair-Share strategy will help my students brainstorm and pose good questions for discussions.
September 13th, 2009 at 8:04 am. Permalink.
- Courtney Kendrick replied:
I find it a challenge when I want students to be comfortable answering questions and some students just are not. I think some of the strategies such as choral response, numbered heads together, and chalk talk can be some ways to help get the quiet student sharing.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:11 am. Permalink.
- Katherine Curl replied:
During guidance lessons, when I have had students form groups for discussion of a topic, quiet students always get lost and over run by the more verbal and outspoken students. The Think–Pair–Share method will help me to manage this situation with more structure. Students are so spontaneous when given an opportunity to share their thoughts, the challenge will be for them to hold back their verbal responses during the think time and then to practice thinking and sharing with their partner. Counting off the 1.2 method and having one be the speaker and 2 the listener and reverse should help give everyone a chance to share. Allowing enough discussion time after my lesson presentation will be a challenge, however, the outcome should pay off in very worthwhile results.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:28 am. Permalink.
- Stacey Edmonds replied:
One thing I want to work on as a teacher is not asking those “double-barrel” questions. I work with many ESL students (and their parents) so particularly with them it’s important to ask one question and then wait for the response. It’s a hard habit to break I’m finding! I am trying to re-train my brain to think carefully about the information I want before I ask. Then, to follow that, I must allow wait time before either moving on or asking a clarifying question. I will continue to work on this both with students and adults.
September 14th, 2009 at 1:38 pm. Permalink.
- Melissa Mansfield replied:
I know that I am still working on posing more challenging questions for my students. I feel like sometimes I give them questions that they know the answers to very quickly. I need to give them questions that make them think on a deeper level. I worry so much about damaging self esteem in my room that I find I always set my students up for easy success. I want them to increase their senses of self worth, but not at the expense of just answering simple, obvious answers. I want to challenge them so they feel a deeper sense of success when they know that have really achieved something by answering something more complex. I have been planning out my questions more often by jotting them down on sticky notes and placing them in some teacher manuals of texts that I have recently introduced. I used to do this all the time when I student taught about 5 years ago, but I know that I got away from it a bit. I am much more conscious of the questions I ask now so I am certain that they facilitate higher order thinking.
September 14th, 2009 at 6:14 pm. Permalink.
- Marcelle Hicks replied:
I find that I do not evaluate my questioning as much as I should. I tend to just ask questions and go on. So what I have begun doing is evaluating my questions before hand, trying to make sure I’ve used the appropriate forms. I have formed my questions first and then asked them and I have also asked them first and then evaluated them afterwards. Just be cognizant of my questioning has truly helped me.
September 17th, 2009 at 10:27 am. Permalink.
- Beverly Brown replied:
i find it challenging to plan for questioning episodes rather than “diving into” them in a haphazard fashion. During these first hectic weeks of school, I am establishing routines, assessing students, completing paper work, etc. I need to work harder to examine my questions and perhaps document them in lesson plans. I have a tendency to jump to the higher level questions before the children have a firm foundation on which to build.
September 17th, 2009 at 9:30 pm. Permalink.
- Justine Lawson replied:
One challenge I am having is questioning all students equally. I agree with Beverly that it’s been tricky to try out many of the strategies we learned in just these first hectic weeks of school. I am so excited to get our instruction and routines underway so that I can work on creating higher level questions and asking them to all students instead of just the ones who consistently volunteer answers. I agree that planning the questions ahead of time has been the biggest challenge for me thus far, since I tend to be a pretty flexible teacher and form questions and lessons often based on what is going on in the room at the time. I do see the benefit in planning a good variety of questions ahead of time and will certainly be working on it in the coming weeks!
September 18th, 2009 at 9:21 am. Permalink.
- Anne-Marie Slinkman replied:
One thing that I have struggled with is planning out my questions in advance so as to ensure that I am asking the clearest and most effective questions. I have been using my new Promethean board in my classroom as a tool to improve my questioning. I have been making presentations for all of my lessons, and have included the questions in the slide show. I have plenty of time to plan the day before, and it has improved the understanding of my students as well as the flow and pace of my lessons.
September 18th, 2009 at 2:12 pm. Permalink.
- Leslie Phares replied:
I am working hard on remembering to use the WAIT Time II. I have to really try to be comfortable with the silence that follows. As an exceptional education teacher, I am used to do a lot of prompting, and I realized that maybe I am doing too much prompting and not enough waiting. This week was a trial, I’ll see how the next few weeks go.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:03 pm. Permalink.
- Nancy Aloma replied:
My professional goal this year is to increase the higher level questions with my students. I have been very aware of my questioning strategies since taking this class, and have increased the amount of higher-order questions. The biggest challenge is actually coming up with questions at the highest level of Bloom’s. However, the children most definitely rise to the challenge, and are drawn into the discussions that follow when these higher level questions are asked.
September 18th, 2009 at 3:08 pm. Permalink.
- gjlyman replied:
And we didn’t spend time on student generated questions during the summer institute. I’m glad you are aware of the value of this piece.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:31 pm. Permalink.
- gjlyman replied:
Good for you to make that commitment to pre-script a few questions. Also consider a plan for documenting really good questions that develop on the fly. It’s insightful to analyze those after the fact, as well.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:41 pm. Permalink.
- gjlyman replied:
Yup – this is a weak area for me too. I take it even a step further and embed my answer in the form of a question. I know I do it and the little voice in my head says “you just did it again.” I brought it to the attention of some of my colleagues (who didn’t even realize I do it) and told them that I was working on asking open ended questions when I’m seeking more information and keeping conversation going through the use of paraphrasing instead of a question. Now we are all aware of it and working on it together – it’s nice to have the support and their patience as I work on this new strategy.
September 18th, 2009 at 7:51 pm. Permalink.
- Nadya replied:
Katherine,
Clearly you have thought out how to make this strategy successful. From experience, I do know that student get used to the think component. Allowing student to pair and share is powerful. In this, all students are heard without them all speaking. It also powerful to walk around to hear multiple answers in a shorter period of time.
Nadya
September 18th, 2009 at 9:25 pm. Permalink.
- Nadya replied:
Justine,
I found that keeping a seating chart or students list, handy to check off who I called on, helped me to keep track of which students I was calling on. Also I let students know that I was looking for at least one question or answer from them a day. Of course I had to teach what was a quality question or answer, yet still this got more students speaking.
Nadya
September 18th, 2009 at 9:29 pm. Permalink.
- Nadya replied:
Think-Pair-Share also worked really well with quiet students. Although they were not sharing with the class, they were sharing. It may be a start. Plus you can hear answers so you can ask the quieter students to share what you heard.
Nadya
September 18th, 2009 at 9:32 pm. Permalink.
- Nadya replied:
As I am yet to work in a class, I am I guessing what will be my challenges. Being that I will only have 30 minutes with each group, I worry about wait time two and encouraging students to interact with one another in terms of questioning, etc. I will attempt to plan so the shortened time will not cause me to panic and thus rush the work session.
Nadya
September 18th, 2009 at 9:36 pm. Permalink.
- Melissa Mansfield replied:
I was asked a double barrel question the other day by a cashier while I was running errands. It definitely threw me off a bit! I went to answer the first question and then realized another question had been asked. My response didn’t seem to make much sense because of the way the questions. I think it was good that I was put in this position. It made me aware of how confusing this can be for my 2nd graders. (It confused me!) I’m working hard now not to ask double barrel questions in my classroom.
September 20th, 2009 at 9:06 am. Permalink.
- Melissa Mansfield replied:
What strategies are you using to guide your special needs students during questioning? I have several students who need a lot of prompting in my room and, like you, I am trying to take a step back. What have you done to curb your instinct to keep questioning during moments of silence?
September 20th, 2009 at 9:10 am. Permalink.
- Melissa Mansfield replied:
I find that I plan out my questions during read alouds by jotting down what I want to ask on sticky notes and placing them at the appropriate places throughout the book. It keeps me on track. It’s a really simple way to help me remember what I want to ask.
September 20th, 2009 at 9:14 am. Permalink.
- Beverly Brown replied:
My professional growth plan involves quality questioning. I plan to intentionally structure centers to incorporate the different levels of Bloom’s taxomony. This will ensure that I am evaluating my questioning techniques. My prinicpal will record the data during my observations. I appreciate the “wheel” of Bloom’s taxonomy that was distributed. It has helped me to keep a visual of the verbage of the questions.
September 20th, 2009 at 7:14 pm. Permalink.
- Beverly Brown replied:
Depending on the ages of your students, I have students write questions using the different levels of questions. It can be a group or individual effort, but I am always pleased at the type of questions they ask. Many times they springboard a discussion in ways I never would have thought. It also helps me assess their understanding of the novel/social studies concept, etc.
September 20th, 2009 at 7:22 pm. Permalink.
- Nancy Aloma replied:
I have created powerpoint presentations for most of my science lessons, and like you, I have included my questions right into the presentation. This works extremely well, and often serves as a springboard for further discussions. By doing so, I am certain to hit upon those higher level questions. My lesson often ends with “a point to ponder question” which the students are to reflect upon as homework. We then pick up the discussion using that question the next day, or I ask them to respond to that question in a written format.
September 20th, 2009 at 8:27 pm. Permalink.
- Nancy Aloma replied:
In the past, I provided a daily math enrichment problem to my students who finished their work quickly, or for those students who wanted an extra math challenge. It was an optional activity that the students could choose to do or not. This year, I have integrated the daily math enrichment question into my daily plan, and call it the “Daily Dilemma”. I allow 10-15 of class time for the students to work in groups of 2-4 to try to solve the brain teaser, logic puzzle, or open-ended math question. The students have responded very well to this change, and have risen to the challenge each day. It seems that every day they become more confident, and actually look forward to the Daily Dilemma.
September 20th, 2009 at 8:37 pm. Permalink.
- Leslie Phares replied:
Basically just becoming more aware of that time and being comfortable with the silence. I was thinking about our training this summer and how the room was quiet while Gaynell was using the Wait time 2 with our group. Eventually (after the sometimes awkward silence), we started talking and discussing without her having to prompt us. My hope is that some of the more confident students will use that time to develop more thought out responses, and the other students will notice their peers using it and think about their responses as well. In addition to allowing the students to think, it gives me some time to think as well.
September 21st, 2009 at 2:34 pm. Permalink.
- Leslie Phares replied:
I have really begun to notice that I ask double barrel questions much more that I thought. I am trying to work on this at home with my six-year old son. It really can elicit more meaningful discussions when you actually let people answer one question before rushing to the next. It also shows them that you care about listening to their response and are not just waiting for your time to talk again. This communicates to the class that everyone has something valuable to add to the discussions and helps teach other to listen. Planning for the open-ended questions (and reducing the double-barrel questions) is sometimes hard now, but the more we plan for it, the more I think it will become a habit we just do (I hope).
September 21st, 2009 at 2:45 pm. Permalink.
- Courtney Kendrick replied:
Since this class, I have done the same thing. I have kept the Bloom’s taxonomy in my gradebook and as I plan a unit, I pull it out to pose questions. I use it alot in my literacy centers to challenge students and for remediation purposes as well. It has helped me to reach students on all levels and I try to focus on it each time I ask a question.
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:44 pm. Permalink.
- Courtney Kendrick replied:
I agree. This has been my greatest challenge. I am so afraid of embarrassing a student by waiting that I am quick to prompt. Every time I do it, I think about this class and if I should have allowed more time. It’s hard to decide especially in the younger grades because some of them are still so young and I don’t want them to lose interest in answering questions. I think Leslie’s idea of having the more confident students using this time to think is a great idea that I will mention to my class. As we are waiting, think about things you can add to the response…
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:48 pm. Permalink.
- Jamie Sherwood replied:
As a PE teacher there are many different stereotypes and generalizations about PE. Students are sometimes thrown off that critical thinking and some of the higher strategies are present in PE. My classes are only 30 minutes in length. It has always been my mindset that I need to maximize my time to keep children in the target heart range for at least 80% of the time. Now I am changing my mindset but struggling to tell myself that if I install the knowledge than they will exercise out of school and over a lifetime. I want a healthy balance. I teach PE like a science class would run. I try to organize myself like a core subject teacher. This is a challenge but I am making progress. Higher level thinking needs to be in place.
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:33 am. Permalink.
- Colleen replied:
I have a few students who are reluctant to answer during lessons. To get them involved, I tell them ahead of time that I will be calling on them to provide me with an answer. I have them do this only with questions that are usually opinion based so that I know they can answer (students have an opinion about everything!). There isn’t the pressure of answering correctly. This helps build their confidence and lessens any anxiety they may have about speaking in a group. Also, the more students share (oral presentations) the more comfortable they will feel.
September 26th, 2009 at 3:22 pm. Permalink.
- Colleen replied:
I’ve found that when I am in a hurry to get through a lesson, I end up calling on students that I know will be able to answer the question immediately. It’s usually the same student. When I’m not in a hurry, and I provide enough wait time, students will step forward to answer. Time is still the greatest challenge for me.
I have, however, really made a conscious effort to allow for more student to student exchanges this year. The discussions that have come from them have really been beneficial to our learning.
September 26th, 2009 at 3:38 pm. Permalink.
- Katherine Curl replied:
Yes,yes. I have done the same thing. I have asked a question several different ways trying to get an answer only to realize that some students are still trying to process how I phrased the first question. Frustrating for the student. Yes, some re-training of the brain is necessary here too.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:53 am. Permalink.
- Katherine Curl replied:
Would it be possible to write out some challenge questions for the students to read before they are verbally presented?. Questions that would help them prepare for the following discussion.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:58 am. Permalink.
- Katherine Curl replied:
That sounds like a great way to keep track of who has answered and who has not been involved. Great data collection technique. Then you could speak privately to the students who are having difficulty offering answers. I really like that idea.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:04 am. Permalink.
- Katherine Curl replied:
Yes, that is a problem for me as well as a guidance counselor with 30 minutes lessons. I am eager to have the students understand the concept for the lesson and not always aware of the deeper level possibilities.
September 29th, 2009 at 9:10 am. Permalink.
- Hildegard Poeppel-Canfield replied:
I really have not worked on the actual questioning part yet. Until now I’ve been busy with creating a schedule and working with the beginners ( ESL , that means they do not speak any English yet).
However, I am planning a first grade group to teach reading comprehension and I would love to get some ideas on how to incorporate quality questioning.September 29th, 2009 at 3:25 pm. Permalink.
- Marcelle Hicks replied:
The challenge that I have is trying to get through the material in a limited amount of time. So I find myself not allowing the students enough time to answer. I did give them ample time when school first started. I went theough Wait Time I and Wait Time II, but now I feel rushed. I found myself really taking in the information in our book on page 181, reading what teachers often do and I found I was right in that place. I then began practicing what I would like to do. This is truly a work in progress. Any suggestions?
October 1st, 2009 at 5:39 pm. Permalink.
- Marcelle Hicks replied:
I was thinking about having the children ask each other a question to get them talking to one another, instead of always answering me. I’m not sure how I would do this. We are presently studying the Ocean and I’m thinking about having the children write down some questions based on what we’ve discussed and then let them ask each other, being sure not to duplicte the question. I’m not sure but I’ll continue to think about it. I figure that this would not only get the children to really think of the subject matter but also make the children really listen to the questions. I’m just not sure of how to help them form good questions. What do you think?
October 1st, 2009 at 6:22 pm. Permalink.
- Anne-Marie Slinkman replied:
I think that having the questions in the slide show is helpful for those kids who need to see the question in order to learn, also. Sometimes hearing the information is not what kids need. It helps those visual learners, and keeps us teachers on track! I love the idea of a “point to ponder” that is visited the next day. That really allows the students to form their ideas and come in ready to discuss them the next day!
October 7th, 2009 at 12:36 pm. Permalink.
- Colleen replied:
I took another class this past summer, entitled “Jacob’s Ladder.” It is a reading comprehension program that really challenges all students, especially advanced students, to answer “quality” questions. There are 4 ladders (A-D) that each contain 3 questions. The questions help develop the following goals. In ladder A, students develop prediction skills. In Ladder B, students develop deductive reasoning skills. In Ladder C, students develop literary analysis skills. In Ladder D, students develop skills in creative synthesis. The A ladders ask questions related to consequences and implications, cause and effect, and sequencing. B Ladders ask questions related to generalizations, classifications, and details. C Ladders target theme/concepts, inference, and literary elements. D Ladders target skills including creative synthesis, summarizing and paraphrasing. Teachers can make their own ladders for use in any story. Or teachers can use pre-made ladders to go with short stories. The book, Jacob’s Ladder: A Reading Comprehension Program, has several stories and pre-made ladders. I created several ladders to go with the basal stories and am using the ladders as a literacy center. It has been very successful so far! This might be a good resource for you! Check with your gifted teacher.
October 7th, 2009 at 2:22 pm. Permalink.
- Linda Korpics replied:
I like Bev’s idea of writing more elaborate questions in my plans. I am finding that with time restraints I am not asking as many challenging questions that would promote discussions.
October 8th, 2009 at 3:08 pm. Permalink.
- Gaynell replied:
I wonder if some sort of interview design activity would work – where they are interviewing each other???
October 12th, 2009 at 8:57 am. Permalink.
- Gaynell replied:
Thanks for the reminder and reference on page 181.
October 12th, 2009 at 8:59 am. Permalink.
- Gaynell replied:
Sounds like it parallels QQ very well. I’m going to check it out. Thanks!
October 12th, 2009 at 9:00 am. Permalink.
- Gaynell replied:
It is sort of a “happy balance.” Is this something we might want to discuss further at our reflection?
October 12th, 2009 at 9:02 am. Permalink.
- Gaynell replied:
Nadya,
Now that you are in classes, what do you find to be working for you?October 12th, 2009 at 9:03 am. Permalink.
- Gaynell replied:
Your point has challenged my thinking…to the extent I’m having trouble communicating it. I’m really intrigued with how you are working in the critical thinking while maintaining the physically active classroom. There is no doubt in my mind that students are constantly thinking and making decisions during your class. So how do you help them be aware of that thinking/processing? Sometimes I have to slow down my body to speed up my thinking (for fear I will fall up stairs or something equally as embarrassing). I’m going to consider this some more…
October 12th, 2009 at 9:13 am. Permalink.
- Jutine replied:
These are all great suggestions! Thanks for sharing such great ideas. I have noticed that pre-scripting questions has helped, but I am going to start writing down those good ones that pop up in the middle of the lesson as well. This will also help me remember the great questions that my students ask each other.
October 12th, 2009 at 1:27 pm. Permalink.
- Stacey Edmonds replied:
I agree Justine. It’s tricky to make sure you are not accidentally skipping over those quiet students! One method I use sometimes is sticks with the student’s names on them. This helps me keep it straight and it also lets them know that they have to be on their toes. In addition, it helps them to see that I am trying to be “fair”. Something else that helps me is telling them that they are not allowed to talk for ___ seconds. That way I can scan the room/carpet and see who needs to be redirected. If someone doesn’t know an answer I will say to them – “listen to ____ as he gives us his answer”. Then I’ll repeat the question later and ask that same student again.
Like you, I am trying to get better at having some of my questions written down on my lesson plans. I have a morning message in my room and a couple times I have posted a quality question on the board. They love coming in and reading it and I hear them talking about it with their peers before our morning meeting!
October 12th, 2009 at 3:46 pm. Permalink.
- Stacey Edmonds replied:
That is so true…. Time is always a concern. One of my former principals gave me the best advice my 2nd year of teaching. She asked me why I was rushing from one thing to the next without bringing closure to the lesson. Of course I said it was because I felt the pressure of having to squeeze everything in. Her comment to me was something along the lines of – A lesson that is rushed and not brought to a close is almost lost to the students. You will find that you will have to spend more time reviewing the concept than you would if you just cut the lesson a little short and re-visit the missing piece the next day. In my experience, she has been right! I love it when students can have a discussion or debate about something they are learning about. I have found that even if I just give it 5 minutes the next morning for them to finish their discussion with a friend. You could also give them 5 minutes to recap what they learned with a buddy and then have them share out 1 thing per pair.
October 12th, 2009 at 3:56 pm. Permalink.
- Robin Goodman replied:
I feel that I still need to work more on wait time, I and II. I know that I have made improvement in this area; however, I find myself still not allowing the students time to think through the questions. I will continue to work on this, as I do believe strongly that it will help some of my students feel and be more successful.
October 13th, 2009 at 10:40 am. Permalink.
- Robin Goodman replied:
Nancy, I think this is a wonderful idea. When planning, I have the questions in my head that I want to ask; however, when I actually am teaching the lesson I sometimes forget to ask. The power point presentations would be a great visual for the students and myself. Robin
October 13th, 2009 at 10:42 am. Permalink.
- Jamie Sherwood replied:
I think the us of student generated questions is great. They have to know the answer in order to form a question. These questions can be shown to the whole class to see if it is a good question. For example, students can pick apart each others questions (edit). These questions may show up on quiz or test. It shows what they know without a doubt. I really like the peer editing that goes on when teachers put students answers on an overhead and that child remains anonymous and students add constructive criticism to each others. Fourth and Fifth graders would be able to grasp this skill with each other’s writing, and short answer questions.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:04 pm. Permalink.
- Jamie Sherwood replied:
I totally agree. I really try to write at least 3-5 solid questions in each of my lessons for assessment. Questions in which are really multiple questions are too confusing. Open-ended questions much the same. I think starting with low and moving to high level questions works. It’s important to have extensions with each question where you could go more in depth but you’ll leave that for them to ponder till next time. Always gotta have them wanting more. I think it’s okay to stop and say that is a bad question. Let’s throw that one out and start over.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:15 pm. Permalink.
- Robin Goodman replied:
I find myself doing this as well; however, I am trying to call on the students who don’t raise their hands. When they have the apporpriate wait time, they really do participate more. I have enjoyed seeing some of my reluctant learners participate more as they feel more confident. Robin
October 18th, 2009 at 2:15 pm. Permalink.