A good teacher is not one who can ask lots of questions (admittedly this is important), but one who can elicit their students to ask lots of questions. The main purpose of a question is to elicit a verbal response - from both the teacher and the student. It is therefore in the teacher’s best interests, to teach how to ask relevant questions and to differentiate between the types of questions available.
Asking and answering questions are important parts of effective learning and teaching. The types of questions you ask should capture the students’ attention, arouse their curiosity, reinforce key points, and encourage active learning. Here is a list of question types based on Benjamin Bloom’s six cognitive levels:
Knowledge (identification and recall of information):
• “Who, what, when, where, how…?”
• “Describe…”
Comprehension (organization and selection of facts and ideas):
• “Retell…”
• "Summarize..."
Application (use of facts, rules and principles):
• “How is…an example of…?”
• “How is…related to…?”
• “Why is…significant?
Analysis (separation of a whole into component parts):
• “What are the parts or features of…?”
• “Classify …according to…”
• “Outline / diagram…”
• “How does…compare / contrast with…?”
• “What evidence can you list for…?”
Synthesis (combination of ideas to form a new whole):
• “What would you predict / infer from…?”
• “What ideas can you add to…?”
• “How would you create / design a new…?”
• “What might happen if you combined…?”
• “What solutions would you suggest for…?”
Evaluation (development of opinions, judgments, or decisions):
• “Do you agree…?”
• “What do you think about…?”
• “What is the most important…?”
• “Place the following in order of priority…”
• “How would you decide about…?”
• “What criteria would you use to assess…?”
Thursday 31 March 2011
Saturday 26 March 2011
Easter Chatterbox Activities
It's approaching Easter, if you're a teacher looking for something different for your little darlings, try these.
Based on the timeless childrens' playground game - the 'Fortune Teller', these worksheets involve a bit of cutting, followed by a bit of folding - origami style, leading to a fun interactive activity with the children asking and answering questions.
Easter Story http://embedit.in/C8Ltt5yWqK.swf
Easter Jokes http://embedit.in/5jfMEGo3tr.swf
Based on the timeless childrens' playground game - the 'Fortune Teller', these worksheets involve a bit of cutting, followed by a bit of folding - origami style, leading to a fun interactive activity with the children asking and answering questions.
Easter Story http://embedit.in/C8Ltt5yWqK.swf
Easter Jokes http://embedit.in/5jfMEGo3tr.swf
Thursday 24 March 2011
Kids in the 50's, 60's and 70's
One of my favourite articles from a while back.
According to today's regulators and bureaucrats, those of us who were kids in the 50's, 60's, 70's and early 80's probably shouldn't have survived, because...
Our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint, which was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans. When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'clackers' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle - tasted the same. We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no one actually died from this.
We ate dripping sandwiches, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we never got overweight because we were always outside playing.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us all day and no one minded.
We did not have Playstations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played conkers, bulldog and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits. They were accidents. We learnt not to do the same thing again.
We had fights, punched each other hard and got black and blue - we learned to get over it.
We walked to friend's homes.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate live stuff, and although we were told it would happen, we did not have very many eyes out, nor did the live stuff live inside us forever.
We rode bikes (some made from old frames from a local tip) in packs of 7 and wore our coats on by the hood.
Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
And you're one of them. Congratulations!
Our baby cots were covered with brightly coloured lead-based paint, which was promptly chewed and licked. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, or latches on doors or cabinets and it was fine to play with pans. When we rode our bikes, we wore no helmets, just flip flops and fluorescent 'clackers' on our wheels. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the passenger seat was a treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle - tasted the same. We shared one drink with four friends, from one bottle or can and no one actually died from this.
We ate dripping sandwiches, bread and butter pudding and drank fizzy pop with sugar in it, but we never got overweight because we were always outside playing.
We would spend hours building go-carts out of scraps and then went top speed down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into stinging nettles a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back before it got dark. No one was able to reach us all day and no one minded.
We did not have Playstations or X-Boxes, no video games at all. No 99 channels on TV, no videotape movies, no surround sound, no mobile phones, no personal computers, no Internet chat rooms. We had friends - we went outside and found them.
We played conkers, bulldog and street rounders, and sometimes that ball really hurt.
We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were no lawsuits. They were accidents. We learnt not to do the same thing again.
We had fights, punched each other hard and got black and blue - we learned to get over it.
We walked to friend's homes.
We made up games with sticks and tennis balls and ate live stuff, and although we were told it would happen, we did not have very many eyes out, nor did the live stuff live inside us forever.
We rode bikes (some made from old frames from a local tip) in packs of 7 and wore our coats on by the hood.
Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!
This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and problem solvers and inventors, ever.
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.
And you're one of them. Congratulations!
In the Beginning
Well, after reading several other blogs, nearly all discovered via Twitter, have decided to take the plunge and begin one of my own. No preconceived ideas of how it will pan out, but will try to keep a general focus on things educational. I reserve the right, however, to digress from time to time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)