Develop Your Questioning Techniques

How much thought have you given to what you want your students to gain from your class? Far too often the emphasis on factual content overshadows the development of conceptual understanding, and accountability issues force us to present a wide-ranging curriculum in a short time period. As a beginning teacher, you are probably being directed to “cover” the curriculum, and your focus has been on making sure you understand the concepts you are presenting. You spend hours studying the content until you are sure you know every aspect and can work every problem in the textbook dealing with the given topic. You prepare a very detailed lesson plan and deliver a brilliant lecture only to find that your students did not “receive” the information you thought you transmitted. You know the content much better because you had to present your understanding of the concepts to others. You can provide your students the same opportunity to test their understanding by developing questioning techniques to engage them in effective dialogue.