Chapter 5: "Questioning" Response

Questions are a powerful tool in learning process. Inquiry is a facet of learning that strongly promotes brainstorming and higher order thinking. The last thing students need is teacher reading text to them and handing out worksheets. Questions being provided, not only on paper, but in discussions, can be extremely conducive to a successful classroom. The key idea to remember is consistent engagement in the learning process. Questioning throughout the learning process has that power, in that it gives the students a sense of purpose and the assurance that their input is important in the classroom.

Based on my experiences as a student, many teachers do question their students, but in the wrong manner. Often times my teachers' questions were either not challenging enough, to the point that it was insulting; too challenging, to the point that I felt stupid when not knowing the answer; or too rushed. For questions to be successful to a good learning environment, they should be challenging, yet reasonable; and should allow an appropriate amount of answering time. When questions are not asked in the correct way, students can feel challenged in a bad way, and can easily become overwhelmed.

When I was in school growing up, I was one of the students who immediately crept under my shell once the teacher started asking questions. I immediately correlated questions with "tests" and judgement from my teacher and peers. "Teachers are inclined to plan thinking activities where the learners' potential to question the text is diminished because the teacher dominates the questioning." I chose this quote from the text because it is so true. All throughout my classes, I was often intimidated by answering teachers' questions. This was either because there was a "smart kid" who answered everything, or the teacher would belittle me for answering wrongly. I never correlated questions with discussion and conversation, and I think that is what left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Question: How can we, as teachers, be sure we are targeting ALL students in the classroom? Also, what is an effective way to make other students feel they can speak, and ways to prevent the "smart kid" from dying to answer every question?

Chapter 7 Reflection: Note Taking

Good, organized lectures = Good, organized note taking/ making
Oganiztion----> Key to understanding when looking back.

• Bullets can be used. 

1. Numbers can be used as well. 

It is important that notes are modified to suit each student as an individual. Understanding and comprehension lie hand in hand with the organization of the notes taken in class. 

IMPORTANT POINTS should be made obvious:

• key words
• bolding/ capitalizing
• changing intonation of voice

Reading this chapter made me flash back to high school. I remember absolutely hating classes that consisted of a teacher lecturing and me having to take down notes. Certain teacher in particular made me feel like I was Charlie Brown for a majority of my school day. Learning should be exciting for students, and it is impossible for that to happen with a mono toned teacher standing motionless in the front of the room.
Same goes for power points. I always appreciated when teachers went the extra mile to make power points. But certain power points proved to be beneficial, whereas others left me falling asleep with my eyes barely open.
Regardless of whether I was reading a power point slide or listening to a lecture, good class sessions always consisted of:

* An understanding of the key points
* Obvious points and sub points
* Categorization

Students should not feel they have to write every single word coming from a teacher's mouth. With proper guidance, students should be able to distinguish the difference between important terms and small details.

Other ways note making can become effective: (Notes are not only limited to horizontal lines on blue stripe paper.)

---> Charts/ Box Grids (good for math)
---> Split-Page format (good for science)
---> Matrix format (good for english/ electives)

These varied ways of note making can be applied to several different subjects, but work best with certain subjects than others.