Any questions? Good- Response to a Blog by the NSTA

Any questions? Good.

              I had the opportunity to read a blog posted by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA).  It was so simple, yet effective.  It's nice that a source as prestigious as the NSTA does not overwhelm the user with complex professional vocabulary and syntax.  

           This article addressed the concern for how to properly assess students after instruction.  In simpler terms, this question was addressed:

I need suggestions on encouraging students to tell me when they don’t understand something. I ask my classes if they need any help, but no one seems to have any questions. The next day, it’s as if they never heard of the topic before! —A. from Nevada

This is a very simple concern, but speaks volumes to most of us soon to be in the teaching world.  What is going to happen if we go through a whole lesson and we ask- "Do you get it? Any questions?"  Will we actually get questions?  Will we believe when all students say they understand it?  Here's how the blog presented some solutions:

You could rephrase your questions to provide a context or focus, such as, “Any questions about the difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells?” Give the class a few seconds of wait time to think about their learning and formulate their questions. Model the type of questions the students could ask or how they could check their understanding: “When I was first learning this, I didn’t understand that…” “Tell me one thing you learned and one thing you’re still confused about.”

Is your classroom a “safe” place for them to ask questions? Do students know how to ask for assistance? Is asking considered a sign of weakness? Are students embarrassed to ask questions? No matter how trivial the question or comment, never belittle it, reply with sarcasm, or allow other students to laugh at it. I had a student who thought she would hurtmy feelings if she didn’t understand something right away! (I told her that I liked questions —they helped me become a better teacher.) Having a way to submit questions anonymously may help (a slip of paper, a tweet, or an e-mail note).

Don’t wait until the end of the lesson or test time to discover what students are struggling with. Frequent formative assessments—bellringers, tickets out the door, brief quizzes, responses via clickers or white boards, and thumbs up—may also help students reflect on what they know or don’t know and give you some concrete feedback on their understanding during each lesson.

These are very accessible answers for all of us as teachers to think about and use.  Soon in our EDUC 422 class we will delve into assessment strategies.  This is a nice prequel to that content.