Double Entry Journal #12: Questions and Social Activity

Three Things I Learned:
1. I learned that teachers evaluate answers rather than encourage inquisitiveness. I hope I do not do this.
2. Longer wait time for answering questions leads to more participation. I did notice this with one of the lessons I taught. I think this has do to with not rushing the students.
3. Getting the answer "right" to a question is overrated. When I was in grade school I feel like I learned more from students' "wrong" answers. It is fascinating to see how differently everyone thinks.

Two Things you Found Interesting:
1. I found the tone of this article to be interesting. It encourages radical thinking and an educational revolution, but the tactic of repeating the idea that it wants readers to take away (not every answer is "right" or "wrong") is an unwise method of persuasion.
2. What I find interesting is that the article condones learning from examples and not student intuition. In subjects like art or music, imitation is the best tool. If one wants to learn how to paint, learning to look at and imitate natural objects is a great learning experience. Referencing from your own head or from your students is not always the best method for every subject. These methods can vary from subject to subject.

One Question You Have:
There is a fine line between student and teacher learning. Is it fair to let your students get so off track that they get confused, though?
(My answer would be that a functional balance is best, not chaotic, but not too structured. By not too structured I mean that your creative ideas should not feel constrained or held back)

Reference:
Social significance of patterns of questioning in classroom discourse [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1E3TESoR0pOUE0bwVzNz3ShVR7ks1QghK7lMnH_t1scI/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1

How Asking Essential Questions in School Can Improve Learning:
Answering essential questions instead of just telling facts can improve memory.Though sometimes this depends on what essential question is being asked. Sometimes answers to essential questions can be a recitation of opinions not of your own. If a child is asked "what is friendship?" they might say the typical "caring, sharing, laughter, and love" because it is what they are taught to say.

So, my opinion is that teachers with unusual essential questions exercise the brain more and improve memory. Drawing knowledge from what students already know is a good practice when done the right way, so they are not giving you answers they think you want to hear.

Reference:
Learning to ask essentional questions [Web log message]. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/165BCE1vIgTotWw49y5tMN2JAKVNdjH7aVTsaNZep7Js/edit?hl=en_US