September 24, 2013

Let's Hope They Have Questions


Christopher Danielson is a math teacher and teacher trainer whose blog is always thought provoking for me as a teacher. He turns the "Any questions?" question on it's head like this:
See, in math classes asking questions is usually a sign that you have not learned.
“Any questions?” is a signal to students to speak up if they don’t get what has just been explained.
We have it all backwards.
It shouldn’t be, “What questions do you have?” [I hope you have none so that I can tell myself you learned something.] 
It should be, “What new questions can you ask?” [I hope you have some because otherwise our work is having no effect on your mind.]
I'm going to apply this right away with my own kids and my other students. Every lesson will end with a variation of "What question do you have that you couldn't have asked before this lesson?" 

Read the rest of Danielson's article.

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