Questioning

(Now that summer is here, it is time for me to discuss different educational topics alphabetically. Please join in the conversation and tell me what you think!)

Questioning is an essential part of the learning process. Asking the right questions is also a great way to model for students how to ask questions. Students have to learn how to ask questions because many times they don’t know what they need or how to ask for it. Questioning helps students to:

• Develop critical thinking skills. When students are asked to answer questions, they are forced to think critically about the material. They must process the information, identify the key concepts, and formulate a response. This helps them to develop their critical thinking skills, which are essential for success in school and in life.
• Engage with the material. Questions can help to engage students with the material and keep them interested. When students are actively thinking about the material, they are more likely to remember it.
• Identify gaps in knowledge. Questions can help teachers to identify gaps in students' knowledge. This allows teachers to provide targeted instruction and ensure that all students are on the same page.
• Promote discussion and collaboration. When students are asked questions, they have the opportunity to discuss their answers with their classmates. This can help to promote discussion and collaboration, which are essential skills for learning.
• Assess student understanding. Questions can be used to assess student understanding of the material. This allows teachers to track student progress and make necessary adjustments to their instruction.

There are many different types of questions that can be asked in the classroom. Some common types of questions include:

• Fact-based questions: These questions require students to recall factual information.
• Conceptual questions: These questions require students to understand and apply concepts.
• Problem-solving questions: These questions require students to use their knowledge to solve problems.
• Critical thinking questions: These questions require students to think critically about the material and form their own opinions.

The type of question that is asked will depend on the learning objective. For example, if the learning objective is for students to recall factual information, then fact-based questions would be appropriate. If the learning objective is for students to understand and apply concepts, then conceptual questions would be appropriate.

Effective questioning is a skill that takes time and practice to develop. However, it is a skill that is essential for effective teaching. By asking thoughtful questions, teachers can help students to develop critical thinking skills, engage with the material, identify gaps in knowledge, promote discussion and collaboration, and assess student understanding.

How do you teaching questioning in the classroom? Please share.

Promote Higher Level Thinking

In ChatGPT needs to be your newest teaching buddy from History Tech, glennw talks about how ChatGPT can be used in the classroom as a tool to encourage higher-level thinking. He states, 

“ Our kids need us to help them develop the skills needed to make the world a better place. That means we need to go beyond traditional sit and get social studies instruction.”

I hear a lot of people worried that ChatGPT is going to be used to write papers for students and the students won’t have to do the work. This might be a valid worry if you give the students the opportunity.

Glenn suggests using ChatGPT in a different way that would eliminate this possibility. We need to stop having students regurgitate the information that we give them and encourage them to use higher-level thinking skills.

One thing Glenn suggests is to have ChatGPT write a paper and then have students fact-check the information by supplying primary sources.

I think it would be fun to have an opinion paper written by ChatGPT and students choose whether they agree or disagree with the paper and give reasons that could be backed up with evidence.

ChatGPT can be just another tool in the classroom and instead of making it an enemy, use it as a resource.

Glenn also suggests that teachers can use this tool by having it create writing prompts on a specific topic that is being taught.

I think this article was really informative with great ideas!

What other ways would you use ChatGPT? Please share.

The Giving Tree Stamp

One of seven new Forever stamps coming out in 2022 is The Giving Tree stamp. This new stamp has caused a lot of mixed reactions. When I heard about the controversy, I had to do some more research because I remember reading this book to my children and even using it in my classroom. What controversy could there be over this well-known children’s story? I wonder who decided to pick this book to feature on the stamp and what they were thinking.

The picture on the stamp shows a boy catching an apple which is similar to the cover of this popular book. The title of the book and Shel Silverstein’s name are also written on the stamp. It was designed by Derry Noyes.

The Giving Tree is a picture book written by well-known author and illustrator, Shel Silverstein and was published in 1964. When the boy is young, he enjoys climbing the tree, swinging from her branches, and eating her apples. Then he forgets about the tree until he needs something and the tree is happy to give him whatever he wants. Then one day when he is an old man and the tree has nothing left to give, he sits on her stump.

Some people are very excited that a book they loved as a child was going to be on the stamp. It has been used to show children the selflessness of giving. The story shows the joy of unconditional love. Whenever the boy wants something, the tree is always there for him.

Others feel like this was the worst choice of Shel Silverstein’s works to display and honor on a stamp. They feel this story shows selfishness and an unhealthy relationship. The boy is constantly taking and not giving anything back and the tree doesn’t know how to set boundaries by saying no. She gives so much that she eventually has nothing left.

I think the story itself and this new stamp are brilliant! It opens up so many different discussions that involve critical thinking. By having these great discussions, we can clarify our own understanding of the way we feel. I think this story can be seen in so many different ways because it depends on the age of the reader. Maybe that is what the author hoped would happen. When we are young, we focus on the tree and the unconditional love it gives just like we hope we get from our parents. As we get older, we learn about the ability we have of giving to others. Then as we mature, we start looking at the actions of the boy and wonder about his actions. Are they selfish? Do we know what kind of life he has had? Maybe he grew apple trees and gave apples to others. We just don’t know because the author doesn’t go into that with the reader.

References:
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2022/0111-usps-reveals-more-stamps-for-2022.htm
https://about.usps.com/newsroom/global/images/releases/shel-silverstein.jpg

Reasoning

(During the summer months, I like to take the A-Z Challenge and come up with words alphabetically and see how they apply to education. I think it’s a great exercise for teachers and students to give this a try.)

Reasoning means the action of thinking about something in a logical and sensible way.

I don’t believe that students are born knowing how to reason.

Reasoning is a very difficult skill and I believe even some adults have difficulties with this. The big problem is that seeing something as logical and sensible is very subjective. What I believe to be logical and sensible might not seem that way to someone else.

Many times my husband and I have disagreed on how something is done in our home. I think I’m doing it in a logical way and he thinks it is totally illogical. His way of doing things seems illogical to me sometimes. It all depends on the person’s perspective.

My students with special needs don’t always see things in the same way as other people see them. So, their reasoning doesn’t always match what others think it should be. Yet, too many times, they are told that their way is the wrong way and I disagree with that.

I try to explain to my students that achieving a goal can happen in different ways. It is like driving to a specific city and people may use different routes to get there. No route is the wrong way if it gets them to where they want to go. Some routes may take longer to get there or have construction on the way but if they reach their destination, each route was the right way.

When I make learning too rigid, I meet resistance from the students. I need to be open to the different ways that my students may show their reasoning skills. When I’m not sure about their reasoning, I have them explain to me how they got to their end result. By understanding how they arrived at this result, I may be able to find out where they may have gone wrong in their reasoning.

How do you help your students develop reasoning skills? Please share.

Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Online Conversations

Recently our university was put on an extended break. This gives the professors time to put their courses completely online.

In other conversations on Facebook, many students and teachers are concerned about their online courses. Teachers want to make sure that the students get the information they need, and students want to know that the lessons will be meaningful. Someone was concerned that they wouldn’t have meaningful conversations online like they would during a classroom discussion.

I like having students write something and have students respond to two or three others but I think it is important to give directions for the conversations, so they are meaningful.

When I ask students to read or watch something for the lesson, I ask them to write about what they learned. I ask them to tell me if they agree or disagree with what they learned and why.

Then I ask others to comment on at least two or three other posts, I ask them to tell what they agree or disagree with the post and why.

Hopefully, this will lead to a deeper conversation where others may ask someone else a question for clarification or even begin debating.

This involves critical thinking and discussion. I would conduct the same kind of conversation in the classroom so I believe it would work in an online discussion also.

I also like to have a place for students to post a question or something that they didn’t understand. I would then invite everyone to contribute their answer or explanation.  Again, this can open it up for others to jump into the conversation. There are websites like Padlet where people can post their questions anonymously and others can answer anonymously. This may be a good place for those that are shy or afraid to ask questions.

What other strategies would be good to use in order to have meaningful online conversations? Please share.

Photo by Paper Textures on Unsplash

Offensive Songs and Stories

Recently I heard that a radio in Cleveland was banning the song, “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” I couldn’t believe that we have come to this.

According to the article,

“The song, first penned by Frank Loesser (Guys and Dolls) in 1944 as a duet for him to sing with his wife at parties. Loesser later sold the song to MGM for use in 1949’s Neptune’s Daughter, in which the song plays seriously between Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban, and gender-swapped for humor between Betty Garrett and Red Skelton. In the years since, the duet has become an enduring holiday classic, sung by everyone from Dolly Parton and Rod Stewart to Michael Bublé and Idina Menzel to Chris Colfer and Darren Criss on an episode of Glee.”

There is nothing date-rapey about this song when it was written. It is a good old-fashioned holiday song. In fact, it was supposed to be romantic, but people can turn almost anything into something offensive if they really try. It all depends on the context it is used and how it is used.

If a rapist plays this song while raping someone, I would find it offensive too.

Words mean different things now than they did many years ago. Years ago I could use the word “gay” without it having to do with anything about homosexuals. The word “bad” used to mean not good but now it could mean great depending on how it is used.

I remember how some people tried to say that the story of Little Red Riding Hood was about sexual predators and the story of the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe had to do with child neglect!

One time on a trip, my friend was highly offended by the song YMCA by the Village People. I like the lyrics, but they don’t specifically talk about gay people.  It could be targeted to gay people, but I think over time it has become more than that. It is a fun song and if you take it in the context that the song is about the YMCA, it is a good song.

I remember my parents not letting me hear a lot of the Beatle’s songs because they felt they revered to drugs too much. But once I got to be an adult, I made my own choices.

I think it is important to teach students to look at lyrics and stories and to see how they can be viewed from different perspectives. This is a good way to teach students to do critical thinking.

What do you think about song lyrics and their impact? Please share.

Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

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Nothing in Life is Free

In ‘Free of charge’ is an illusion—We pay a price for everything. From Lisa Ricard Claro – Author, Lisa Ricard Claro shares,

“There is a price to pay for everything. “

I have had this discussion with several people who think that every time they see there is something free, there is no cost. I try to explain that nothing in life is free.

There may be no money being exchanged but there is always a price for something.

Usually, when I find something someone is giving away, I know that I might have to do some work on this item to make it fit where I want it to go.

If I’m visiting a tourist destination, people come up to me and try to offer me something for “free” but first I have to go hear their sales pitch. It is going to cost me my time to get this “free” thing, so I don’t see it as really free.

I get things in the mail to go to a free dinner in order to hear about a sales pitch. Again, my time is the cost.

Sometimes I get offers for a free trip in the mail, but I will have to pay taxes and fees. I do not consider this a free trip.

If you see a sign on a restaurant that offers free wifi, it is usually included only at the cost of a meal.

Usually, there is a catch if something is offered as “free.”

No one gives up something willingly for free. (Unless of course, it is a close friend who is trying to declutter her house. But then again, the cost is actually giving up some of my living space so maybe it really isn’t free.)

What really bothers me is when so-called friends want me to do something free for them at the cost of our friendship. Friends should not impose on friends.

I need to remember that there is a cost for everything free or not free. I need to remind my students this too and maybe one day they won’t be sucked into scams or bad friendships. They need to remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.

How do you help students see scams for what they really are? Please share.

Photo by Bernard Hermant on Unsplash

Too Good to Be True

In Old advice that is still valid in the digital world from  Blue Skunk Blog, Doug Johnson shares,

“If it sounds too good to be true, it is.”

Too many times I’ve had my parents tell me that they got some interesting information in the mail. They wanted to ask me if I thought whatever offer they got was a good one. Of course, I saw it for the scam it was, but they couldn’t see it. I tried to remind them of the lessons that I was taught as I grew up. Nothing in life is really free and if it sounds too good to be true, it is. It is at times like this that I’m thankful that they don’t use a computer!

I have had my students talk about things they have seen or heard about on TV that they want to take advantage of and I use this opportunity to have them work on some critical thinking skills. We talk about advertising strategies that many companies use and try to determine which was used that got them hooked. I’m not saying that buying the product they like is bad, but I want them to buy it with open eyes and not fall for any gimmicks that later will disappoint them.

I also think that sometimes we believe something because we want something to be true. Unfortunately, this sometimes gets us in trouble. That is why it is good to encourage students not to act impulsively and talk things over with someone else who has a different perspective and can be unbiased. I was recently shopping for a new iPhone and I thought I knew what I wanted but after talking it over with my husband, he asked enough questions to make me stop and reevaluate what I wanted. After more discussion and research, I decided I didn’t want my original item but instead wanted something different. I had been so caught up in the hype and excitement that I really didn’t do enough research into what I needed vs. what was promoted.

Encourage students to stop and think carefully before making any important decisions.

What old advice would you offer to help people make decisions? Please share.

Photo by Agence Olloweb on Unsplash