This week I explored questions and the importance of questioning in life. Through the use of a five minute question quickfire as well as reading from Warren Berger's (2014) book, A More Beautiful Question, I was able to think deeper about questioning in general and how our world has impacted questioning as we grow over the ages. I set my timer for five minutes and wrote down whatever questions that were at the top of my head that related to my teaching career. Before starting, I thought five minutes would drag but before I knew it the timer went off and I had only asked a handful of questions. I realized that once I wrote down a question I would start to think deeper before moving on a writing down another one. After going back through and reading my questions I was able to take a step back and think about my best answers. I feel that I constantly question my teachings and if I am supporting my students in the best way possible. With questioning being at the top of my head I started to think deeper about if my students have the chance to question which progressed me to thinking if I as an educator, my colleagues and even my principal had the opportunity to ask questions. Berger stated that, "one of the many interesting and appealing things about questioning is that it often has an inverse relationship to expertise - such that, within their own subject areas, experts are apt to be poor questioners" (Berger, 2014). This sat with me because I thought back to our schools staff meetings that took place over the course of the school year and our principal would leave the last ten minutes for questions, however, this time was often un-useful and we would proceed to end our meetings early. Is there a better way to provide these opportunities without being put in the spotlight, can these ideas be transferred to my second graders to help them when they have questions they may be hesitant to ask? The school staff has a career and these students have an educational path they are on, as lifelong learners there are times for all of us to let down our guards and ask questions and challenge ourselves to deeper understandings. Take a look at my quickfire questions below! After reading the introduction as well as chapters 1 and 2 of Warren Berger's (2014) book, A More Beautiful Question, I started to better understand these ideas of questioning and what issues that our society may have that causes more impactful issues than what we may realize. Berger stated that, "the impulse is to keep plowing ahead, doing what we've done, and rarely stepping back to question whether we're on the right path" (Berger, 2014). Can you relate to this? I sure can! As a teacher I find myself following exactly what the curriculum books provide us instead of ever questioning or modifying as often as needed. As an aunt to young children as well as an elementary educator I get all the questions. Many of us have had those moments where we are overwhelmed or tired of the constant questions. Berger stated that, "when preschoolers ask Why, they're not just trying to annoy adults or simply prolong a conversation - "they're trying to get to the bottom of things"" (Berger, 2014.) I need to personally remember this and continue to provide my second graders as well as my niece and nephew with the opportunities to ask question and encourage these thoughts and ideas. My goal moving forward is to remind these children that there is no such thing as a bad question. If they have a question, it can be important to encourage them to keep asking and keep learning, because more often then not if they have a question another one of their peers may be thinking the same thing. Take a look at the graph below. I found this to be a great visual about how the skill of asking questions decreases over the years. How can I and how can you help to change this curve? Resources:
Cook, C. (2020, July 13). Five Minute Questioning. Jamboard. https://jamboard.google.com/d/1A-w4ElwQNNCY8Dsw4nOw7MN1w4w-A28mTOsYvugCcw4/viewer?f=0 Berger, W. (2014). Introduction: Why Questioning?. D2L. https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/le/content/1003531/viewContent/9023021/View Berger, W. (2014). Chapter 1: The Power of Inquiry. D2L. https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/le/content/1003531/viewContent/9023021/View Berger, W. (2014). Chapter 2: Why We Stop Questioning. D2L. https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/le/content/1003531/viewContent/9023021/View Late Night With Seth Meyers. Seth Meyers Question. GIF ttps://giphy.com/gifs/latenightseth-question-seth-meyers-d1E1YlkOTe4IfdNC
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Work by Claire Cook is licensed under
|