Questions?

Wondering about questions...

In college one of my site teachers started off class once a week with a question of, "any current events, accomplishments, wonderings, concerns?" At the first couple of weeks, I wondered why she would ask her students that during the beginning of the hour. It was a simple question that you heard some of the same comments: We play "x" school today, I'm going to Pueblo/Springs today, We beat/lost against "x" school yesterday, etc. I asked her why she would ask this question. She had responded that it was a way to get the student's minds off of things and start off with a positive in the classroom or what they are wondering about with homework or an upcoming test.  After, observing the students tell their life slowly each week or see where the questions were at I ended up enjoying listening to my clinical teacher ask these questions each week to the students.

During the time you were able to also help answer the question if a student had one, this had lead to their peers also asking similar questions. In her classroom, I found it different than the students would ask questions more frequently in the class than in other classes. As in her classroom, it was common for students to be asking questions or to give an answer that might not fully be correct. The classes she had taught me a valuable lesson, that it is okay to ask questions we are all human we might not always have the answer to something.  

While on the other hand in another clinical teacher's classroom if the students had questions she would have them write them on a sticky note and they would place them in the parking garage on the board. I had found this useful as students weren't interrupting instruction and they were still able to wonder. At the end of the period, she would take the sticky notes off of the parking garage and would answer the questions. Some would partake in the lesson that was given during that period or some would partake on what was going on in the school. It allowed the students to get their work done as well as allow the teacher to continue with the whole lesson.

In the end, I find both of these ways to ask questions to understand students as well as a way to let students be able to be comfortable to ask questions in class. Personally, I would take the parking garage method in asking questions during class. Through our book of 5 Practices, I can see this as in setting goals in the classroom where the students partake in what goals there are.