What’s the point of asking individual students questions in front of the whole class? I can’t see one, unless it’s to grab an inattentive student’s attention – that is fine, it’s a pragmatic response to a situation in the classroom, but it obviously isn’t part of a methodological basis for whole-class questioning.
The reason for whole-class questioning is surely to get the students thinking – ALL of them. Thinking is essential for learning – we want everyone to learn, so we want everyone thinking, as much as possible.
Asking individual students questions gets them to think (mostly; nothing is 100% guaranteed in teaching!), but it lets everyone else off the hook for a minute. And if we ask questions of individual students as a matter of habit, over time that adds up to a lot of letting other students off the hook. Which is wasting learning time. Best not to do it.
It’s best to ask everyone, as a matter of habit. With no hands up. With whole-class questioning, the biggest bang for the buck comes from asking all students the question, immediately followed by paired sharing of their answer or view:
Teacher: ‘Right, everyone, if you had to sum up Hamlet’s ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy in one sentence, what would you say? Have a think – on your own – thirty seconds…
Now, turn to a partner. Tell your partner your one-sentence summary of Hamlet’s soliloquy. See if you can agree on one sentence. Go!’
What makes this good typical practice?
1. You’re asking everyone to think
2. You’re giving everyone the opportunity to articulate their thinking; articulation is a hugely under-appreciated part of learning
3. The ‘Tell your partner…’ activity is providing students with a non-threatening situation in which to speak, which encourages them all to participate
4. Anyone stuck might be helped by hearing from their partner, and even if they aren’t stuck, hearing a partner’s ideas can add something to our own thinking
And all that can be achieved in a minute – literally. Low input, high impact teaching.
Compare that with the torture of asking individual students questions, one after another: everyone else can switch off; it gets numbingly boring for the other people; half of the people you ask don’t know, and then you have to deal with that (more wasted time for everyone else); and even if they do know, so what? You’ve learned something about that one person; that’s it.
Whole-class questioning is a powerful teaching and learning technique. But it has to be done right. Leave the individuals alone, by and large; get to everyone, by and large.
Thank you for this. Was just wondering would you then sample some of the discussions for the whole class to hear? Checking for understanding?
Hello Phil
I’m so sorry for not checking. I’ve only just seen your question. There are – obviously! – different ways of checking for understanding, including: asking people to discuss a question in a pair or larger group and circulating to hear what is said; using mini whiteboards; sampling as you say; students writing the answer in their book etc…
Checking for understanding is crucial of course, but it’s crucial whether a teacher asks everyone or whether they use the old fashioned I.R.E. method that typically involves just one or several individuals.
Sometimes it won’t be necessary to check for understanding. For example:
Geog teacher to whole class: What does the word ‘erosion’ mean? Have a think.
After a pause… Now compare your definition with the person next to you. See if you can agree.
After a pause… Here is the definition we used last week (teacher displays definition on board).