Tutoring and Demonstrating Ch. 4

Chapter 4. SPECIFIC SKILLS

Developing questioning skills

The quality of interactive teaching and learning hinges a good deal on the ability of the group leader to sustain a 'discussion'. An effective questioning technique is a vital element. A good questioning technique will allow you to:

• gain insights on the level of students' knowledge;
• develop the communication skills and confidence of students;
• raise issues and complexities to extend and refine students' analysis;
• challenge students to defend their positions and strengthen their arguments;
• stimulate creative thinking;
• involve all students actively in the learning;
• encourage students to become self-directed learners; and,
• provide recognition and reward to students.

Not everyone is a good questioner when they commence teaching, but it is a skill which you can fine-tune and polish. The following suggestions should be helpful.

1. Remember to use a range of questions. Closed questions, such as 'Did the state budget deal with unemployment?', invite a yes or no answer and do not encourage students to open up. Open questions, such as 'What is the likely impact of the budget on unemployment?' cannot be answered yes or no, and invite a more detailed response. Forced answer questions seek a choice between alternatives that you offer, as in 'Was the budget adventurous or conservative?'. Endeavour to ask open questions, for generally they allow productive interaction. Carefully worded forced answer questions can also be useful, if the alternatives are designed to give students a starting point. Students may view closed questions as rhetorical or patronising.Work hard at pitching question at an appropriate level. Students will be less likely to respond if questions are either too difficult or too easy. If in doubt, try rephrasing. Remember that an absence of student response may indicate a poor question rather than lack of understanding on their part. Often a question will draw no response because it is too general and vague: 'What do you think of this idea?' It can help to narrow the focus and start at a more detailed and concrete level. A question can also be too convoluted, and require rephrasing and clarification. Vary the level of questions to allow students of different capabilities to participate.
2. Allow adequate time for response. Not waiting long enough for response is a common error, particularly if people are nervous or unsettled. Be prepared to wait a number of seconds, though you may find the pause builds up a slight tension. Some tutors count to ten or fifteen before trying again. Eye contact may encourage a student who is considering a response. But don't prolong the silence to a point where it is painful for all. It is a delicate balance, one that you learn to judge with practice. The object is to allow time for reflection without turning the pause into an embarrassment. A useful strategy is to signal that a short silence is quite okay. You might say, 'Now this is a complex question, so I'll give you a little while to think about it.' Another is to give students the opportunity to discuss the question first in pairs and jot down a few ideas.
3. Respond appropriately to all answers. Encourage and reward students. An inaccurate or inappropriate response from a student requires attention; it is usually possible to acknowledge sound elements within the response while at the same time indicating its shortcomings. Sometimes it is appropriate to ask students to tighten their arguments or clarify their opinions, with your support and encouragement. Students should expect that they might be asked to explain or support their answers or opinions. Use probing questions such as, 'Can you explain what you mean by that?' and 'What kind of evidence do you need to support that argument?'. Be provocative. Challenge with alternative points of view. Be prepared to redirect questions to allow a number of student answers to build to a coherent whole. Draw on student contributions, using their points as the basis for further questions: 'Alexis has argued that x is the case. Does this conflict with Jenny's earlier point about y?'

Obviously you should not use questions to expose student inadequacies, to embarrass or to reprimand. Effective teachers create a climate in which students feel confident about answering questions and also about asking questions of the teacher and of each other. Students will be uncomfortable if they feel they may be demonstrating their ignorance and be open to peer ridicule. Developing a classroom environment in which students feel comfortable asking questions on the subject matter and their understanding of it requires patience and time.

Whether you should direct questions to particular individuals is a matter of judgement, depending on the confidence of students and the atmosphere of the group. Many experienced teachers prefer not to do this until they are sure that the group is working well, and even then use the strategy sparingly.

Encouraging attendance

Students will attend tutorials and practical classes if they believe it is in their interests to do so. This probably means departments should give thought to the design of strategic assessment practices. It also means that the classes themselves must be conducted with skill and interest in student progress; the teaching must tap into the concerns of students and their personal objectives.

Generally, attendance at tutorials and practical classes is not compulsory at this University; however most departments actively encourage students to attend. Broadly speaking, activities undertaken in tutorials are usually closely related to assessable work and students are made aware that participation in tutorials should enhance their chances of success.

Your department may have attendance or participation requirements that contribute to assessment, and these may provide more direct incentives for students to attend class. Some departments have a hurdle requirement of 50 per cent attendance. Along similar lines, participation during tutorials may be assessed, contributing to perhaps five to ten per cent of the overall grade. Other departments award additional marks (up to perhaps five per cent) if exercises completed in tutorials are handed in. In other cases, students are alerted to the fact that attendance may be taken into account in awarding an overall pass when the department is facing borderline pass/fail decisions. If any of these practices are in place you will be required to keep accurate records of student attendance. The keeping of all formal records (including comments on student achievement) must be undertaken thoroughly and professionally. These documents are 'on the record' and may be referred to in cases of appeal. Gratuitous personal remarks should not be recorded.

Tutors are sometimes expected to contact students who have not attended for several sessions, or to inform subject coordinators so that letters can be sent to these students. If you find that class attendance is dropping off, it may be the result of factors outside your control. Nevertheless, it is probably worth conducting a small investigation to determine whether or not there is student disquiet, and, if so, whether steps can be taken to address the cause.

Encouraging participation

While attendance is necessary, it is not the primary goal, which is student participation. Unfortunately, linking attendance to assessment is not always successful in educational terms - it can create passive attendance. Clearly, physical presence does not mean active intellectual engagement.

The issue of participation is a complex one because quiet students are not necessarily non-participants. It is perhaps best to define a 'participant', in rather general terms, as someone who is engaged with the subject matter, who is involved with the learning tasks at hand, and who generally abides by the norms of the group and the ground rules for interaction that have been established. In these terms, quiet students may indeed be good participants. However, since the articulation and testing of understandings, arguments and opinions is an important part of learning, students who do not actively join in discussion are unlikely to enjoy the full benefits of small group work. They are also less likely to develop the high-level verbal skills which are just as important for graduates as written communication skills. It's also worth noting that students who don't actively participate may affect the group morale if students who are participating begin to feel they are being exploited by classmates they perceive to be 'lazy'.

There are many reasons why students don't participate fully. It can be because of anxiety about knowing enough, not understanding the conventions for interaction in the group, shyness, boredom, lack of interest, and even fatigue. You should avoid making assumptions about student motivation. You need to think carefully about students as individuals.

Remember that speaking to a class can be a frightening experience for many students, particularly first year students. To encourage participation you need to be very sensitive to student diversity and you should devise as many opportunities as possible for students to contribute in ways that suit each individual. Students who may feel uncomfortable about addressing a class as a whole, for instance, may be more relaxed talking in smaller student groups of five or six people.

Responding to students who behave badly

You might occasionally encounter students who behave badly or who will act to undermine your leadership. Again, there are no guaranteed solutions for dealing with these situations. Much will depend on your skills in class leadership and management, and your willingness and confidence to deal with problems should they crop up. You simply cannot tolerate sexism, racism, or other discriminatory behaviour. You cannot permit students to deride or bully others.

If you face such a problem, seeking intervention from a more senior staff member should be seen as a last resort. This is not because they may be reluctant to assist, but because failure to act quickly and decisively yourself will usually damage your credibility. By all means seek advice from more experienced colleagues, but only expect them to act on your behalf when all else has failed.

Remember that the class as a whole looks to you for leadership, and how you act during tense moments will do much to determine the esteem in which you are held. Problems should be managed as unobtrusively as possible. Usually it is best to avoid direct confrontations or a public display of frustration, though sometimes this may occur and may be a good thing. If you can cope well with tense moments you might also set up healthier patterns of group interaction for the future. It is sometimes effective to speak to students privately, outside class time. They may not be aware that they are having a destructive effect.

Leading a group of students can be tiring, particularly if it includes students who behave inappropriately. Don't be surprised if you sometimes feel dispirited. Resolving difficulties is vital in the interests of the other students in the group - and it is a factor in your own enjoyment of teaching.

Next section: Chapter 5 Student diversity: recognising and valuing difference

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