Much of the interaction that takes place in your Sunday School class is the discussion that occurs between the teacher and the students, and—in upper grades—among the students themselves, on the Bible passage or topic under consideration. Lively discussion and assimilation and understanding of information are the result of good questioning techniques on the part of the teacher. Do you spend more time than you’d like lecturing, talking, or “filling the silence” in class? If your teacher-talk-to-student-talk ratio is out of balance, these tips may help.
Three Levels of Questions
We can ask three levels of questions during Bible discussion—information questions, analysis questions, and personal questions. All three are important to successful study. Each level gets deeper into the text and it is generally helpful to ask information questions before asking analysis questions and analysis questions before personal questions.
Information Questions
We ask information questions at the first level to verify the accuracy of the participants’ understanding of the text. “What does this say?” “Where was Paul when he wrote the letter to the Romans?” “To whom was he writing?” Information questions assess the degree to which the students have heard the words of Scripture.
• Use the “reporter” questions—who, what, when, and where? These questions get at the facts of the Bible account.
• Avoid questions that can be answered with yes or no. Such questions almost always steer the students to the answer you desire. Occasion “yes or no” questions should always be followed with a “reporter” question.
• Gear your questions to your class. The questions in the teacher guide are of necessity written with a broad audience in mind. You, however, know your students better than the editor of the material. You can revise or create questions that will get at the heart of things for your students.
• Don’t ask questions that everyone can probably answer. Students will tend to turn off their critical thinking skills and give you only what you ask for.
• Don’t ask questions that no one can answer—at least not very often. This can lead to frustration and will cause some students to withdraw from further participation.
Analysis Questions
We ask analysis questions at the second level to deepen the participants’ understanding of the text. Analysis questions require the students not just to hear the Bible text but assimilate and integrate that information with what they already know to increase their understanding. “What does this mean?” “Why did Paul write that?” “How would the Roman Christians have felt about that?”
• Analysis questions should always find their answers in the text or in the text combined with other knowledge the students are known to have. They are not intended to elicit speculation or opinion.
• Follow up unexpected answers; don’t label them wrong. You may learn something new about the text—or about the participant—by asking how he or she came to that conclusion.
• Silence does not mean you’ve asked a bad question. It may indicate you’ve asked a very good question and the students are deep in thought. Wait out the students’ silence whenever possible. This can be a painful wait for many teachers. Count silently to ten (or even 20) while resisting the temptation to rephrase the question or help the students.
• Don’t rephrase the question. Many of your students will then be considering how to answer two questions—your first question and your rephrased one. Mental gridlock can result.
• Avoid “questions by the paragraph.” Participants can’t answer a string of questions or a question that they don’t understand. Keep your questions short and allow the students to answer each one before moving on.
Personal Questions We ask personal questions at the third level to help participants apply Scripture to their own situations. “How is your life situation like that of the Roman Christians?” “What would your friends do if you acted that way?”
• Don’t request embarrassing information or examples. This will dampen participation. Almost as much good can come from asking “When might children your age sin against this commandment?” rather than “When do you sin against this commandment?”
• Respect opinions. Information and analysis questions may have wrong answers; point out correct answers in the text. Personal questions are trickier. Ask follow-up questions, state your beliefs, and let Scripture speak clearly. Remember that the Law condemns us all; it can be helpful to speak it in the plural: “God’s Word condemns us when . . .”
• Avoid questions that begin “Don’t you think . . . ” They are really statements masquerading as questions to which we don’t want the students to answer “no.”
• Encourage participants to ask their own questions. Don’t ignore the questions they ask. If you don’t have the answer, ask for the opinions of others, steer the questioner to an appropriate resource, or offer to research it yourself.
Practice and Prepare
Applying these levels of questions and tips can be hard work. It is a good practice to write out (or rewrite) the discussion questions you will use in class as you prepare to teach. Then you can evaluate them before you use them and grow in your questioning skill. As you write the questions, make sure you can answer them—and would want to. This advance preparation will help to guarantee interesting discussion and lots of student participation.
(This content was first published in Teachers Interaction magazine and is (c) 2005 and used with permission.)
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