Reacting to Student Responses

This Q&A was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond –

Question

Dear Jonas,

I read the last two letters on asking questions, and I have been diligently using questions more frequently in my classes. It is generally going pretty well – though it started slowly – I think because they weren’t used to it. My problem is their responses to my questions. I know they aren’t stupid – they are doing well on my quizzes, but you can’t tell that from their stupid answers. If I tell them that their answer is wrong, it seems to just clam up that person, and the rest of the class. How do I handle those responses that are just wrong, off-track, or just ridiculous?

Signed: Diligent Question

Answer

Dear Diligent Questioner,

The way students perceive your responses to questions is very important, and has a critical effect on students’ anxiety. They do not want to be wrong and embarrass themselves before their peers. Even if the answer seems dead wrong, every student should be encouraged even if just for trying. Here’s one way to do this. After listening very carefully, and in an unhurried way, select some part of the answer that was insightful or creative to reinforce their effort. For example, a student might respond to the question, “How do we determine the required sample size for this problem?” with “Take as many as you can.” You might then smile and say “Yes, that is true, a good thought in the right direction because more samples provide more accuracy, but that can get expensive. Can we use the desired accuracy to calculate the sample size needed, any thoughts on that?” In this way, you reward a student for trying, and you can highlight something positive about their contribution. You may have to reinterpret things rather creatively to accomplish this. You might respond by asking the class if others agree or not with the initial student response and elicit more responses.

The class is watching closely to see if the instructor displays an accepting attitude. That is why the whole class seems to “clam up” when they perceive a less than friendly reaction to student responses. It is more critical to respond carefully to wrong answers than to the brilliant ones in communicating this accepting attitude.

Nonverbal messages are also crucial in influencing the atmosphere after answering questions. You have to be very vigilant and self-controlled so as to not be scowling or throwing up your hands after a “stupid” or frustrating answer. If you sigh or look away, you are also sending negative nonverbal messages. You should make eye contact with the student, possibly lean towards him/her, to display an attitude while answering. Other nonverbal cues are smiling and nodding as they answer, to affirm your interest. However, don’t be afraid to point out clearly that an answer is wrong. One of six top non-facilitating teaching behaviors (Napell, 1976) is automatically rewarding the first answer. The key to mastering this fine line is HOW your respond. Saying “Wrong!” is different from saying “Thanks for taking a stab at it, but that’s not right” and then using the techniques above, to lead the student to the right answer.

Be prepared to provide some feedback to the students about their responses to survey-type questions mentioned last week. For example, multiple-choice questions are most effective if there are wrong answers that look attractive to students who make common conceptual errors. Take the opportunity to point out these errors, but be gentle, e.g., “those of you who chose answer 2 were at least half right, because you recognized that…, but those of you who chose the correct answer 5, also realized that…”. One common outcome of well-chosen questions is that they can elicit follow-up student questions that are more focused and concrete than the “explain it again” variety that come up when you simply pause to ask “are there any questions?””.

Good questions and answers can help a class become quite active and engaging for everyone. I applaud you for trying and encourage you to keep it up. It is a very effective way to see what students are learning and have learned and to keep the class lively and engaged. Good luck with your creative responses to some very creative answers.

Jonas

Quick Tip

To encourage a hesitant class to answer questions, you can pair them up, or team them up quickly to formulate answers, then you can ask the group what they came up with. This is less threatening and can really loosen up the class if responses are not forthcoming.

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This content was adapted with permission from the book Chalk Talk: E-advice from Jonas Chalk, Legendary College Teacher, edited by Donna M. Qualters and Miriam Rosalyn Diamond.

Browse the complete Index of Teaching Challenges – Chalk Talk