All educators know that relationships are important.
Teacher – student relationships are a key factor in student engagement and motivation. When students know that we care, and we are interested in them, they feel safe and comfortable taking risks.
We know this. And yet, sometimes…it just doesn’t seem to be true.
Let me know if any of this sounds familiar.
As the kids entered the room, you greet them as a group and individually. You do this because you know how important it is for children to hear their name and know that they have been seen that day. And yet, the kids are still disengaged.
You plan highly engaging lessons because you believe that learning should be fun. But the kids are just unresponsive to your planning shenanigans.
Let’s not forget about the choice you include in your lessons. Because we all know that autonomy is critical for student engagement. And yet. The students are just choosing to not do anything.
So now you’re like, okay….maybe I’m not giving the kids enough positive reinforcement.
And so, you are making an effort to recognize their positive efforts. They don’t have to get it all right all of the time. It’s more important to notice the little things and tell them what you see and hear. But no. They just look at you like you’ve got 3 heads.
Have you ever had that happen to you? Where you know you’re doing all the right things and you’re getting zero results?
I certainly have. And it was utterly #theworst. I was genuine with all of my efforts and just couldn’t get the kids to connect.
I don’t know about you, but after those classes, I felt so defeated as a teacher.
But only briefly.
It was then that I decided to use more open ended questions.
Open ended questions have a lot of power packed into them.
They give students power and choice in how they respond.
Open ended questions encourage critical thinking.
They give us insight into what our students are thinking and feeling.
One open ended question that has been a go-to since my workshop days is, “How’s it going?”
Sure. Kids can say fine.
But know what they’re not expecting? A follow up.
So next say, ‘tell me about what’s fine.”
This give a lot of insight into their thinking and processes. Not to mention how they view their abilities. Pretty quickly, you can gauge what to help with, what’s holding them back, or even how to push them a bit further.
Yup. This question can also result in a one word answer like ‘nothing.’
And again, they’re not expecting any follow up. So, if nothing is the response try, “Hmmm…I’m noticing…”. Then follow it up with an observation. Tie it up in a bow with asking again what you can help with.
Persistence is key with this one. Because some kids have a ‘just leave me alone’ armor. They expect people to give up on them and walk away.
Disarm them with a follow up.
Yet, sometimes they surprise you. Sometimes you ask what you can help with and you get an entire low down on some serious social stuff that went down at recess or on the bus.
Whatever the response, be prepared to persist or give advice.
When kids get stuck, some of them can give up really quickly.
One of the hardest things as a teacher is to not give them the answer.
Some kids really like to just be told what to do. And a lot of them have learned to expect that in school.
When kids get stuck, start by asking them what they’ve already tried. This gives great insight into the problem solving approach, and their current skillset.
This is particularly true with technology. Just because today’s students are perpetually on a device doesn’t mean they know how to problem solve when something goes awry.
So asking them what they’ve tried gives great insight into what they currently know or remember.
If in the process, you discover they don’t know how to tackle a particular problem, give them potential solutions through a question. For example, if a student’s iPad is frozen and they’ve told you they’ve tried closing the app follow up by asking them, “Have you tried resetting the iPad?” Their response will identify for you if they just forgot to try this or if they need to be taught how to do this.
In the end, open ended questions demonstrate to students that you care about what they’re thinking and feeling and that you’re there for them. No matter what.
