Threatened

-
I wasn't paying attention when my name was being called. It was only when I stood up that I knew she was expecting me to answer her question which was very much unclear to me. 

She seemed reluctant to repeat her question but she did. She expected me to come out with a sentence.

I guessed. 

I threw a sentence then I happily sat thinking everything was over ...

... yet I was wrong. 

She started blabering. Saying how incompetent, how undetermined, how unenthusiastic I was. 

I kept silent. Partly guessing her expectations. 

Then I knew all she wanted from me was a lengthy introduction that contained all the 5W's.

Phewwwww

***

The task given was an easy one yet having to spontenously answer the question, standing up with the words being typed and was closlely observed by a troop of Grammar Nazis, made me felt judged, insecurd  and threatened. 

Her aim of questioning might be to nurture insights yet what she had nurtured in me at that moment was hatred towards the course and her. 

***

I am an English teacher thus could write essays with closed eyes. Writing is never an issue yet when expected to spontaneously shout an introduction, with no time to prepare and in a room full of English specialists, that is a real threat! 

Questioning is a technique used for many things in lessons. Building relationship and avoiding misunderstanding are a few instances. However, when it is not done properly, it may affect its initial aims and worst, the students' motivation. 

The tragedy I had had reminds me of the lesson I had on Questioning Techniques. It was a tedious lesson in which most of it was about Waiting Time or also known as Thinking Time. 

***
Some teachers want things to be done fast. Perhaps there are syllabus or target they have to keep up with. They brief lessons fast and also expect responses to be given fast. Studies prove that most teachers expect response to be given within 9/10 of a second. Whatttt!?

Bla bla bla - explanation on lesson
Bla bla bla? - check understanding via questioning
Bla bla bla bla - nag as students' responses are not up to their expectation

Students are not Siri which can give you answers straight away within miliseconds. Students are human who have information stored in their brain. They need time to first understand and digest the question then look for the answer in their short term memory as well as their long term memory. Before them being able to respond, they also need to ponder their answer using their left and right brain and before they could finalise the response they ... Brain needs time to process!

Thus explain the need of Wait Time.
Image result for wait time teaching

***

Wait Time - How to Do It?

Ask question
⬇️
Wait (1 to 5 seconds depending on the question's difficulty)
Image result for wait time teaching
⬇️
Ask for a response

New - Wait Time 2
 
Image result for wait time teaching

Wait Time 2 is a new questioning strategy introduced. It takes waiting too but it is at the latter part of the questioning session. 

Ask question
⬇️
Wait Time 1
⬇️
Ask for a response
⬇️
Wait Time 2
⬇️
Teacher response

***
There's been a saying on the internet 

Like Good Coffee, You Need Percolation Time

Teachers and educators, students need time to respond to your questions. Give them time. Give yourself a break to breath in. 

Questions are given for the good of students. Do it right. Wait. 

Comments

Post a Comment

You say:

Popular posts from this blog

Parking Lot

-
Image
Parking Lot has been considered as one of the best practices in the 21st century classrooms besides the famous group seating arrangement. In Malaysian public schools especially in Sekolah Amanah, it is a mandatory  to prepare a space or an area in the class to put up a Parking Lot. Per contra , to date, teachers are having a lack of proper guidance on the use of Parking Lot as a consequence of  the non-existence of a blueprint or a printed guide from any Malaysian education departments on this practice . Worst, the knowledge of Parking Lot is succinctly dismantle to teachers while they are having courses on 21st century classroom or learning, during Professional Learning Communities (PLC) sessions or during department meetings. It is through these short sessions or meet-ups that Malaysian teachers are made aware of the benefits of Parking Lot. Even the practice could benefit both teacher and students, the lack of understanding on the practice  results failure in its execu
Read more

Use Malay (L1) instead of English (L2) in English Lessons?

-
Image
The debate on the use of L1 in L2 lessons has been going on since forever. Different scholars come out with different theories and hypotheses yet no one theory or hypothesis has become the most significant. After all, it all depends on the teaching context. The use of L1 has always been a contentious issue. Teachers have choices whether to: ban L1; minimise L1; or maximise L2. Again, it all depends on the context the teachers are in. It is best to also mention that even so, teachers who resort to the L1, despite their best intentions, often feel guilty for straying from L2 path (Cook, 2001). However now, let's not talk about teacher's use of L1.  Let's look at student's use of L1 in L2 lessons.  Should we ban the use of L1 among students in L2 lessons? If not, why are there a lot of suggestions given to cut or limit the use of L1 in L2 lessons? I remember when I once made it a rule that students should only talk to me
Read more

Nadia Anjuman

-
Image
What should I do with a broken wing Which does not let me fly? I have been silent too long, But I never forget the melody. Since every moment I whisper, The song from my heart. Reminding myself of the day, I will break free of this cage. By from this solitude, And sing with abandon. I am not a weak tree, To be shaken by any wind. I am an Afghan woman, It only makes sense to cry. Nadia Anjuman was a talented Afghani poet who was beaten to death by her husband at the age of 25.  Al-Fatihah.
Read more