Asking and Answering Questions

Asking and answering questions, a form of active learning, is an excellent teaching tool. Posing questions to students breaks the monotony of lecturing and increases active participation, understanding and retention. Questions asked by students will clarify content and may provide feedback on your presentation.

Asking Questions
When you ask a question, allow time for students to think of an answer. Even though it may seem like an eternity, try counting to ten to yourself in order to give the students adequate time to respond. Your silence will usually encourage an answer. If no one has answered the question after ten seconds and they are not making eye contact, try rephrasing the question or providing a hint to prompt a response.

• Asking closed questions
  Students need time to acclimate to the classroom and the session. Closed questions require only "yes" or "no" responses, and asking them at the beginning of a session can help get the ball rolling and can give you an idea of how much students already know about the library. Examples include "Have you ever visited the library's Web page?" or "Can you find journal articles in the library's catalog?"
  
  At first students may not even feel comfortable enough to answer a closed question. In that case, try asking the question differently. For example, ask them to raise their hands if they have visited the library's Web page.
• Asking open questions
  Open questions require more complicated responses than simply "yes" or "no." These are appropriate to ask after students become comfortable with the session and with you as an instructor. Examples of open questions include "How do you find articles in the library?" or "What are some keywords we could use to search this topic?"
• Encouraging students to ask you questions
  In addition to asking specific questions, you want to encourage students to ask you questions. You can do so by letting your class know during the introduction that you want them to interject and ask a question at any time. You may also want to check in with students along the way to see if they have questions. It is particularly useful to do so just before moving on to a new concept because it provides an opportunity to review the main points of the section.
• Using questions to determine what students have learned
  You can use questions to determine if your students are grasping the concepts you are trying to teach. Depending upon the rapport you have built with your class, try one of the following:
  • If your class seems comfortable and has been participating, you may want to simply ask if there are any questions before you move on.
  • If they are quiet or seem shy and reserved, you may want to ask people to raise their hands or nod if they understand the concept. If a number of students do not raise their hands, you know you need to go over the concept again.
  • Ask the class to answer a question which sums up the main points of that section of the session before you move on. For example, if you spent time discussing how to find articles if they are not full-text in a database, you may want to ask "If I want to find an article in the library, what do I search in Library Catalog? The title of the article or the title of the journal?" They will (hopefully!) all answer "the title of the journal." This response indicates that they understand the concept and reinforces it.
• Using repetition with questions
  You can also repeat the same questions throughout your presentation to ensure that students learn important concepts from the session. For example, you can ask them "Can you find articles in the Library Catalog?" By the third or fourth time, all of them will have it down.
• Common pitfalls
  One common pitfall is to ask "Does everyone understand?" Students usually do not answer that question as a group. Some may nod, but it is not an effective way to gauge understanding for the entire group. Another pitfall is to ask students to raise their hands if they do not understand. Most students will not want to single themselves out in a group as the one "not getting it."

Answering Questions

• Paraphrase/Repeat
  If someone in a class asks a question, paraphrase or repeat back the question so that the whole class can hear it before you answer it.
• Commend/Appreciate
  It takes courage to ask a question. When a student asks a question, compliment it with "That's an excellent question" or "I'm glad you asked that." Make sure to answer these questions sincerely since students usually know when an instructor's response isn't genuine.
• Be Honest
  Stumped by a question? Let the person know that you will find out and respond later, either to the class or by email through the faculty member. Remember to commend and appreciate stumpers, too!

Exercise
Create a list of open and closed questions. In your next session, incorporate some of these questions. After the session, think about how these questions worked. If you keep trying different questions in different sessions, you will have built a repertoire of effective questions to use in different teaching situations.