Neeneneneeeeeeeeee erence ee SS SS

-- with a clear statement of your concern.
Explain that you greatly appreciate her
willingness to participate, but that other
students feel intimidated by her eagerness.
You want to encourage them to participate,
and if she'll exercise restraint on occasion,
you'll be able to stimulate full class
participation. 0

 

Fielding Questions

Equally important in cultivating
increased participation are strategies for
answering student questions. Sometimes they
ask questions that aren't easy to answer.
Consider these examples:

The question you can't understand. Ask
the student to repeat or rephrase the ques-
tion. Don't be afraid to admit that you don't
understand. Be sure you don't imply you think
it's a silly or stupid question. If you contin-
ue not to comprehend, enlist the aid of the
class, or apologize to the student and suggest
you need to tackle the question after class.

The question that is irrelevant, not bad
but just inappropriate at this time in the
course. Recognize the intrinsie value of the
question when responding to the student, but
don't get the class off track by answering it
now. If you can legitimately consider it
later in the course, tell the student when to
expect an answer. Be sure to jot down the
question and do your best to provide the an-
swer when you said you would. You get even
more points on that day if you can look at the
student and say, "Bill, remember that ques-
tion you asked about heat transfer in cast
iron? I can give you the answer now."

 
   

= IEACHING _
| PROFESSOR

2718 Dryden Drive, Madison, WI 53704

September, 1987
Volume 1, Number 7

 

The question you don't know the answer
to. It's tempting to fake it, satisfy the
student with fine-sounding terms and vocal
authority. Don't. Be honest. No law decrees
teachers must know answers to every question.

. You look human when you admit that, even in

your field of specialty, some things you have
yet to learn. You set an example when you
return to class with reference materials that
contain the answer. Better yet, involve stu-
dents in your search. Invite them to the
library to track down the answer with you.

The question that is stupid. There are
some, despite what you may have heard. Take,
for example, the student who asks a question
you spent 15 minutes answering in class yes-
terday -- and the student was in class. Or,
the student who asks you to solve problem X
when homework assignments for the past three
nights ineluded problems (and solved exam-
ples) of this very type. Is it right to take
valuable class time to answer for one person
in class what 85% of everybody else present
already knows? No. Tell them where to find
the answer, but don't take the time.

Questions that challenge your authority.
For example, "Why do you make the quizzes so
hard in this course?" "Are you ever going to
tell us what we need to know from the read-
ing?" These questions invite you to lose your
cool. Don't. Stay calm. Smile, give the
student as honest and reasoned an answer to
the question as you can. Frequently such
questions reflect a much deeper protest. about
the way things happen in the academie world.
Politely decline the opportunity to debate.
Settle the matter privately. Playing out
professor-student altercations in public
involves risks -- even if you win. 0

Second class postage paid at Madison,
Wisconsin
ISSN 0892-2209