The Art of Questioning

One of the assignments we had during this course was to record ourselves during a lesson with students which focused on questioning. The purpose was for us to become aware of the types of questions we ask, recognizing that all questions are not created equal for driving thinking forward. Bloom’s Taxonomy reminds us that recall and summarizing questions are useful to ensure basic understanding, but don’t push a person to make and defend informed judgements, create new ideas based on prior information, or compare new concepts with previously held beliefs. I knew this when I went into my “questioning” lesson, but I still found it to be incredibly difficult to ask higher level questions on the fly! Looking over the transcription of my interactions with the students, I can easily see where I should have asked an analyzing question instead of a knowledge one. This is a case, I imagine, where practice makes perfect (well, perfect-ish!). Instead of simply bemoaning that it is hard to do, I need to orchestrate questioning periods with students for the specific purpose of practicing my questioning technique. I’ve also noticed that I actually had to go back and carefully examine the various stages of questioning, as I had a misconception that “predicting” was higher on the Taxonomy than it really is. I asked a lot of predicting questions! Those same questions can be improved by asking students to defend their prediction. This provides an evaluation component which definitely requires higher level thinking.

As this is a course on the supervision of instruction, this lesson on the importance of questioning is meant not only for teachers with their students, but also for administrators working with the teachers in their building. Teachers are also constantly learning, and the administrator can play a pivotal role in helping shape that growth. All of the research I have come across on the subject highlights the importance of administrators asking guiding questions which allow the teachers to determine their own needs and potential steps forward. We again had an assignment to simulate this process, and again I found that it is something more easily said than done! I found it challenging to think that I had the perfect solution, but to instead formulate guiding questions that prompted the teacher to be introspective without my input. That’s not to say that I have all the answers...not by a long shot!...but it is human nature to jump in and offer advice when the other person is uncertain. Thoughtful questioning techniques as an administrator mean that jumping in is the opposite of helpful. Instead, I must have faith that the teachers I work with have the ability to recognize their need for growth, and then take the small steps needed to make that growth happen. And of course...they do!

From Teacher to Supervisor

This past week I was reading through a book on the supervision of instruction, and the authors asked - rather rhetorically, I thought - why teachers are expected to engage students in collaborative, inquiry based learning, but workshops and evaluations for teachers rarely employ such valuable methods. Well, I think I've got the answer.

In our Master's we are currently working with the same instructor (Pat Horstead; see my post from April 22/17) for courses on instruction and assessment, as well as the process of supervising said instruction. Basically, we are going from learning as teachers, to learning as future administrators. As a key player in the development of BC's new curriculum, Pat is a firm believer in teaching teachers the same way she would teach kids. So, why don't workshops for teachers usually employ the same collaborative and inquiry based methods that we expect for a classroom of students? Because it's uncomfortable! And hard work! And it stretches the learner in ways they might not be prepared for on a professional development day! 

Our courses with Pat have been conducted very similarly, I would imagine, to how she used to teach students. And I find myself stretched, mentally and emotionally, in ways I haven't yet felt in this program. That's not to say other courses weren't hard work, or took effort. Not at all. But this one takes me out of my comfort zone, because I am undoubtedly the person for whom the traditional style of teaching was made. I know it. I like memorizing, and working by myself, and thinking things through instead of jumping right in. However, I've also been teaching long enough to recognize that most people aren't like me, and that systems that cater to the few aren't any good for society as a whole. That's why I've put in a lot of effort over the years to work collaboratively, and to design units where my students can use their multiple intelligences to show their learning. But it takes effort, and planning, and a real desire to do what's best for kids even if it's uncomfortable for me. That's why this course is challenging for me, and why, I suspect, most presenters prefer to keep their workshops for teachers more traditional.

One of the key elements to successful growth, Pat says, is teaching students (whether they be children or Master's students!) to self evaluate in a meaningful way. The Core Competencies, for example, were intended to be evaluated through self-reflection, even for Kindergarten students (look here for a great way to engage in self assessment with students!). My sister and I recently had an interesting discussion regarding assessment and the new curriculum. She has two children in our school system, one of whom will be going into high school next year. Is the new curriculum going to be as rigorous? Will the kids come out of it prepared for university? Will the universities even acknowledge that self assessment is a valid form of assessment? She was asking me all the questions I'd asked myself, and which I'd heard every other teacher asking as well. After listening to Pat, exploring the new curriculum deeply, and discussing with my Master's cohort, I felt that I was able to address my sister's concerns and help her see the direction education is taking...and why. But I see this as our next main objective: to continue to show parents, reluctant teachers, and students themselves the reason behind the changes and why they should be patient and persistent through the growing pains.

Inquiry Leads to Clean Water in Ethiopia

This past March I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting Ethiopia with my family. My husband, Mark, works for a non-profit called Food for the Hungry (FH). If you live in Abbotsford, you may recognize that name as having worked together with Run for Water to raise money for wells in rural Ethiopia (an area called Sasiga). We headed to the Sasiga area to gather film footage, but most importantly, to celebrate the graduation of this community. I had heard through Mark about communities graduating, but until I was there, I didn’t really understand what that meant. As I walked through the village, met the people, and saw the farms and school in action, I began to see the answer. 

Making friends in Sasiga

Ten years ago, the people of Sasiga were stuck in poverty. However, they are strong and motivated so when FH began to partner with them - using local teachers, businesses, and resources - to build skills and awareness, the community began to thrive. This kind of transformation takes time, which is why FH’s model involves a ten-year plan. We know that changing our way of thinking is a daunting task, but that’s exactly what happens in a community like Sasiga. The people began to see that the future - which they had doubted for so long - was in their hands and that they now had the skills to take control of their own lives. 

Meeting Worku, a fellow teacher

Creating opportunities for people to access clean drinking water was a key element to helping this community become healthy. The money raised by Run for Water was instrumental in giving the people the materials and the skills to create and maintain wells throughout the community. My son Nial and I had the opportunity to try out one of the wells, and what a difference! The water from the local stream - previously used for drinking water - was filthy and contaminated. The water we had pouring out at our fingertips was clean!

Run for Water in action!

As we traveled through the village, I saw first hand the proud farmer working his lush fields (he had engineered a watering system from a small nearby creek, which involved hours of labor) - and was fortunate to sample his fresh papaya and bananas...right off the tree! I saw the groups of children running through the fields - healthy and happy, eager to play at any game. Where once students often missed school because of waterborne illnesses or helping at home, I now saw the crowds of school children walking to school, desperate to learn. I also heard them shyly trying out their fledgling English skills with me as we walked through the market (with plenty of giggling on their part, you can be sure!). I saw mothers waiting their turn at the well, knowing their walk back home with clean water would be one of minutes, not hours. 

Wheeeeee!

As I saw all of this, I asked our guide, Samson, when FH knew that a community was ready to graduate. His answer struck home to the teacher in me. He said a community is ready to graduate when they are able to see a problem and figure out a solution. When that happens, they are no longer dependent on outside aid, but are self-sufficient. The community, working together, can now take care of its own. The people in this picture are demonstrating exactly what that looks like. Their small collection of homes was far from the community well that Nial and I tried out. They were inspired, though, by having watched the other wells being created, and so decided to make their own! The people in this picture worked together to create a solution. We were fortunate to arrive just as the men were putting the finishing touches on this homemade well - one that had been dug by hand and went 19 metres down! 

Legesse and Zeneba, thrilled with their clean water!

The ability to examine a problem, search for solutions, and then implement them? An attitude of success - a growth mindset? All of this sounds so much like what we as educators strive to instill in our students. We speak of inquiry as an educational model, with one of its key tenets being applicability to real life. In Sasiga, I witnessed exactly that, in myriad ways, across all ages and genders. Perhaps inquiry is more difficult for us in the Western world as there is less riding on our ability to think for ourselves. We don’t have to be motivated by survival, as we have been bred to believe that there will always be a safety net. If that is the case, then we need to find a different reason to motivate us to seek and question and wonder about the world around us. That is the challenge of education and the reason why Run for Water and Food for the Hungry make such a difference in the world.