Questions

Another important Habit of the Mind(see Lee Canter's Behaviors of Intelligence) is Questioning.  I am always asking my students questions.  Usually there is only one answer and often there is only one problem solving strategy needed to answer the question.  When my students already know how to answer the question, I view these questions as exercises.  I want them to practice there skills in answering these questions.

When I am teaching them a new concept, I either show them how to do the work and then have them practice similar questions or I give them a problem involving the concept and have them figure out how to solve the problem.  Here, the strategies they use to solve the problem will vary.

I think it is important to do both... I need to teach them arithmetic and algebraic skills and I need to teach them how to apply these skills in solving problems.

When solving a problem, I tell my students the # 1 thing to do is ASK QUESTIONS YOU CAN ANSWER.  If I ask a question I can't answer, then there are several possibilities.  First, I need to reread them problem, I need to make sure I know all the given information.  Second, I may not have enough information or skills to solve the problem.  Third, I may be asking the right question but in the wrong order.  Fourth, I may not be using the correct problem solving strategies.

Sometimes I give my students problems, but I have spoon fed them, by asking them questions in the order that they would need to ask and answer to be able to answer the last question.  A major goal I have for my students, is that they would be able to solve problems without any scaffolding(spoon feeding) on my part.  To do this, my students need to practice solving tougher and tougher problems using more and more problem solving strategies and behavior of intelligences.

I desire to relentlessly and unconditionally encourage, challenge, teach, exhort and enable my students to: get to the place of wanting to learn and believing they can learn(poster on Heart and Head); develop more and more skills and strategies needed to learn new material(poster on Learning Skills); grow in their behaviors of intelligence(poster on Habits of the Mind); become more and more familiar with selecting and using problem solving strategies in combinations to solve problems(poster on Problem Solving).

There is (usually:)) no such thing as a stupid question.

Day 32