Using Questioning Techniques to Enhance Learning

For this weeks blog I would like to discuss the importance of assessment in the field of education. More importantly I would like to specifically address how effective questioning during class can help promote effective student learning.
It is important to use positive questioning techniques and never punish students by asking them questions. Negative questioning can lead to lowered student attentiveness and eventual shut down of the educational process. Students need to know that answering questions is a way to effectively relay information that they have learned to the teacher. If this positive teaching experience is soured by using questioning as a punishment, then the teacher losses a powerful teaching tool.
One of the most effective questioning techniques is using “wait time” which is method that can be used to promote learning. Wait time can be defined as a three step process that include: asking a question, pausing, and then calling on a student. This method allows students a moment to think about their response before they are called upon. The use of wait time has many benefits including less teacher talking, less repetition of student’s responses, and more questions that lead to multiple responses. Some of the benefits that students experience in this method include: longer responses, higher achievement, less confusion, and an increased complexity of answers.
Wait time can also be used after the question is posed, and by using proper wait time the student responses lead to further development and complex thinking. Wait time can also encourage other students to interject their ideas on a certain topic. Students will prosper in this type of questioning method because it will eventually lead to a routine. Once the students are use to the questioning techniques there will be no longer any awkward silences and students will fill in the gaps with educational responses.
In conclusion, assessment methods are a tool that educators can use to determine what the students are learning. More importantly, questioning techniques are needed to be used as a positive way to relay information to the teacher. Questioning methods should not be used as a punishment for this will hinder the educational process. Effective use of wait time can enhance learning among students. It is up to the teacher to promote a positive learning environment that students can feel free to express their thoughts, and the use of effective question techniques can only enhance their learning.

Using Gardner's Musical/Rhythmic Intelligence to Enhance Learning

The topic of this week’s blog has to do with Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences and how students learn and process new information. Gardner’s theories include eight different methods in which students learn and they are: Verbal/linguistic, Musical/Rhythmic, Logical/Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Body/Kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, and Naturalist Intelligences. However, the main purpose of this blog is to examine the multiple intelligence of Musical/Rhythmic, and whether students can lean more effectively by using music as a learning tool.
I can speak from personal experience that music has the ability to enhance learning among students. To help illustrate this statement I would like to pose the following question: What is the first step in learning how to read? The answer is learning the alphabet, and most any kindergarten aged student will be able to sing the “ABC’s” to the tune “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to a willing audience. The alphabet is made up of twenty six letters and to memorize such a list would be a monumental activity for an adult let alone five year old child. How is it possible that a five year old can memorize twenty six different letters while keeping them in sequential order? The answer is simple; music makes it possible to memorize such a vast amount of information. If I were to ask you to recite the alphabet right now, I bet the tune to the song will go through your head as you deliver the letters.
As a music teacher, I am surrounded by music everyday and use music to help teach all different aspects of music. When I am teaching the term largo to my students I would certainly use an example of music that the tempo is very slow. Not only would this allow the students to experience a slow tempo, but by also listening to the music will help reinforce the vocabulary term. Music should not only be reserved for the music classroom but can be used in virtually every type of classroom. Students with heavy tendencies in the intelligence of Musical/Rhythmic can take information whether it is memorizing chemistry formulas or the Bill of Rights and put them to music. Teachers could have students create rhythmic raps or musical melodies that embody the lesson objectives for that particular subject. Students will enjoy lessons like this because it will allow them to include musical genres that they enjoy, and it will give them an opportunity to include that type of music into the lesson. With this type of lesson students will enjoy working collaboratively in creating a song or rap, and as a result, the students will be teaching and learning from each other.
Music has the power to unlock the ability to memorize and learn vast amount of information. This is evident by examining how students learn and memorize the alphabet. Teachers can call upon the student’s musical skills in any number of ways to help them learn. Among these activities can be to have the students create musical raps or melodies. It is up to the teachers to utilize multiple intelligences to enhance learning among students. The music intelligence can be used for all students to help augment learning in various subject matters.

How Effective Planning Can Shape Education

For my third blog entry I thought I would discuss the importance of teacher planning in education. As I was reading the chapters in the book for this week I noticed that one of the sections was devoted to idea of planning. This one aspect of teaching is essentially the most important part of a teacher’s job because it will set the ground work for what is going to be taught to the students. A teacher may have mastered the subject area in which they teach, but without a well thought out lesson plan the students will not learn as well as they could have with a well constructed one. Lesson plans need to include many different elements that speak to different types of learners. The linguistic learner will need something to read, while the spatial learner needs something to visualize. Only by taking into consideration all different types of learning styles can a lesson reach all learners.
There is no right way to plan, due to the fact, that planning means different things to different teachers. Some teachers write out detailed lesson plans with each step written out, while other teachers are able to write the minimal amount. As long as planning is taking place both planning methods can prove to be effective.
The book lays out seven main principals that teachers need to keep in mind when they are planning and they include: student, content, time, school, resources, teacher knowledge, and technical considerations. Children are the reason why there is even a profession of teaching in the first place. First and foremost, teachers need to keep in the mind their students when they plan. Teachers need to ask themselves what they want their students to learn, and how to most effectively go about teaching it. Content needs to be addressed in the lessons by having a clear order and methods that compose the lesson. Teachers also need to consider how long it will take to teach a unit, and if school functions such as field trips or holidays will interfere with the completion of it. A well planned teacher needs to take into consideration any district or state standards that need to be addressed. They also need to determine if any additional resources such as text book or technological aids are needed to complete the lesson. Finally, an educator needs to determine how knowledgeable they are on a subject they plan to teach, and if they need to review certain aspects of the lesson in order to effectively portray the information to the students. Finally, I would like to share the planning methods I use when I plan for my elementary music lessons. After establishing the topic for the class, I sit down and write a lesson plan consisting of objectives, procedures, and materials. I closely following the curriculum guide provided by the county in which I work that incorporates the state and national standards of music. Then I ask the question: What do I want my students to learn as a result of the lesson? Once this question is answered, I draw from a variety of materials for my lessons, including the student’s text book and references on the three major methodologies of music: Orff, Dalcroze and Kodaly. It is important to include something in the lesson that the students will find fun, such as a musical game or instrument playing. I find that children love doing these types of activities and learn more as a result of doing them. I also include activities that illustrate the different levels of learning. Knowing what a major scale is and being able to play one are two different things. I try to find a balance so I am not concentrating on one aspect of the material.
Planning can be the most challenging aspect of teaching. A well thought out lesson can teach students, but an entire units worth can inspire them.

Can Motivation Effect Student Learning?

The subject of this week’s blog is about which types of motivation fosters the most effective learning. Intrinsic motivation is a motivation that comes from within an individual. This motivation is driven not by external forces such as extrinsic motivation, but the individual seeking a reward from within. In a school setting, a student that is extrinsically motivated will work for a sticker, a prize, or some sort of reward. An intrinsically motivated student, on the other hand, will want to learn for self advancement. Students of this type will participate in learning activities and seek pleasure or feel a sense of accomplishment in simply completing a task.
I view extrinsic motivations as a way to entice the students into a program. This allows the teacher to encourage students to learn the material or skill by offering them a prize to work towards. Many students will find this method satisfying and will work to complete a program just to receive the reward. I have used extrinsic techniques in my third grade music class. In third grade, students learn how to play a recorder as prerequisite to playing an instrument in fourth grade. I use a system called Recorder Karate where students have to play a series of songs in order to complete the program. Students are rewarded by obtaining a belt (colored yarn) after a song can be played successfully. I find this program to be extremely effective tool to motivate my students to learn how to play the recorder.
Although many students will do very well in an extrinsic motivation setting, it is intrinsic motivation that all educators should strive for. It is in this type of motivation that students are no longer interested in learning for a physical reward but rather a personal one. Consider my third grade music class when I taught them how to play recorders. Initially students were extrinsically motivated by earning a belt, but as the program goes forward some students shift to intrinsic motivation. Not all students make this jump, for it will only be the students who reach the upper echelon of the program. Once a student completes the program and receives a black belt then the student will take a moment and feel a sense of accomplishment and will be learning for the love and enjoyment of learning. Extrinsic motivation got my students exited about playing the recorder; however, it is intrinsic motivation that all students should try to aspire to.