Effective Instruction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Effective Instruction - Essay Example In this case, after asking several students in class why they chose 7 as the correct answer but found they could not describe how they arrived at the answer, the teacher could ask the student to approach the problem from a different angle. He could inquire if they could explain why they thought the numbers 5 or 6 was the incorrect answer. Based on the student response, the teacher may be able to discover the source of the student misunderstanding. If they gave an answer implying that 5 and 6 are lover numbers than 7, then the teacher would see clearly that students were missing the main point of the probability exercise. If the students response was heading in the right direction, meaning they were showing an understanding of the probability problem, but were struggling with the proper terminology, then the teacher could re-work the problem with the class, once again using the proper steps and terminology. In general, the questioning technique that is most useful in this situation is one that asks very general questions at first, and then begins to ask more specific questions as the students continue to struggle to grasp the concept. Asking questions that are too specific too soon robs the student of the chance to think the problem though and discover the solution themselves (Polya, 1957). In the example provided, if the students’ answers as to how they solved the problem indicate a real lack of understanding of the basics of probability, then returning to the original material and re-teaching it a different way would be recommended. One way of re-teaching using a powerful questioning technique would be to approach the problem from an inductive reasoning point of view. Instead of defining probability, and forcing the steps of solving the problem again the way you have already done, encourage the students to think about answers to leading questions that will guide them through