The best teachers ask their students questions.


Teaching isn’t telling.

Teaching is allowing your students to teach you what they don’t know and then guiding them to finding the answers by asking the right questions.

Students learn from each other and not a teacher.

Teachers need to get out of the way of knowing between young minds.

6 Comments

  1. It’s so true. Anyone can mindlessly listen to a lesson but when you get the questions, that is where the learning takes place.
    A lot of the text of the Babylonian Talmud is in the context of asking questions and then providing answers just terse enough that the reader can then probe further. It’s best, of course, when done with a partner or group for that reason. Each person can bring up other questions and the learning continues.

  2. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    That’s a great example, Gordon! Yes, teaching is really about getting out of the way and it can be a hard lesson to learn because what matters most is not you, but rather how your students interact with each other.

  3. I absolutely agree with it David.
    As a student, unless I can answer questions or explain problems my learning doesn’t complete.
    As a teacher/ trainer, I can gauge my students’ level of understanding by the way they explain things each other.
    This is also a great way of learning because something unheard/ unknown/ unseen can come out of this discussion.

  4. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Well said, Katha. With attention spans waning —
    http://urbansemiotic.com/2008/10/24/biologically-hardwired-to-wander-the-eighteen-minute-attention-span/
    — we can’t expect students to accept the panopticonic lecture meme for learning in the carceral classroom.
    Questioning naturally makes the learning interactive.

  6. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    Right, Dananjay, and experience helps us know the important questions to ask. That’s the real role of the teacher: Knowing enough to know which questions need answering.

Comments are closed.