In one of my previous posts, Sivaramakrishnan commented that students hesitate to answer in class due to fear of making a fool of themselves. This is absolutely true and has been so. It is somehow in our social setup that we do not speak out. Those of us who are older have been brought up to not speak unless spoken to. We never got the self confidence to speak up.
This lack of confidence also leads to some poor decision making in life.
However, there is another factor that exists when I ask students question in class. I tell them that I never ask them something that they do not know. But still the belief persists that for every question, there is some profound answer involving wave functions or some other complicated stuff. I tell them that the simple answer is often the right answer, and that I never ask about complicated stuff in class, but they never believe me. The hesitant answers I get are always complicated rigmarole. It is a rare occasion that I get the right answer. (One student once told me"Ma'm you look so happy when someone gives the right answer" I must say I really feel happy--it makes my day)
2 comments:
I think there is another possible reason why students sometimes do not answer in class. Many teachers don't create a "safe environment" in class for making mistakes. Some teachers tend to taunt the class for not answering, and to reward the person who answers correctly. This carrot and stick approach raises the stakes, and excludes all but the best student from the conversation. It becomes less of a friendly conversation, and more of a cut-throat competition.
I feel it is important to give respect to students' answers, especially to those of weaker students, even if they are not right on the ball. When students knows that if they try to answer, you will respect their answer even if it is wrong, and help them get to the right answer with a few hints, they will feel more motivated to enter the conversation. Also one should not praise one student too much, but make every student believe that they could have come up with that answer. I am very new to teaching, but this is what I feel.
Manoj
What you say is true if there is honesty on both sides. If a teacher genuinely prepares for a class and asks genuine questions in order to imprint the subject matter under discussion firmly in the students' minds, he/she has done it right. The student on his part, must prepare for the class or at least remember what he learnt in the last 10 minutes. There has to be a bottom line. Learning cannot be one way where the teacher pours in matter into the student's head. So, if the effort is totally absent, students must be made aware that it's not right.
About taunting the class....I think remarks made about the class in general are not taken to heart,they brush it off cheerfully; but personal remarks made to individuals are painful and must be avoided totally. Remarks about work not done are permissible, but remarks about personality/identity are definitely taboo.
I am not sure I agree with not praising one student (though too much of anything is never good). I think hard work, diligence and ethics must be praised highly, and valued very highly.
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