During a lecture, you pause and scan the room. Attentive eyes look back at you as your students wait with pencils in hand. You’re not sure how well they are following your lesson and are only gauging their attention based on eye contact and other nonverbal cues.
To check in, you ask, “Any questions?”
Silence follows.
No one raises their hand or says anything aloud. A few students look side to side while some gaze down; others appear deep in thought. An awkward pause ensues.
You wonder: are students confused? Are they self-conscious? Do they need me to clarify something or spend more time on this topic?
One thing is for sure: students definitely have questions, and simply moving forward often won’t provide them answers.
Instead of saying “Any questions?”, try using one of four alternative courses of action to get your students to speak up, so you can avoid being on the receiving end of a silent crowd.
1. Simply rephrase the question.
Quickly asking students “Any questions?” can make it seem like questions are a disruption to the lecture and flow of class, rather than a normal part of the learning process. Carol Robbins, Director of the Stern Teaching Effectiveness Program (STEP), encourages faculty to reframe their language:
“The simplest prompt—’What can I clarify?‘—opens the door to increasing the understanding and confidence of students… [For example, say] ‘I’ll pause here. Think for a minute. Is there something that isn’t quite clear? I realize that you may be hearing this for the first time. What can I clarify?’”
Be sure to use a positive tone and wait at least ten seconds before moving on.
2. Ask students to write down their questions.
Give students one minute to write one to three relevant questions. Robbins says this helps faculty avoid “fall[ing] into the false satisfaction of letting the same five students carry the conversation.” This way, every student has an opportunity to reflect on what they need to ask. After the minute is up, prompt students again to share their questions. Chances are, more students will speak up after being given time to prepare.
3. Use a Q&A tool.
Another way to solicit questions is to have students submit questions using the Q&A activity in Poll Everywhere, in which users can submit questions that are projected for the class to see. A neat feature of this activity is students can upvote others’ entries, so faculty will be able to identify popular questions students share and answer them in live time. Check out our slides on Poll Everywhere here.
4. Give students a problem to solve.
If students truly don’t have any questions, then they’re ready to put theory into practice. Give students a problem to solve in a limited amount of time; afterwards, instruct them to swap papers with a peer and grade one another’s. This strategy will help you decide if the majority of students is ready to move on or need more review on a certain topic.
These are just a few ideas to activate inquiry, amplify student voices, and make your lessons more interactive and understanding of student needs. Try these out and let us know how it goes or email us your strategies for soliciting questions from students.