What does using questions look like?
14/12/06 09:17 Filed in: Basics
You: I like the idea of using questions to
help my students increase their understanding and use
of a biblical perspective. Seems doable. I
know how to ask questions, and my students know how
to answer questions. And from what you say, using
biblical perspective questions works. I want to move
on this. It would really help me if I could “see”
what using questions looks like. What does using
questions look like?
Me: How about if I let you “see” how the English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan uses questions?
You: That sounds good. What questions do the students respond to?
Me: They consider 4 biblical perspective questions:
Me: The teacher posts the biblical perspective questions on a bulletin board, puts them in the course syllabus, explains them in the introductory unit, links them to subsequent units, teaches specific lessons during a unit on appropriate questions, and gives students assessments so they can demonstrate their learning about the questions.
You: What does a “biblical perspective question” lesson look like?
Me: Let me give you 2 examples. As students study racism and racial reconciliation in the context of the Night/Hotel Rwanda unit, they consider “Who is my neighbor?” After reading Night and watching and Hotel Rwanda, students work in small groups to complete the following assignment:
Assign each person in your group a set of verses from the list. Each person will look up the assigned verses, jot down significant ideas, and summarize how the verses relate to prejudice, etc., and how they relate to each other. When everyone is finished, each will present his/her finding to the group. Be sure to take notes, because you will be talking with people from other groups. (Verse sets: (A) Genesis 1:27, James 2:1-9, Luke 10:25-37; (B) Revelation 7:9-10, Matthew 6:9-10; (C) Galatians 3:26-28, John 4:1-38; (D) Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 5:21-22.)
Here’s a second example. After reading Albert Camus’ “The Guest,” students use the question “What’s wrong with the world?” as the context for comparing and contrasting Camus’ existentialist view of life with a biblical worldview. The English 10 teacher mixes existentialist and biblical statements together and asks the students to divide them into 3 categories: existentialist beliefs (that disagree with a biblical worldview—like “Life is absurd”), biblical beliefs (that disagree with an existentialist worldview—like “God created a meaningful world”), and statements about which both sides have some degree of common ground (like “People have a desire to find meaning”).
You: Sounds good. But how does it work to assess what students have learned through studying and responding to questions?
Me: Throughout the year, the students demonstrate their responses to these 4 questions on unit assessments. In the Night/Hotel Rwanda unit, students write a reflection paper about the roots and effects of stereotyping, prejudice, and racism, and about how Christians should respond. The essay prompt is:
Reflect on the power and prevalence of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination—how are Christians to respond to them? Support your answer from literature, history, current, events, your experience, and the Bible. In your 700 to 1000-word essay, be sure to: (1) use examples to describe the power and prevalence of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, using at least 2 quotations from Night; (2) analyze the biblical principles of how God intends for people to treat other people, using at least 3 quotations from the Bible; and (3) give at least 1 general action people can take and 1 specific thing you can do.
In the short story unit, students respond to the following short answer question on the unit test: Describe the existentialism of the author we read who wrote both essays and short stories on the topic. Be sure to include the definition, the juxtaposition that makes humanity’s situation absurd, the 2 things the author says give meaning, and illustrate those 2 things from the story. What of truth (from a biblical perspective) has the author seen, and what has he missed?
You: What are the student learning results?
Me: Good question. For the Night/Hotel Rwanda unit essay, a student writes: “‘So God created man in his own image.’ This means that if we reject and discriminate against other humans, we are, in effect, rejecting and discriminating against God….”
For the short story test question, a student writes: “Albert Camus believed in existentialism, that life was meaningless and there was no afterlife. Still, he insisted that by acting and living as if there is meaning to life, we can create some for ourselves. He wants to enjoy life to the fullest, which is what Solomon said in the Bible. Yet, if we were randomly created and/or evolved, it makes no sense for us to want meaning and purpose. Camus refused to believe that Christ died for our sin and gave us meaning, or that heaven and hell were real.”
You: Seems like the students are increasing their understanding and use of a biblical perspective. What does the English 10 teacher think about using questions?
Me: She thinks it works. I’ve heard her say that using questions has helped her students think through a biblical perspective and apply it to course content and to their lives.
You: That sounds good. I think I can now “see” what using questions looks like and how using questions can help my students.
Me: Good. And remember, success is your students increasing their understanding and use of a biblical perspective by genuinely responding to your questions. Success is not you knowing what using questions looks like or even you demonstrating that you know what using questions looks like.
But by knowing what using questions looks like, you can use questions more effectively. And if you use questions more effectively, you will increase the likelihood your students will genuinely respond to more questions.
Get your students to sincerely respond to a good question. Today.
Me: How about if I let you “see” how the English 10 teacher at Christian Academy in Japan uses questions?
You: That sounds good. What questions do the students respond to?
Me: They consider 4 biblical perspective questions:
- Who am I?
- Who is my neighbor?
- What’s wrong with the world?
- What is the significance of words?
Me: The teacher posts the biblical perspective questions on a bulletin board, puts them in the course syllabus, explains them in the introductory unit, links them to subsequent units, teaches specific lessons during a unit on appropriate questions, and gives students assessments so they can demonstrate their learning about the questions.
You: What does a “biblical perspective question” lesson look like?
Me: Let me give you 2 examples. As students study racism and racial reconciliation in the context of the Night/Hotel Rwanda unit, they consider “Who is my neighbor?” After reading Night and watching and Hotel Rwanda, students work in small groups to complete the following assignment:
Assign each person in your group a set of verses from the list. Each person will look up the assigned verses, jot down significant ideas, and summarize how the verses relate to prejudice, etc., and how they relate to each other. When everyone is finished, each will present his/her finding to the group. Be sure to take notes, because you will be talking with people from other groups. (Verse sets: (A) Genesis 1:27, James 2:1-9, Luke 10:25-37; (B) Revelation 7:9-10, Matthew 6:9-10; (C) Galatians 3:26-28, John 4:1-38; (D) Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 5:21-22.)
Here’s a second example. After reading Albert Camus’ “The Guest,” students use the question “What’s wrong with the world?” as the context for comparing and contrasting Camus’ existentialist view of life with a biblical worldview. The English 10 teacher mixes existentialist and biblical statements together and asks the students to divide them into 3 categories: existentialist beliefs (that disagree with a biblical worldview—like “Life is absurd”), biblical beliefs (that disagree with an existentialist worldview—like “God created a meaningful world”), and statements about which both sides have some degree of common ground (like “People have a desire to find meaning”).
You: Sounds good. But how does it work to assess what students have learned through studying and responding to questions?
Me: Throughout the year, the students demonstrate their responses to these 4 questions on unit assessments. In the Night/Hotel Rwanda unit, students write a reflection paper about the roots and effects of stereotyping, prejudice, and racism, and about how Christians should respond. The essay prompt is:
Reflect on the power and prevalence of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination—how are Christians to respond to them? Support your answer from literature, history, current, events, your experience, and the Bible. In your 700 to 1000-word essay, be sure to: (1) use examples to describe the power and prevalence of stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination, using at least 2 quotations from Night; (2) analyze the biblical principles of how God intends for people to treat other people, using at least 3 quotations from the Bible; and (3) give at least 1 general action people can take and 1 specific thing you can do.
In the short story unit, students respond to the following short answer question on the unit test: Describe the existentialism of the author we read who wrote both essays and short stories on the topic. Be sure to include the definition, the juxtaposition that makes humanity’s situation absurd, the 2 things the author says give meaning, and illustrate those 2 things from the story. What of truth (from a biblical perspective) has the author seen, and what has he missed?
You: What are the student learning results?
Me: Good question. For the Night/Hotel Rwanda unit essay, a student writes: “‘So God created man in his own image.’ This means that if we reject and discriminate against other humans, we are, in effect, rejecting and discriminating against God….”
For the short story test question, a student writes: “Albert Camus believed in existentialism, that life was meaningless and there was no afterlife. Still, he insisted that by acting and living as if there is meaning to life, we can create some for ourselves. He wants to enjoy life to the fullest, which is what Solomon said in the Bible. Yet, if we were randomly created and/or evolved, it makes no sense for us to want meaning and purpose. Camus refused to believe that Christ died for our sin and gave us meaning, or that heaven and hell were real.”
You: Seems like the students are increasing their understanding and use of a biblical perspective. What does the English 10 teacher think about using questions?
Me: She thinks it works. I’ve heard her say that using questions has helped her students think through a biblical perspective and apply it to course content and to their lives.
You: That sounds good. I think I can now “see” what using questions looks like and how using questions can help my students.
Me: Good. And remember, success is your students increasing their understanding and use of a biblical perspective by genuinely responding to your questions. Success is not you knowing what using questions looks like or even you demonstrating that you know what using questions looks like.
But by knowing what using questions looks like, you can use questions more effectively. And if you use questions more effectively, you will increase the likelihood your students will genuinely respond to more questions.
Get your students to sincerely respond to a good question. Today.