Teaching and learning Gem #22 – 1 on 1 Questioning
This Friday Gem comes from Dan Addis and the Classics department
In Classics we get the opportunity to have 1 on 1 academic opportunities that many other subjects do not, and so I thought it a good opportunity to highlight a few principles of 1 on 1 academic discussion as well as including some universal questions that can be used for every topic, whether it is something you are well read on or not. The principles are very similar to normal student questioning but I hope this might help encourage some staff who are not as comfortable with 1 on 1s to have a go. Apologies if it feels very rudimentary!
General principles of 1 on 1 questioning
- Make sure body language is relaxed and open. By maintaining an open relaxed pose it becomes a fun conversation rather than an intense grilling. Combine this with nodding and smiling at points to encourage the student to continue.
- Allow the student to finish their point completely. If you think of something you would like to ask, jot it down and ask later with reference back to the point they were making. By finding a link between a later topic and the previous point you can help the students connect differing aspects of their study.
- Don’t be afraid of asking the student to repeat their point in a different way if you didn’t understand. This is good practice for them to think of other methods of explanation, and should be done on occasion even if they have made themselves clear.
- Like with much questioning, don’t feel the need to fill the silence. It will become more awkward quickly, but due to it being 1 on 1 the student is likely to relent and make a point which you can expand upon.
Some questions to ask students that will always be relevant and useful:
- Can you simplify your point into a single sentence/How would you explain this to a child? (Very useful for them to break it down to more simple terms on which you can expand)
- Are there any other perspectives you have read into this that you disagree with? Why?
- Why do you think the terminology is used? Would you change the wording and how?
- Can you think about how this links to other things you have learnt, in this subject and others?
- What do you think is the next step? (Either for the author or research or the curriculum)
- Which elements of this did you find difficult to understand?
- Where would you like to take this further?
- Do you think there is a problematic background to this topic? How might you challenge this?
We hope you get the opportunity for some 1 on 1s in the future!
Dan Addis and the Classics Department