One thing I’ve learnt over the last few years is that I need to answer the same question differently depending on which year group I’m teaching.
I think this is because younger and older students ask questions for different reasons.
When younger students ask questions they often just want to know that there is an answer.
However, when older students ask questions they want to know what the right answer is.
Because of this I usually feel a lot more drained after teaching a senior class. They are not satisfied with a quick answer and want to go back and forth working out the details of what you have just said. Of course, this is often greatly encouraging, but it certainly means it is much more intellectually demanding!
In comparison, a one-sentence response is often sufficient for a Year 7 class. It reassures them that there is an answer to their question and they can move along to thinking about other things.
Next time you are answering questions in the classroom remember:
- Younger students generally just want to know that there is an answer.
- Older students want to know the right answer.
What do you think? Do you agree?
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Previous Posts In This Series:
- Classroom Q & A #1: Ask boys ‘how’ and not ‘why’
- Classroom Q & A #2: Don’t say anything in the classroom that you wouldn’t say in the staff room
Definitely agree with you Ryan. I’d even go a step further and say that younger students often don’t care about the details of an answer, and if you do try to explain it to them, they’ll zone out.
This isn’t the case with everyone, but a broad generalisation from my experience.
Liking these Q&A posts by the way.
Thanks for the encouragement Calum! Glad you’re enjoying the series.
Completely agree with your generalisation. It makes it even more important to not get bogged down in the details when answering younger kids answers.
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