Just want to share an incident this week that made me smile. I was grading homework assignments where the students had been asked to come up with good questions about an assigned text. I defined "good" questions as those that do not ask for definitions or prompt answers that are explicitly stated in the text. Some of my struggling readers came up with amazing questions! Their inquiries brought up contradictions in the text and showed a real understanding of the concepts that they had encountered. Some students responded to the text (which was about communism) with the question, "Why do Americans think communism is so bad if it tries to spread out wealth and property evenly?" I could see that they were using what they had read to challenge assumptions that they have picked up as students in the American school system over the years. Their questions gave me clear evidence of critical thinking and have inspired me to keep assessing students so that I can have the pleasure of hearing their ideas as often as possible.
I'm sure that it will be small victories like this that'll keep me inspired over the years, especially in late November or early February when it always tends to be a little harder to get out of bed!
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Hi Jenny-
ReplyDeleteWow this is awesome! I've been having a hard time getting students to read texts critically and generate meaningful discussions, but it sounds like this activity went really well! I like how open you kept your initial question: asking students to come up with a "good question", which you clearly but loosely defined. Very impressive!
Not only is this impressive critical thinking, Jenny, but you've also inverted the assessment conundrum. It would seem that you're making the case that the "answers" are rather easily obtained (and may not be all that meaningful) but if you can frame a good question, well, you're really engaged with the text and the ideas therein. I think you're onto something big, Jenny...hang on to this idea! Talk about it in interviews, too.
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