Chapter 5- Teaching to the Individual, Working with the Regret

I found the part about asking open-ended questions quite interesting. When teachers ask students short, quick response questions, students begin to do what it takes to get by in class, without really learning anything. However, when teachers ask open-ended questions, and students are allowed the time to think the question through and gather evidence, they learn much more. Open-ended questions also allow the whole classroom to participate in the discussion.

I completely agree with this section of the book. When students are forced to answer simple, short response questions, they stop learning. They fall into a pattern of expecting short answers, so they do only as much work as they need to. When students have to answer more complex questions, they must research the information, and discuss it amongst themselves. This way, they are learning much more. As a teacher, I will try to encourage thinking among my students everyday. Higher levels of thinking are very important for students to be able to make it in the real world, and, as a future teacher, it is my responsibility to encourage the growth of my students.