What Happens When We Stop Asking Questions?

[heman]

There is something i have seen,why the youth(including me) is afraid...afraid to ask questions in the class..afraid to come out clearly,blodly...what is this invisible fear that holds back the students.
What do you think?

i have seen many many times,that when the teacher teaches and even if no one in the class understand any thing even then they agree to keep quiet..

What is the possible solution to this>?

 

[Chi Meson]

As a high school teacher, I know what you are talking about, and there is not a single reason, that much I can tell you for certain.

Depending on the student, the teacher, and the subject, here are a few reasons that some students (and in some cases entire classes) never speak up:

1: afraid to look stupid; "I am the only one who doesn't understand what's going on. If I ask a question, I'll look stupid and other kids will tease me."

2: Afraid to look too smart; "If I ask a question, other kid's will think I am a suck up/brown nose."

3: Afraid of ridicule; "the teacher will shoot me down if I ask a question because (a) teacher has no patience or tolerence for anyone other than the "A" students; (b) teacher does not like to be interrupted; (c) teacher is just plain awful."

4:Students are bored lifeless; "Bueler? Anyone? Anyone?"

5: Bad dynamic mix of students in the room; just about everyone hates everyone else in the class.

This is just a partial list; all that I could think of in a minute.

Only one thing I can think of to remedy all of these problems (and more) is to hire highly talented teachers. What do you think is the best way of attracting better candidates to the teaching profession?

 

[RVBuckeye]

I think it could be different for everybody. In your case... probably from self-doubt.
If you admit, that when you lump everyone together and say "no one in class understands anything, they agree to keep quiet", you are included in this group. Thus, you are really the only one we know for sure feels this way, in this situation.

My suggestion is to determine at which point in the lesson you become lost. So at least you're sure what you "know" and what you "don't know". Then you can build your questions from there.

Maybe you are past this point...then it could be that you fear asking a question that will reveal to the rest of the class where you are in your understanding. If you think that you lag behind in this area, this could cause fear of what your classmates might think about you.

Then my only advice is, who cares what anyone else thinks? You know what you are trying to accomplish, and possibly your question might help others that are in the same boat as you. So follow these steps and ask away.

 

[saltydog]

There is something i have seen,why the youth(including me) is afraid...afraid to ask questions in the class..afraid to come out clearly,blodly...what is this invisible fear that holds back the students.
What do you think?

i have seen many many times,that when the teacher teaches and even if no one in the class understand any thing even then they agree to keep quiet..

What is the possible solution to this>?

Well I think there is a single reason and it's origin is Darwinian. However, the details are depressing and so I choose not to give them. However, just think of it in terms of the basic need to "survive" in an animal, dog-eat-dog world which still very much describes the society of humankind.

Solution? There is no problem. The problem IS the solution (in terms of Darwinism). That is, the student (subconsciously) meets the Darwinian threat by behaving in the way so observed . . . it's all a matter of survival.

 

[heman]

Well I think there is a single reason and it's origin is Darwinian. However, the details are depressing and so I choose not to give them. However, just think of it in terms of the basic need to "survive" in an animal, dog-eat-dog world which still very much describes the society of humankind.

Solution? There is no problem. The problem IS the solution (in terms of Darwinism). That is, the student (subconsciously) meets the Darwinian threat by behaving in the way so observed . . . it's all a matter of survival.

So something inside you holds you back that we won't be able to understand.

 

[saltydog]

So something inside you holds you back that we won't be able to understand.

Hey Heman. Of course you would understand it but it's unpleasant, dry, biological, and I don't want to be unpleasant: if you're smart they don't like you and if you're dumb they don't like you. That affects your survival and reproductive success outside the classroom and that's where you live, not in the classroom. Now there are execptions but in general I believe that's what causes people to keep a low profile in class: our need to be accepted and that need is rooted in persistance, i.e., survival.

 

[heman]

Its actually both with me...i am smart in Physics class and dumb in Comp. Architecture class...I ask questions in both the classes,,but in Physics class my questions are very nice and in comp. Architecture class i simply ask the instructor to repeat again & again...And one more thing is that comp. class has got the best brainy guys of our college and one day..the guy who is claimed to be best academician here made fun of me,saying that "i ask questions which are very primitive ' and i stopped asking even a single question..so when i am in these two classes ,i show exactly opposite behaviour..

 

[mattmns]

Don't stop asking questions because of some jackass.

 

[heman]

matt,,who doesn't want to ask questions ..but my questions are very primitive and its truth that my mind stops working whenever i enter into my any of Computer class..

 

[Lisa!]

It's more embarrasing if you don't learn the subject properly.

 

[heman]

its very tough to learn the subject if your heart is not there..!

 

[Chi Meson]

Philosphical and psychological reasons may have merit, and they are perfectly valid for discussion; however, I believe that there are practical and fair resolutions for the problem specified by the OP.

I have easily and repeatedly "brought out" many introspective, shy, depressed, "too smart" and "too stupid" students. It is easy and it is my responsibility to do so. I walk the fine line between supporting effort (for making a dumb comment) and not accepting frivolous comments.

Depending on the class level and the particular student, a "dumb comment" will deserve either praise or a quick and quiet "cut off." Sometimes even the smart students who don't stop talking will require cutting off. I've gotten pretty good at it in only 7 years of teaching; there's no excuse for any tenured teacher to not have this skill.

 

[heman]

i am neither shy,depressed,too smart or too stupid...
i can or anybody can easily differentiate that but i was talking about something different which i can myself not phrase.
...i have experienced two entirely different kind of states ..i won't talk on consciousness expecting you may catch me by neck...

 

[Chi Meson]

i am neither shy,depressed,too smart or too stupid...
i can or anybody can easily differentiate that but i was talking about something different which i can myself not phrase.
...i have experienced two entirely different kind of states ..i won't talk on consciousness expecting you may catch me by neck...

Believe me, I'm not trying to pigeon-hole you. As far as I can see, I don't know what the problem is for you specifically, but it appears to be atypical.

 

[heman]

Devil is in the details of the problem...

 

[Chi Meson]

Devil is in the details of the problem...

Aha! so you're posessed! Problem solved!

 

[heman]

Aha! so you're posessed! Problem solved!

i never realized when did it originate,when it became typical and finally it is even solved.

 

[kant]

I have much more respect for a person who rise his/her hands to express his ignorance on a matter, than a hundred person who are too afraid to speck their mind. It takes boldness and audacity to ask a question.

 

[Moonbear]

Chi Meson hit on the major reasons I could think of. Related to those are two more: The student who thinks their question is too trivial, so is afraid to interrupt everyone else with their trivial concern, and, the student who takes time to process what has been said so that by the time they recognize they didn't understand something and form their question, the topic of the class has moved on beyond that, and they don't want to interrupt and backtrack the entire lesson.

One solution, if the student is not intimidated by the teacher but by asking the question aloud in front of the entire class, is to jot your questions down as you think of them, and stay after class to ask the teacher. When giving large lectures at a university, it's very common to have a line of students waiting to ask questions of the professor after class because they didn't want to interrupt during the class. Often they are minor points, but sometimes you discover every student has the same question, so know something wasn't explained clearly. When you start out the very next class by clarifying that point, it helps reassure the students who also had that question but were afraid to ask that they did indeed have a legitimate question. There's really nothing better than hearing other people ask the same question you have to help build the confidence that your questions are good ones that should be asked...at least in my opinion.

 

[heman]

MoonBear sounds to be an experienced Professor,seems to know what exactly runs in the mind of studs...and i completely agree with her views..
The triviality of the doubt prevents students from asking doubts,,if i or anyone possesses good innovative question,,i believe question would be surely put up..

 

[TuviaDaCat]

in my case, i never understand teachers, all i hear is "bla bla bla" when they speak. I am a slow thinker, I am better off with books and practicing alone...

in high school, i was asking a lot of questions in physics(if i read a book first), and sometimes i felt a bit unease, because my method of learning is pretty skeptic sometimes, and i asked on every little thing, and it seems as if u are a retard who doesn't keep up with others speed(hah in the end they came asking me basic questions when a test was coming).

another reason to avoid asking question, is asking the question clear so that the teacher may understand. the thing is with teachers is that any question u ask, they will connect it to something in the current subject learned.
in physics class it happened a lot that i asked question which was about the learned subject, and i found myself asking the same question 5 times in different pharses until the teacher begins to understand what I am getting at...

 

[JasonRox]

It's annoying for me as a student though.

I ask questions all the time, but I hate being the only one. Then again, some students don't mind I think.

Note: I don't mean all the time as in every 30 seconds. I mean as if we had 5 questions during the class, then 3-4 were probably mine.

 

[Mickey]

Chi Meson hit on the major reasons I could think of. Related to those are two more: The student who thinks their question is too trivial, so is afraid to interrupt everyone else with their trivial concern, and, the student who takes time to process what has been said so that by the time they recognize they didn't understand something and form their question, the topic of the class has moved on beyond that, and they don't want to interrupt and backtrack the entire lesson.

That has always been my reason for not asking a question, which happened often.

It doesn't matter what "fear" people may or may not have. Our current education methodology just doesn't allow everyone to ask their questions. All students have to privately judge whether their questions are important to the teacher and the lesson the teacher wants to teach, not whether they are important to the students and the lesson the students want to learn.

Having small classes does not do much to fix the problem. You can always find one person who will want to take the class in a different direction.

The solution is just not to have classes, or to not require them. Instead, every student would have mandatory one-on-one sessions with the teacher, not to cut down on fear in the classroom, but to just plainly make it more economical for questions and useful feedback.

Staying in that long line of people who ask questions after class isn't feasible for people with other appointments, and it's only slightly more arduous than the class itself.

 

[BobG]

As a high school teacher, I know what you are talking about, and there is not a single reason, that much I can tell you for certain.

Depending on the student, the teacher, and the subject, here are a few reasons that some students (and in some cases entire classes) never speak up:

1: afraid to look stupid; "I am the only one who doesn't understand what's going on. If I ask a question, I'll look stupid and other kids will tease me."

2: Afraid to look too smart; "If I ask a question, other kid's will think I am a suck up/brown nose."

3: Afraid of ridicule; "the teacher will shoot me down if I ask a question because (a) teacher has no patience or tolerence for anyone other than the "A" students; (b) teacher does not like to be interrupted; (c) teacher is just plain awful."

4:Students are bored lifeless; "Bueler? Anyone? Anyone?"

5: Bad dynamic mix of students in the room; just about everyone hates everyone else in the class.

This is just a partial list; all that I could think of in a minute.

Only one thing I can think of to remedy all of these problems (and more) is to hire highly talented teachers. What do you think is the best way of attracting better candidates to the teaching profession?

Number 1 was always a reason for me, even extending into adult life and into the work place. When the speaker says something that doesn't seem to follow, my first impulse is that I missed something somewhere along the way and I'm frantically scanning my notes trying to figure out what happened so I can get back on track or ask what the heck they're talking about. That means by time I ask the question the poor speaker is thrown all of out synch since they've moved onto a different topic by that time.

That's why I like to have some breaks when I'm speaking where I can sweep up any questions that haven't been asked yet before people drop too far behind - it's amazing how many outright mistakes are left out there until someone finally asks about it, and then everyone makes relieved comments about how they were wondering where that came from (and it's amazing how easy it is to be oblivious to even the most obvious mistakes on your own slides or what you've written on the board - you're so sure of what you meant to say that you can't see what you actually said).

Number 3 is more common than is good. I'd add the teachers (or other speakers) that just plain have lousy speaking habits, like the ones that talk to the board as they write and are totally oblivious to the idea that there's even a class behind them (of course, at least they are a little more likely to notice their own mistakes, or not), or the teachers that are a little more afraid of public speaking than you'd expect from a teacher - the ones afraid to look up from their notes - especially the ones afraid to look up from their notes while students throw things at each other.

 

[Mk]

Carl Sagan once wrote ..(okay, okay, my source is (1997, March). The Demon-haunted world: Science as a candle in the dark. Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-40946-9):

In East Africa, in the records of the rocks dating back to about two million years ago, you can find a sequence of worked tools that our ancestors designed and executed. Their lives depending on making and using these tools. This was, or course, Early Stone Age technology. Over time, specially fashioned stones were used for stabbing, chipping, flaking, cutting, carving. Although there are many ways of making stone tools, what is remarkable is that in a given site for enormous periods of time the tools were made in the same way—which means that there must have been educational institutions hundreds of thousands of years ago, even if it was mainly an apprenticeship system. While it's easy to exaggerate the similarities, it's also easy to imagine the equivalent of professors and students in loincloths, laboratory courses, examinations, failing grades, graduation ceremonies, and post graduate education.

When the training is unchanged for immense periods of time, traditions are passed on intact to the next generation. But when what needs to be learned changes quickly, especially in the course of a single generation, it becomes much harder to know what to teach and how to teach it. Then students complain about relevance; respect for their elders diminishes. Teachers despair at how educational standards have deteriorated, and how lackadaisical students have become. In a world in transition, students and teachers bother need to teach themselves one essential skill—learning how to learn.

Except for children (who don't know enough not to ask the important questions), few of us spend much time wondering why Nature is the way it is; where the Cosmos came from, or whether it was always here; if time with one day flow backward, and effects precede causes; or whether there are ultimate limits to what humans can known. There are even children, and I have met some of them, who want to know what a black hole looks like; what is the smallest piece of matter; why we remember the past and not the future; and why there is a Universe.

Every now and then, I'm lucky enough to teach a kindergarten or first-grade class. Many of these children are natural born scientists—although heavy on the wonder side, and light on skepticism. They're curious, intellectually vigorous. Provocative and insightful questions bubble out of them. They exhibit enormous enthusiasm. I'm asked follow-up questions. They've never heard of the notion of "a dumb question."

When I talk to high school seniors however, I find something different. They memorize facts. By and large, though, the joy of discovery, the life behind those facts, has gone out of them. They're worried about asking "dumb questions;" they're willing to accept inadequate answers; they don't pose follow-up questions; the room is awash with sidelong glances to judge, second-by-second, the approval of their peers. They come to class with their questions written out on a pieces of paper, which they surreptitiously examine, waiting their turn, and a oblivious of whatever discussion their peers are at this moment engaged in.

Something has happened between first and twelfth grade, and not just puberty. I'd guess it's partly peer pressure not to excel (except in athletics); partly that the society teaches short-term gratification; partly the impression that science or mathematics won't buy you a sports car; partly that there is so little expected of students; and partly that there are few rewards or role models for intelligent discussion of science and technology—or even for learning for its own sake. Those few who remain interested are vilified as "nerd," "geeks," or "grinds."

I also find many adults are put off when young children pose scientific questions. It is critical that this cannot happen. Why is the Moon round? Why is the grass green? What is a dream? How deep can you dig a hole? When is the world's birthday?" Too often, many teachers and parents answer with irritation or ridicule, or quickly move onto something else: "What did you expect the Moon to be, a square??" Children soon recognize that somehow this question annoys the grown-ups. A few more experiences alike, and the child is lost to science. Why should adults pretend omniscience before 6-year olds, I am baffled. What is wrong with admitting we don't know something? Is our self-esteem that fragile?