We were pleased to hear from Rhonda Carr of Piedmont Community Charter School about what she learned during “The Role of Questioning” NCCAT Online course. The course was designed by NCCAT faculty members Elizabeth Joyce and Amy Jo Spencer.
Rhonda said: “In reading chapter 1 of "What's the Big Idea", I learned that my level of questioning does not always meet essential questioning requirements. I will be spending extra time while planning to ensure the level of questioning is open-ended, thought provoking, raises additional questions, and challenges students to provide higher-order thinking. The course opened my eyes to the different types of questions such as leading, guiding, and hook questions. The different types are important but should also directly relate to the essential question. I have been exposed to the "backward design" that is mentioned when the professor was creating the year end project for his senior students. In seeing how and why he used the "backward design" made me realize you must know what goals you want to accomplish at the end in order to start with the beginning. This is a technique all teachers should adhere to for the success of their students. Last, I learned how to better utilize the post & analyze technique as I watched the video that outlined how an effective discussion should look like. Thank you for sharing such valuable resources and information that I can take back to my own classroom.”
Thank you to Rhonda for the good words about this course. Have you tried out NCCAT Online? NCCAT Online is freely available to all North Carolina licensed educators at no additional cost to you or your district. NCCAT Online Mini Courses are short modules that cover specific content areas. These courses are available for self-study. NCCAT Online Mini Courses are self-paced courses where participants can earn 3, 5, or 10 contact hours, depending on the number of assignments participants are asked to complete.