Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques (TESS 3b) + Middle

Level Instructional Strategies (AMLE Standard 4, Element b)

In order to give my
students an idea of the quality
of questions that they will
encounter, I would have
students argue about why they
study the content that they do.
An example of a bellringer
that I used in my Internship
was during a lesson that
covered Africa. As seen the
bellringer asks for students to
debate about why it is that we
study Africa. By asking the
students a question like this,
I’m helping to establish
relevance towards the content
that they are engaging with.
When this happens, students
have more respect for the content and discover ways that they are able to express the importance
of the content in their own words.

If I were to link an AMLE standard to this it would have to be Standard 4 Element b.

Specifically, I use this method of questioning to create interest in the content and encourage
exploration of the content. Through this method, the students are able to discover more about the
subject content than if they were to just explore the content on their own. Without the example of
quality questioning set forth through the bellringer that I give my students at the beginning of
class. With the bellringer opening up the content to them the students can see more relevance in
the information that they explore.