What to do with those constant questions?

Ever get asked those crazy questions from your kids in the car? The ones that you just cannot answer with any degree of knowledge but find yourself making up something that sounds feasible, just to get your kids to be quite? Well ... there comes an age when your child will no longer be satisfied with made up answers to life's little but important questions. That age is approximately 8 and a half.

My son James, who is 8 and a half, is now asking more and more complicated questions. Questions like "How did World War II start Mum?" and "Why did Hitler do all those horrible things Mum?", and it's no longer enough to fob him off with some made-up answer just to give myself a break! As a mother, I want to foster his natural curiosity, encourage his inquiring mind and give him accurate information, not squash his questions as though they are unimportant.

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Just recently I have been responding to my son's questions with, "That's a bit complicated for me to explain James - let's go home and look it up on the Internet."

Sometimes I even say, "I don't know the answer to that questions James - let's look it up together!".

I don't think there is anything wrong with admitting I don't know something, and then finding out with my son - together.

I plan to translate this to my future classrooms...

In my future classrooms I will encourage the natural curiosity of my students, even indulge them a little and look things up on the Internet when they have questions. Where this type of thing would have been too time consuming and impractical in the past, and considered an unnecessary diversion from the curriculum, it is now easily achieved with the aid of the Internet and a computer or Interactive White Board.

In my future classrooms I will admit when I don't know the answer to one of my student's questions, and then use the ICT's we have available to show them how to find out. For example, a tool like Wikipedia is a ready source of information about almost any topic under the sun, and it also contains links to related websites for students to investigate in more detail.

Isn't this the ultimate in student-centred learning?

In this article by Geraldine O'Neill and Tim McMahon, they conclude by saying that "The changing demographics of the student population and the more consumer/client-centred culture in today’s society, have provided a climate where the use of student-centred learning is thriving. The interpretation of the term ‘student-centred learning’ appears to vary between authors as some equate it with ‘active learning’, while others take a more comprehensive definition including: active learning, choice in learning, and the shift of power in the teacher-student relationship."

I can see that the use of ICT's in the classroom, as I've described above, will definately result in more active learning, student-directed learning and a change in the traditional relationship between student and teacher. While some may view this as a negative, from my point of view it's very freeing.

No longer will I, as a teacher, be expected to be the font of all knowledge; we can find things out together. No longer do I have to be wholy responsible for what my students learn; they can ask questions and guide their learning too.

To me, technologies like the Internet and the Interactive White Board offer a more interesting way to look upon teaching as a profession as we are now so fortunate to have at our disposal the most amazing tools for learning!. I'm glad I've waited until now to enter into the world of teaching.

Thanks to my friend Hazel and her latest post "Tough Questions" for inspiring this post.


References:

O'Neill.G, and McMahon.T, (2005) Student-centred learning: What does it mean for students and lecturers?, University College Dublin. Extracted from
http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005-1/oneill-mcmahon-Tues_19th_Oct_SCL.html

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