When Students Ask The Questions

Want to increase the depth of understanding and levels of questioning going on in your classroom? There's an app for that.

Sometimes, we teachers need a little help coming up with the right question for the right learner at the right time, which is where an app like Stick Pick can come in real handy.

But did you know that students can benefit greatly if they're the ones asking each other questions, too? Here's an easy way to encourage students to ask one another better questions:

First, download Stick Pick to all student devices. Stick Pick gives students the tools to pose thoughtful questions, assess, and even rate their classmates' responses, all on their iOS or Android mobile devices.

If you haven't done so already, create cooperative learning groups in your class. Groups of three to five members works best. Next, have students launch Stick Pick and create their own "class" on their devices and then input the first and last name of each member of their small group. Then, it's time to set each learner's mode and level. This step determines the kinds of question stems that will appear when a learner's stick is drawn. Students can set each learner's mode and level to any degree of difficulty they choose, or, you may prefer to have them set all learners to a specific level. For example, perhaps you want your students to practice asking and answering questions at the "Bloom's: Synthesis" level. Simply direct your students to set each learner's default mode and level to "Bloom's: Synthesis."

You're all set. So the next time you ask your small groups to discuss the latest chapter, article, or poem you've assigned, they'll be asking better questions which will lead to better answers and deeper discussions. And when peers start assessing and rating each other's answers, you'll really start to see an increase in student engagement as well.

How are you using Stick Pick in your classroom?