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"It seems only fitting to explore the role of questions in education by asking questions about the process of doing so. I propose that we start with the customary way of framing this topic and then proceed to questions that are deeper and potentially more subversive of traditional schooling. 1. WHICH QUESTIONS? To begin, let's consider what we might ask our students. The least interesting questions are those with straightforward factual answers. That's why a number of writers have encouraged the use of questions described variously as "true" (Wolf, 1987), "essential" (Simon, 2002), "generative" (Perkins, 1992; Perrone, 1998), "guiding" (Traver, 1998), or "fertile" (Harpaz & Lefstein, 2000). What the best of these share is that they're open-ended. Sometimes, in fact, no definitive right answer can be found at all. And even when there is one - or at least when there is reason to prefer some responses to others - the answer isn't obvious and can't be summarized in a sentence. Why is it so hard to find a cure for cancer? Do numbers ever end? Why do people lie? Why did we invade Vietnam? Grappling with meaty questions like these (which were among those generated by a class in Plainview, NY) is a real project . . . literally. A question-based approach to teaching tends to shade into learning that is problem- (Delisle, 1997) and project-based (Kilpatrick, 1918; Blumenfeld et al., 1991; Wolk, 1998). Intellectual proficiency is strengthened as students figure out how to do justice to a rich question. As they investigate and come to understand important ideas more fully, new questions arise along with better ways of asking them, and the learning spirals upwards. Guiding students through this process is not a technique that can be stapled onto our existing pedagogy, nor is it something that teachers can be trained to master during an in-service day. What's required is a continual focus on creating a classroom that is about thinking rather

1) the ways they currently implement Twitter in their teaching and learning, 2) ideas for future development of Twitter-based assignments and pedagogical practices, and 3) issues concerning the integration of Twitter and other digital media into both traditional and non-traditional pedagogies. Collaborators should feel free to add material to these pages, to comment on existing material, and to share links to relevant external readings and resources. It may be helpful to tag your contributions with your Twitter handle. Collaborators are asked to please respect this space as a forum for open and respectful dialogue and networking. Let's fill up the pages below with great ideas!  Share the ways you currently implement Twitter in your teaching and learning: Students in my course New Information Technologies do an "Internet Censorship" project, focused on a specific country. I ask them to follow a journalist who tweets on that country as part of their research to understand the state of Internet freedom in the country they select. -- Lora Since shortly after Twitter was launched, I've experimented with various iterations of "The Twitter Essay," an assignment that has students considering the nature of the "essay" as a medium and how they might do that work within the space of 140 characters. -- Jesse (@Jessifer) In my fully online classes, I've started using Twitter to replace the discussion forum as the central location for student interaction. -- Jesse (@Jessifer) Show Tweets that have gotten people arrested and prompt discussion on whether it is fair that anyone be arrested for any Tweet in the US, who is likely to be arrested for their Tweets, what kinds of Tweets are likely to prompt arrest, etc. Students in my First Year Seminar course "The Irish Imagination: Yeats to Bono" developed a platform for digital annotation of Irish literature. Embedded in their platform was a twitter feed of relevant individuals/groups, makin

"As an educator who is addicted to Twitter I have always read about students getting introduced to Twitter and wondered how it would work. After reading and reading I have finally decided to give it a go. Here is my introduction to Twitter in my classroom. Last Tuesday, the day started like any other. Roll call, discussion, introduction to an activity and a bit of a laugh with my Year 7 and 8 Technology class. We had been discussing the importance of being an active online user and being a positive digital citizen (the students are preparing some presentations for Year 2-3 children later in the term). The conversation moved into learning environments and we discussed the small and "un-student friendly" (their words) environment that they were currently sitting in. "Take the teachable moment and run with it" my inner, energetic teacher yelled from my shoulder. So there we were talking about the "Ultimate Learning Environment", when one of my students asked me "Why is social media so big?". Good question I thought, why is it 'so big'. So we unpacked that question and broke it down. We talked about Social Media and what it was and how it worked, they gave me excellent examples and we tied it back into our discussion about digital citizenship. From this point, as a class, we decided we would use social media to help us with our learning. The students had no idea how it could work. I suggested twitter and how I use it. We pulled up my profile and saw how it worked (discussion only). The decision was then made -> Let's ask the twitterverse to help us!! On rolled Monday 5th May and in our first class (I see this group twice a week) we decided that tomorrow would be the day, we would ask twitter for their advice on "What makes a GREAT learningenvironment?". The students already have some fantastic ideas and a plan of where they want to see their environment heading but they needed some depth to their plan and some other opinions outside of

"As a learning strategy, inquiry-based learning is all about learners constructing their own understanding and knowledge through asking questions. Unlike traditional learning methods that focus primarily on drills, memorization and rote learning, inquiry-based learning is essentially student-centered. It starts with posing questions and directly involves students in challenging hands-on activities that drive students to ask more questions and explore different learning paths. In today's post, we have assembled a collection of some useful web tools and apps that support the ethos of inquiry-based learning. Using these tools will enable students to engage in a wide range of learning tasks that are all driven by a sense of inquiry and questioning."

"It has me thinking about what it would mean to improve online classes. A few ideas come to mind: Use multiple platforms. I'm not against using an LMS as a central hub. However, I think it's valuable to experiment with the types of productivity tools you will actually use outside of a classroom. Use Google Docs to share ideas, create surveys, and ask questions. Use Google Hangouts to meet as a group. Go project-based. I haven't figured this out entirely with my first class but my hope is that we can go fully project-based in the same way that my face-to-face class is. In fact, the asynchronous nature of online classes actually means there is a better potential of creating a project-based culture that mirrors the way people actually work on projects. Make something together. I use a collaboration grid with co-creating and communicating on separate spectrums (x-axis) and multimedia and text on another spectrum (y-axis). This has been an effective way to think through collaborative tools that allow students to co-create. Embrace a synchronous/asynchronous blend: I love using Voxer because students can speak back and forth in the moment. However, if they miss it, they can listen to it later. The same is true of using a Google Hangouts On Air. Make it more connective. We tend to treat online instruction as if it is a linear process and we don't do enough to link things back and forth and connect ideas, resources, discussions and content creation in a seamless, back-and-forth nature. Incorporate multimedia. It's a simple idea, but I create a short video at the beginning of each week and I encourage students to create video and audio as well. This has a way of making things more concrete. There's something deeply human about hearing an actual human voice. I know, crazy, right? Go mobile. I don't simply mean use a smart phone. I mean assign some things that allow students to get out in the world and create videos, snap pictures, or simpl

The Smithsonian has a series of one-minute "Ask Smithsonian" videos that answer questions on a variety of topics. Ideal for Social Studies classes.

"The Minute Paper comes in many variations, but the simplest one involves wrapping up the formal class period a few minutes early and posing two questions to your students: What was the most important thing you learned today? What question still remains in your mind? Taken together, those two questions accomplish multiple objectives. The first one not only requires students to remember something from class and articulate it in their own words (more about that in a moment), but it also requires them to do some quick thinking. They have to reflect on the material and make a judgment about the main point of that day's class. The second question encourages them to probe their own minds and consider what they haven't truly understood. Most of us are infected by what learning theorists sometimes call "illusions of fluency," which means that we believe we have obtained mastery over something when we truly have not. To answer the second question, students have to decide where confusion or weaknesses remain in their own comprehension of the day's material. Closing connections. If we want students to obtain mastery and expertise in our subjects, they need to be capable of making their own connections between what they are learning and the world around them - current events, campus debates, personal experiences. The last five minutes of class represent an ideal opportunity for students to use the course material from that day and brainstorm some new connections.The metacognitive five. We have increasing evidence from the learning sciences that students engage in poor study strategies. Likewise, research shows that most people are plagued by the illusions of fluency. The solution on both fronts is better metacognition - that is, a clearer understanding of our own learning. What if all of us worked together deliberately to achieve that?Close the loop. Finally, go back to any of the strategies I introduced in my recent column on the first five minutes of clas

"EdX is a nonprofit online initiative created by founding partners Harvard and MIT and composed of dozens of leading global institutions, the xConsortium. EdX offers interactive online courses and MOOCs from the world's best universities and institutions. Open edX is the open source platform that powers edX courses. Through our commitment to the open source vision, edX code is freely available to the community. Institutions can host their own instances of Open edX and offer their own classes. Educators can extend the platform to build learning tools that precisely meet their needs. And developers can contribute new features to the Open edX platform. Our goal is to build a thriving worldwide community of educators and technologists who share innovative solutions to benefit students everywhere. We invite you to explore Open edX and participate in our growing movement. Frequently Asked Questions What is Open edX? The Open edX platform is a free--and open source--course management system (CMS) that was originally developed by edX. The Open edX platform is used all over the world to host Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) as well as smaller classes and training modules."

"A webinar can take many forms, such as a meeting, presentation, or workshop. The main difference between running a webinar and simply posting a video is the interactive component the former offers. Attendees typically view webinars in real time, and there is often the option for them to participate by asking and/or answering questions. This type of seminar offers an excellent opportunity to add a personal touch to your platform and engage your customers. For example, Neil Patel uses webinars frequently to reach out to visitors of his traffic growing website. Step #1: Create a Google Account Step #2: Create a New Event in YouTube Live Step #3: Customize Your Webinar Step #4: Embed Your Webinar in Your WordPress Website Step #5: Invite Attendees Step #6: Broadcast Your Webinar"

¿Por qué los niños preguntan por qué? Qué hace a una buena explicación (artículo en inglés)

"Today, getting what you need is as easy as a trip to the store. From food to clothing, energy, medicine, and so much more, Andy George will discover what it takes to make everything from scratch. His mission is to understand the complex processes of manufacturing that is often taken for granted and do it all himself. Each week he's traveling the world to bypass the modern supply chain in order to harvest raw materials straight from the source. Along the way, he's answering the questions you never thought to ask."

"Here's how you can add email notifications to any Google Form in 5 easy steps: Install the Google Forms add-on, then click the add-ons icon inside the Forms Editor (it is the shape of a puzzle icon), choose the Email Notification for Forms menu and then click the Create New Rule menu. The configuration window will open inside the form editor. Enter your full name (or the sender's name) and also specify the list of one or more email addresses (comma separated) who should receive automatic email notifications when a form is submitted. If you would like to send an auto-confirmation email to the form's respondent after they submit the form, check the Notify Submitter option. You'll also need to select the question in your Google Form that asks the respondent for their email address. Go to the next screen and enter the subject line and message body of the email notification. You can customize the emails and include any of the {{form fields}} in the subject or body as explained in the next section. Click the Create Rule button to activate the form notification. Now open your Google Form, submit a test entry and then go to your Gmail Sent Items folder to see the email notification that has gone out to the recipients."

"Open with a question or two. Another favorite education writer of mine, the cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham, argues that teachers should focus more on the use of questions. "The material I want students to learn," he writes in his book Why Don't Students Like School?, "is actually the answer to a question. On its own, the answer is almost never interesting. But if you know the question, the answer may be quite interesting." My colleague Greg Weiner, an associate professor of political science, puts those ideas into practice. At the beginning of class, he shows four or five questions on a slide for students to consider. Class then proceeds in the usual fashion. At the end, he returns to the questions so that students can both see some potential answers and understand that they have learned something that day. What did we learn last time? A favorite activity of many instructors is to spend a few minutes at the opening of class reviewing what happened in the previous session. That makes perfect sense, and is supported by the idea that we don't learn from single exposure to material - we need to return frequently to whatever we are attempting to master.But instead of offering a capsule review to students, why not ask them to offer one back to you?Reactivate what they learned in previous courses. Plenty of excellent evidence suggests that whatever knowledge students bring into a course has a major influence on what they take away from it. So a sure-fire technique to improve student learning is to begin class by revisiting, not just what they learned in the previous session, but what they already knew about the subject matter.Write it down. All three of the previous activities would benefit from having students spend a few minutes writing down their responses. That way, every student has the opportunity to answer the question, practice memory retrieval from the previous session, or surface their prior knowledge - and not just the students most likely to

"This is a story about clothing. It's about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world's leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes."

"¿Cómo son las preguntas poderosas? ¿Cuáles son sus beneficios? Son preguntas abiertas y cortas que no se responden con sí o no. Empiezan por: qué, para qué, cuál, cuándo, cómo y dónde. Se evita utilizar el "por qué" con el fin de fomentar soluciones en contraposición a las causas. Generan consciencia y no juzgan, nacen de la escucha. Evitando así dañar la autoestima. Promueven la reflexión, no se responden rápidamente. Obligan a concentrarse más de lo habitual. Desarrollan la responsabilidad y el empoderamiento. Fomentan pensamiento proactivo y la creatividad. Preparan al alumno/a para la apertura a lo nuevo y desarrollan su capacidad de asombro. Predisponen al aprendizaje y alejan al alumno/a de la verdad absoluta. PREGUNTAS ABIERTAS Y PODEROSAS ¿Qué puedes hacer diferente la próxima vez? ¿Qué necesitas para lograrlo? ¿Cuál es la manera con la que mejor aprendes? ¿Qué actividades llaman tu atención? ¿Qué es lo que te gusta menos de tu compañero/a? ¿Qué es lo que te ha molestado de tu compañero? ¿Y lo que más te gusta? ¿Qué es lo que os ha llevado a hacer eso en el patio? ¿Cuáles podrían ser las soluciones? ¿Cuál sería vuestro juego ideal en el colegio? ¿Cómo sería un año escolar perfecto? ¿Cuáles serían las opciones y alternativas a este problema?"

"Abiertas Cerradas Implicitas 1. Preguntas abiertas. Son aquellas preguntas que no pueden responderse con un sí o un no. Este tipo de preguntas incide sobre lo informativo, lo descriptivo, pero también sobre lo emocional. Se trata, sin duda, del tipo de pregunta que debes fomentar en las aulas y cuando te dirijas a tus alumnos. Con este tipo de preguntas fomentas la conciencia de tus alumnos y aumentas la responsabilidad en lo que a las respuestas se refiere. Con las preguntas abiertas invitas a tus alumnos a que reflexionen. También son preguntas que te ofrecen un feedback o retroalimentación muy valiosa para con tus alumnos. Para ello debes empezar este tipo de preguntas con los pronombres interrogativos qué, cuándo… Siempre que te sea posible evita empezar con un por qué, dado que lleva consigo una crítica implícita y hace que el alumno se ponga a la defensiva. ¿Qué razones tenía el personaje de eta novela para abandonar su casa? ¿Cuáles son las causas de la Revolución francesa? ¿Cómo describirías el estado en el que te encuentras? ¿Por qué llegas tarde? (Criticas al alumno por su tardanza. Con esta pregunta generas desconfianza) ¿Qué motivos han provocado que llegues tarde a clase? (Te interesas por la tardanza de tu alumno. Con esta pregunta trabajas las emociones) Sobre las preguntas abiertas tal vez te interese este artículo publicado en el blog y titulado Cómo puntuar una pregunta abierta en un examen. 2. Preguntas cerradas. Son aquellas preguntas que se responden con un sí, un no o una respuesta muy corta. Son preguntas que no invitan a la reflexión, que no invitan al diálogo. Es un tipo de pregunta que debes evitar siempre que te sea posible, sobre todo, cuando se trata de hacer preguntas en momentos emocionalmente complejos. La reiteración de preguntas cerradas puede dejar entrever que estás sometiendo a un interrogatorio a tu alumno, lo que hará que se distancie de las repreguntas y adopte una po

"...Preguntas esenciales Dentro de la gran variedad de formas y objetivos de las preguntas que podemos formular los profesores a los alumnos en el aula, McTighe y Wiggins (2013) han identificado unas que son especialmente importantes para facilitar la comprensión de las ideas y procesos claves en el aprendizaje: las preguntas esenciales. Según los autores, estas preguntas se caracterizan por: Son abiertas. No tienen una respuesta única, final y correcta. Invitan a la reflexión, a menudo generando un debate o discusión. Estimulan el pensamiento de orden superior como el análisis, la inferencia, la evaluación o la predicción. Proponen ideas importantes en disciplinas concretas o que se pueden transferir a otras. Sugieren nuevas preguntas que estimulan una mayor investigación. Requieren apoyo y justificación, no solo una respuesta. Se repiten en el tiempo; es decir, la pregunta debería poder ser planteada en nuevas ocasiones. Estas preguntas esenciales que estimulan la reflexión, la investigación o nuevas preguntas y no solo respuestas adecuadas, sirven como vías de acceso a la comprensión, se centran en el aprendizaje a largo plazo y pueden utilizarse en cualquier materia. Pongamos algunos ejemplos: Historia: ¿Cómo podemos saber lo que realmente ocurrió en el pasado? Matemáticas: ¿Cuándo y por qué deberíamos realizar una aproximación? Lectura: ¿Qué hacen los buenos lectores cuando no entienden un texto? Ciencia. ¿Qué provoca que los objetos se muevan tal como lo hacen? Arte: ¿Qué influye en la expresión creativa? Este tipo de preguntas, junto a las utilizadas en la interrogación elaborativa y la auto-explicación que fomentan la metacognición, serán imprescindibles y acostumbrarán a los alumnos a cuestionarse lo que están haciendo, lo cual les permitirá afrontar mejor los nuevos retos del aprendizaje, y no solo el de la escuela. Como siempre comentamos, en la práctica se requiere flexibilidad.

"Una educación basada en respuestas busca conseguir personas sumisas, que se somentan al establishment imperante. En cambio, una educación basada en preguntas pretende provocar a los alumnos, busca despertar su espíritu crítico, hacerles responsables de sus actos y acciones. Perder el miedo a hacer preguntas posibilita el cambio, la creatividad, la innovación, la colaboración, la resiliencia... La educación que lleva a las personas a cuestionarse lo establecido necesita de un tiempo más lento, un tiempo que permita la reflexión, profundizar en los contenidos y conceptos que se estudian. Una educación basada en las respuestas es mucho más acelerada y superficial. Como dice Carl Honoré: "Creo que vivir deprisa no es vivir, es sobrevivir. Nuestra cultura nos inculca el miedo a perder el tiempo, pero la paradoja es que la aceleración nos hace desperdiciar la vida". Antes de finalizar, una aclaración que seguramente no debiera ser necesaria: como en todo y para todo hay que aplicar el sentido común. Que la educación que ofrecemos a nuestros alumnos les desafíe a plantear preguntas, no quiere decir que tengamos que cuestionarlo absolutamente todo, que no tengamos que transmitir nada de lo que la humanidad ha ido aprendiendo a lo largo de la historia. Es una cuestión de actitud y predisposición a la hora de enseñar y aprender... Lo dicho: ¡sentido común!"

"... ¿Puede, por tanto, el ABP ser la estrategia formativa para el nuevo capitalismo - en palabras de Richard Sennett - como la instrucción directa lo fue para la economía industrial? Entiendo que así puede ser: el ABP encaja con el marco cultural e ideológico del nuevo capitalismo y eso explica su actual popularidad y su más que probable establecimiento como metodología imperante en los sistemas educativos de las sociedades "avanzadas". La pregunta que resta por hacer es si el ABP, además de ser una herramienta del nuevo capitalismo, puede ser algo más: ¿puede el ABP ser una estrategia de emancipación y para la búsqueda de la felicidad? Pienso que sí pero no será fácil y tiene que darse las cuatro condiciones que señala Esquirol en el libro que comenzamos citando: toma de conciencia, memoria, esperanza y acción. Así pues, si haces ABP te hago abiertamente cuatro preguntas. En primer lugar, ¿sirven tus proyectos para tomar conciencia de las estructuras de dominación a las cuales estamos sometidos y sobre las consecuencias de tal dominación? Si te preguntas cuáles son esas estructuras de dominación y sus consecuencias, te recomiendo que leas, entre otros, a Byung- Chul Han y su libro La Sociedad del Cansancio, donde explica cómo nos hemos convertido en sujetos de rendimiento que se autoesclavizan hasta la extenuación - como también logramos hacer con nuestros estudiantes hoy en la escuela. En segundo lugar, ¿sirven tus proyectos para lanzar la mirada atrás y adelante para comprender de dónde venimos y hacia dónde vamos? Si el proyecto no permite a los estudiantes empoderarse a través del conocimiento - lo cual implica lectura, reflexión, diálogo, discrepancia y debate sereno e ilustrado -, entonces tus proyectos están vacíos de contenido relevante por muy sorprendentes y atractivos que parezcan. Y en tercer y cuarto lugar, ¿sirven tus proyectos para despertar la esperanza en nuestra capacidad de transformación de eso que l

"Y esto, ¿para qué sirve? No es de extrañar que cuando estamos explicando un tema escuchemos en numerosas ocasiones la siguiente frase: "Y esto, ¿para qué sirve?" En principio, estas palabras nos deberían causar orgullo. El alumno/a se interesa por el sentido práctico de aquello que estudia, busca con interés la utilidad de la teoría. ... Por ello, entiendo que la búsqueda de la experiencia es fundamental en todo proceso de aprendizaje. No obstante, debemos matizar a la hora de construir discurso. Educamos para el cambio y el cambio implica imaginación. Imaginar aquello que aún no existe. Aprender a ser creativos, innovadores, supone también escapar de este mundo, soñar con la diferencia. Muchas veces, aquello que no tiene sentido práctico hoy sirve para construir en nuestro imaginario otra manera de entender esta realidad. Muchas veces solo sirve para entender que no sirve para nada. Y así, termino con una frase de Fernando Pessoa que dice "la literatura es la prueba evidente de que la vida no basta"."