The Teaching Assistant's Pocket Guide to Questioning

What makes a good question? What can we do to raise the quality of the questions we ask in the classroom? And how can we ensure our questioning helps learners to learn as much as possible, and to think in creative and critical ways? In the Teaching Assistant's Pocket Guide to Questioning join Mike Gershon, bestselling author and expert educator, as he takes you on a practical, down-to-earth tour of the subject. Inside you'll find the answers to all your questions about questioning - as well as a host of practical strategies and techniques you can use to support learners and develop yourself professionally. This easy-to-use, expertly written guide is perfect for the busy teaching assistant who wants to help their pupils and improve their practice. Chapters Include: - What's in a question? - Opening Up Learner Thinking - Getting Past 'I Don't Know' - How to Get Better Responses - Creative Questioning Techniques Series Introduction: The 'Teaching Assistant's Pocket Guide' series developed out of Mike's desire to give teaching assistants across the country a set of practical, useful books they could call on to help them in their work. Having worked with teaching assistants throughout his teaching career and knowing full well the hugely positive impact they can have on learners in a whole variety of different classrooms, he thought it was high time there was a series of books dedicated to supporting them in their working lives. Each volume in the series focuses on a different aspect of teaching and learning. Each one aims to give teaching assistants a quick, easy way into the topic, along with a wide range of practical strategies and techniques they can use to support, guide and develop the learners with whom they work. All of the books are designed to help teaching assistants. Each one goes out of its way to make their lives easier, and to help them develop professionally. But, crucially, the ultimate aim of each book is to give teaching assistants the tools they need to better support the learners they spend their time working with. The whole series is written with the classroom in mind. This is a collection practical of books for what is a practical job.