Innovation Profile 110

To answer or not to answer?

When a student asks a question, should the teacher provide the answer, tell them where to look for the answer, or discuss with them where they think they might find the answer? Or should the teacher just say 'I do not know, it is up to you to find out?

A good teacher will probably make all of these responses, in different situations. Their answer will also depend on whether the learning environment enables the student to take sensible actions to respond.

There are much more extensive opportunities now available for students to find answers to their questions. As finding answers is a vital skill in our knowledge-rich world it should be a priority for teachers to not provide answers, so that students learn how to find them.

It should also be a priority for the school/college to ensure that a wide and effective range of resources is available to students, from which answers can be found.

Granada Learning's website, http://www.onestopeducation.co.uk is a good place to review the range and variety of ICT resources now available, which can answer students' questions. The traditional resources to answer questions, such as dictionaries, encyclopedias and databanks are now much more powerful and accessible than their paper-based ancestors. You will also find on Granada's site simulations, interactive environments and revision guides, with information presented visually and textually, sometimes animated or supported by video.

Of course pedagogy in the classroom will also have to change. If students are developing skills to find answers, they will expect ever-widening access to the information tools. They will expect to choose the tools that work best for their preferred learning style. And they will expect this whenever in their work they need to find answers.

But finding the answers is the easy part. With so many sources of answers, the important skill that teachers should be helping their students gain, is how to frame questions sufficiently clearly, that a sensibly small number of answers will be produced, when they query the available ICT resources.

The Granada Learning Group Company Profile on our web site will give you an overview of the company and a list of other Innovation Profiles connected with the company.

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If you know of examples of innovative use of ICT-for-learning that others would be interested in, please email innovations@eep-edu.org

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