How to Help Students Ask Questions

Let’s face it, there are some students that always come armed with a list of questions, and others that you know have them, but aren’t asking.

Asking questions requires a level of confidence and vulnerability. We also know that the more students practice asking questions the more confident they become. Let’s help them get started.

Provide your students with a list of questions, they can either come to class with their own question or pick one from the list.

If they really don’t know which to pick, have them use a random number generator and ask whatever question corresponds with the generated number.

1. When is our assignment due?
2. How do I check my grades?
3. If I don’t understand the feedback that you provided, what should I do?
4. When do our report cards come out?
5. If I don’t like my grade, what should I do?
6. What’s your favorite color?
7. Do you have any pets?
8. I wish that we would do __________ during a class call.
9. I wish that you would teach us more about _________________.
10. What is your favorite food?
11. What did you have for breakfast today?
12. What room are you teaching from today?
13. When is your birthday?
14. I see ________ in the background, can you tell me more about that?
15. I’m confused about the instructions for our assignment this week, do you have any examples?
16. I really want to try ___________, but I’m not sure how to get started, can you help?
17. When is our next test/exam?
18. Can you help me to understand why my assignment hasn’t been graded yet?
19. How do you take your coffee?
20. What is one of your favorite books?
21. What is one of your favorite movies?
22. What do you like to do in your free time?
23. If you were a student in your class, what is one piece of advice that you give other students?
24. Why did you become a teacher?
25. What is the most frustrating thing about online learning for you?
26. What is the most rewarding thing about online learning for you?
27. When you share your screen during calls, I have trouble seeing everything, is there a way that I can adjust what I see?
28. I have trouble finding the recorded class calls, can you tell me where to find those?
29. Are we allowed to help each other on assignments?
30. What do you consider cheating in this class?