Thanks for the post Barbara. I agree with your mention of using more open-ended questions with our students as well as using the wait time. I recently read that research supports the notion that frequent use of higher-order, open-ended questions in interacting with our students has a direct effect on their GPAs and test scores. We need to believe in their intellect and treat them as young people capable of intellectual thought. They will only give us what we expect of them--it's in our hands. And this goes to the essence of Keene's book. Instead of asking them what happened at the end of the book, we need to ask them how reading the book changed them in some way. That is a more personal connection--and it is in connections that we construct meaning. When have boring, dry facts ever resonated with us after we have put the book down?--but, an intellectual discussion of the last few pages of Sounder might resonate for years, as it has with me. As Keene suggests, we need to be Renaissance thinkers in the classroom. We cannot be afraid to make emotional connections through deep, probative thoughtful discussions and even assessments. Assessments can and should be stimulating learning experiences as well. Our understanding and comprehension are enriched through joyful learning environments where teachers believe in their students--and themselves--and will go out on a limb to cultivate a safe environment where real learning--and thinking--can happen. To understand is to experience the thought, not just memorize or mimic it. Great book!

barbara's comment

A professor in my undergraduate education also gave a lecture once about how to ask questions to our students. The most important idea that I remember from that lecture is the three second rule. Ask a question and wait at least three seconds for a student to raise his or her hand with an answer. Don’t just jump in and give the answer or call on a student before giving him or her the chance to reflect on the question and develop an answer.
The professor also made us think about asking open-ended questions promoting thinking and solving problems. Remember, I was in the hands-on technology major and much of our students thinking relied on taking chances, designing ideas and trying different methods of solving construction, transportation or communication problems or challenges. It was a difficult thing for my students to grasp the idea that there might be more than one solution to a problem. They were only thought to think of the answer that would answer the comprehension question asked by the textbook. No thinking involved, just memorization. A difficult habit to break!!!!

Summary

Finally, I want to say that I have enjoyed reading this book. As a result, I am a different teacher now than I was before I read it. Most importantly, I now understand how important it is to not only teach the comprehension strategies but also teach the students how those strategies help them understand the text on a deeper level. I've always just taught the strategies in the past. Now I will think and talk about how a text affects me as far as what I understand about humans, whether a text changes what I believe, etc. I will focus on fewer concepts; instead I will choose the most important ones and teach those to a deeper level, giving my students more time to think, understanding that 'silence is golden'.

Ch. 8: The Great Conversations

This chapter dealt with giving the students time to think and gather thoughts for disscussions and reflections. Having them reflect on what they learn was a key point with me since I have begun tutoring my student in word study and allowing her the time to reflect on what she has discovered by doing the word sort. In the beginning, she appeared very lost when I asked her to write reflections for her sort. I had to give her lots of guidance and almost dictated her first set of reflections to her. However, now as I watch her completing the sort, I can see her analyzing the way the words are spelled in preparation for writing the reflections. This increases learning and allows deeper learning to take place. No longer can she just "do it to get done" but she has to think about it while she's doing it. And I have certainly experienced that learning curve myself. When I'm contemplating a new teaching idea, for example, it feels very foggy and I am uncertain about the execution of the idea. But when I articulate and discuss the idea with a colleague, it feels as if my thinking comes into a clear focus from the fuzzies.