Students Asking Questions – It’s Complicated!
Several students raise their hands at the end of a lecture segment, and you feel a sense of accomplishment. Great! They’re engaged, curious, and eager to dive deeper into the topic. You call on one student to ask their question. Ten minutes later, you realize the discussion has veered off course, exploring concepts far beyond the lesson’s intended scope. Getting off track is just one way that Q&A gets complicated.
In this blog post, we’ll first discuss the varied reasons students ask questions and then discuss strategies for responding effectively to keep lessons on track.
The Reasons Students Ask Questions
Adult students ask questions for a multitude of reasons. While many inquiries seek to clarify information, others may unintentionally derail the lesson. Some questions stem from genuine curiosity, while others might arise from subconscious motives, such as seeking attention or steering the discussion toward personal interests. As educators, understanding the types of questions students ask—and why they ask them—is critical for managing classroom dynamics and staying aligned with learning objectives.
The Best Student Questions
We hope students ask questions to deepen their understanding of complex concepts, clarify misconceptions, or explore topics that intrigue them.
Academic Reasons for Asking Questions
Ideally, students ask questions to deepen their understanding of complex concepts, clarify misconceptions, or explore topics that intrigue them. They might also ask relevant questions to ensure they have accurate information about assignments or to determine what areas to prioritize for a test, which helps them make the most of their limited out-of-class study time.
While student enthusiasm is valuable, even well-meaning questions can sometimes derail a lesson. For instance, imagine you’ve just finished a lecture on the integumentary system, and a student asks about a skin condition her aunt has been experiencing. A compassionate teacher might respond by discussing the symptoms and potential impacts of the condition. Before long, the conversation spirals into a broader discussion of skin disorders and personal anecdotes about rashes and treatments. Everyone is engaged and contributing, which feels rewarding, but the excitement fades when students struggle to pass the integumentary system quiz because the discussion replaced other activities designed to reinforce core content.
Questions from Verbal Processors
Verbal processors learn best by talking through their thoughts and receiving immediate validation or correction. By articulating their knowledge, they activate neural pathways reinforcing comprehension and memory. Verbal processors tend to be socially oriented learners. Engaging in dialogue creates a sense of connection and collaboration, enhancing their positive feelings about the material.
While verbal processors benefit from a back-and-forth with the instructor, their approach to learning can slow the classroom pace and monopolize time for Q&A. Other students become disengaged, frustrated, or confused.
Non-Academic Motivations for Questions
Adult students may ask questions for reasons that aren’t directly tied to learning or clarifying information. These motivations often stem from individual personalities, classroom culture, or the student’s broader experiences and attitudes toward education.
Non-Academic Motivations for Questions
Adult students may ask questions for reasons that aren’t directly tied to learning or clarifying information. These motivations often stem from individual personalities, classroom culture, or the student’s broader experiences and attitudes toward education. Non-academic motivations for questions include:
- Seeking Attention: Some students ask questions to draw attention to themselves because they enjoy being the center of focus or wish to assert their presence in the classroom. This behavior may stem from a desire for recognition or a lack of self-confidence that drives them to seek validation.
- Desire for Control: Students may attempt to steer the classroom agenda by asking questions that align with their personal interests. This can be a way to shift focus away from topics they find less engaging or to explore areas where they feel more confident.
- Seeking Social Validation: Students might ask questions to impress their peers or gain approval from the group. This behavior often reflects a need for reassurance as they look to the class to affirm their knowledge or skills.
- Expressing Boredom: When disengaged, some students may ask offbeat or irrelevant questions, often with a humorous or sarcastic tone, as a way to entertain themselves or the group. This can momentarily lighten the mood but risks derailing the lesson.
- Procrastination: Students may pose unrelated or tangential questions to delay progressing to less appealing parts of a lesson, such as an exam or challenging activity. These tactics often reflect anxiety about what lies ahead.
- Triggered Responses: Sometimes, content may remind students of personal issues or experiences, leading them to share stories or ask questions that veer off-topic. For instance, a student might mention a relative’s health condition during a lecture on anatomy. While personal connections to the material can enhance learning, they can also disrupt the flow of the lesson if not managed carefully.
- Testing the Instructor’s Expertise: Some students deliberately ask challenging or obscure questions to test the instructor’s knowledge. This behavior may stem from a desire to assert intellectual dominance, evaluate the teacher’s credibility, or satisfy their curiosity about the instructor’s expertise.
- Resistance to Authority: Students who have experienced negative interactions with authority figures in the past may display a natural resistance to the instructor’s leadership. By asking pointed or provocative questions, they assert their independence and, in some cases, attempt to undermine the instructor’s authority.
Understanding these non-academic motives can help us handle such questions tactfully. Let’s discuss several strategies for responding to disruptive questions.
Learning to Manage Disruptive Questions
Handling questions that distract from learning objectives is a delicate balance. We aim to enhance student learning, keep lessons on track, and foster a positive and inclusive learning environment. These strategies ensure students feel heard and respected while we stay focused on essential content.
Strategies for Managing Disruptive Questions
Handling questions that distract from learning objectives is a delicate balance. We aim to enhance student learning, keep lessons on track, and foster a positive and inclusive learning environment. These strategies ensure students feel heard and respected while we stay focused on essential content.
Set Expectations and Use Activities that Improve Student Questions
At the beginning of a course, outline your expectations for Q&A sessions and then reinforce your guidelines regularly. For example, on days when you anticipate Q&A, you might write on the whiteboard, “Assess your content questions for relevance, clarity, and usefulness to the group,” or “Please self-question before asking questions. Ask yourself: 1) What do I already know? 2) What specific point am I unclear about?”
You can also integrate Q&A with peer activities. Think-Pair-Share discussions give students one minute to jot down some notes related to the content, and then they pair up with a classmate to discuss their findings. Think-Pair-Share is an excellent activity for verbal processors because they have more time to sift through their content understanding. When students finish “pairing,” you’ll pick three or four people to ask a question based on their discussion or share their pair’s findings.
Be Authentic and Trustworthy
It’s important to be candid about what you don’t know. If a question exceeds your expertise, acknowledge it honestly. For instance, say, “That’s a complex question and I’ll need to look into it further to give you an accurate answer.”
Similarly, you can place some responsibility for researching content that extends beyond the scope of the class to the student asking the question. It’s okay to say, “Interesting question! I have no idea! Your question dives into information beyond the scope of what you need to learn in school, but if you want to do a little research for the group and bring back an answer, I for one am interested.”
We model intellectual humility while building student trust in our authenticity when we can be honest about what we do and don’t know.
Acknowledge and Redirect is an Essential Instructor Skill
We want to treat every student’s question or comment respectfully by maintaining a light, friendly demeanor. After we acknowledge a question, we redirect the class back to the purpose of the day’s lesson.
Acknowledge and Redirect
We want to treat every student’s question or comment respectfully, even if we think they offer it for non-academic reasons. Maintain a light, friendly demeanor and use humor to de-escalate questions that seem meant to provoke. After we acknowledge a question, we redirect the class back to the purpose of the day’s lesson. For example:
“That’s a compelling question, but it takes us well beyond the scope of today’s lesson. Let’s stick with content you need to know for the exam.”
“While I’m always up for some intellectual sparing, we have a lot to cover today so we’ll have to leave this until after class.”
“I like your curiosity! I wish we had more time to pursue this line of thinking, but I fear it will take us too far off track. Let’s get back to shoulder muscles.”
“That’s beyond today’s scope, but I’d be happy to address your question after class or during my office hours.
Set Boundaries
Off-track questions frustrate many students who focus on getting good grades and minimizing out-of-class study time. When we refer to the agenda and signal that we’re managing time, we reduce some students’ anxiety that class time isn’t being used effectively. For example:
“That’s an interesting story, but let’s circle back to discussing contraindications so we can cover everything on the agenda.”
“Let’s put a pin in that and come back to it later if time permits.”
Balance Participation
We want to balance student voices as much as possible during classes. Sometimes, we’ll use activities to make sure everyone has a chance to speak. For instance, we might hand everyone a poker chip labeled with their name. We ask different people to share and collect their chips as they do. We won’t have the same student share until we are in possession of all the chips, which we then distribute again.
Sometimes, one or two students dominate Q&A sessions, preventing other students from having opportunities to contribute. Use polite but firm language to invite new voices. This strategy is good for managing verbal processors and students seeking attention through non-academic questions. For instance:
“Thank you for sharing! Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance to speak yet.”
“I’m going to give you 30 seconds to share your thoughts on this and then ask two other people to share what they think for 30 seconds each.”
“That’s a great question. Does anyone else have thoughts on this?”
“That’s an interesting line of exploration. What does the class think about this?”
When Students are Triggered by Content
If a student appears distressed or overly emotional, acknowledge it and suggest continuing the conversation after the class. “I can see this topic has sparked some strong feelings. It’s perfectly natural to relate learning to our own experiences. Right now, I’m going to stay focused on today’s objectives, but I want to hear from you after class if you have the time.”
Address Triggered Responses with Compassion
When content triggers students to share personal stories or ask questions related to their personal experiences, it can create a delicate situation. On the one hand, personal connections to the material are valuable for fostering engagement and deeper understanding. On the other hand, such moments can derail the lesson, lead to oversharing, or make other students uncomfortable.
When connections between your students’ personal lives and the content support learning, invite other students to contribute their personal experiences to shift the focus away from one person’s story. For example, “That’s an interesting and powerful perspective. How do others in the class see this relating to massage ethics?” You might also frame a student’s story around a learning objective: “Your story reminds me of (key concept). How does (key concept) apply here? Do other people have stories that involve (key concept)?”
If a story involves sensitive or polarizing topics, redirect the conversation swiftly but kindly, as in, “Thank you for sharing that personal and important experience. Let’s bring the focus back to the broader concept so everyone can engage.”
However, if you’re concerned about the relevance and appropriateness of the student’s question or comment, validate what they’ve shared, acknowledge their perspective, and gently redirect them back to the lesson content. For example:
“Thank you for sharing. It’s great that you’re connecting classroom concepts to your personal experiences. Let’s return to the lesson topic and explore how it relates to the real world of massage therapy,” or “You’ve shared a powerful insight; it makes me think more deeply about (key concept) and how it operates in our clients’ experiences of massage sessions.
If a student appears distressed or overly emotional, acknowledge their feelings and suggest continuing the conversation after class. “I can see this topic has sparked some strong feelings. It’s perfectly natural to relate learning to our own experiences. Right now, I’m going to stay focused on today’s objectives, but I want to hear from you after class if you have the time.”
Alternatively, you might say, “It’s natural for certain topics to feel personal and emotional. Let’s take a few deep breaths and refocus. I’m available if you want to discuss what’s happening after class.”
Is it Time for a Private Meeting?
If you have one student who regularly causes you and class participants unnecessary stress, it’s time for a private meeting. Ask the student to share their concerns and goals. Try to understand their perspective. Often, a direct conversation can resolve misunderstandings or underlying frustrations.
Move it Out of Class
Even challenging students can contribute positively to the classroom dynamic when we effectively manage their questions and comments. Their questions can spark deeper discussions, provide diverse perspectives, and encourage critical thinking.
All of the strategies we’ve already discussed can help you respond to students who ask pointed questions or express argumentative or cynical attitudes. If you have one student who regularly causes you and class participants unnecessary stress, it’s time for a private meeting. Ask the student to share their concerns and goals. Try to understand their perspective. Often, a direct conversation can resolve misunderstandings or underlying frustrations.
Remain Flexible
Sometimes, non-academic questions spark valuable discussions that enhance learning. Be flexible enough to allow these conversations when they deepen student connections to content and their classroom community. Adapt using your best judgment about how to use classroom time.
In Closing
Q&A sessions are dynamic and complex. As educators, we answer detailed content questions, respond to student behaviors driven by unknown psychological triggers, and try to keep everyone engaged and on track.
It’s easy to respond defensively to challenging students or pivot abruptly away from students oversharing about their personal lives. After classes, take some time to unpack your Q&A experiences and reflect on which behaviors trigger or frustrate you. Practice the sentences you will use to de-escalate emotions and get a class refocused on learning objectives. It takes mindfulness, but with practice, we can respond calmly and effectively to all types of student questions.
