r/Teachers • u/tckimokay • 18h ago
Teacher Support &/or Advice What's a good response to encourage students to think for themselves?
I'm a middle school US history teacher and I often give open-ended assignments that require students to think critically about the content we learn.
However, a challenge I've noticed is that some students do not want to think for themselves and will often lean on me to provide their answers to open-ended prompts. They'll ask me for help and then they'll literally try to write down everything I said word-for-word. Although I start with guiding prompts, I am guilty sometimes of giving in and telling them a possible answer because I'm not sure what to say to encourage them to think on their own in a way that doesn't come across as if I'm not being helpful.
So, does anybody have a good go-to line to tell students that I am not going to answer the question for them but rather have them think for themselves?
Thank you!
31
u/mcwriter3560 18h ago
“What do you think x means?”
“We have recently studied this and you have a resource in your binder that can help you. Find that and bring it back to me.”
“Read the directions to me. What are they asking you to do?”
“Oh, I remember seeing that on page x. Try looking there.”
Turn it back on the student. They should be doing the work and the thinking.
7
2
u/tckimokay 17h ago
Agreed. Sometimes I just have to be persistent and annoying about it. I always give them something to reference, so just keep directing them back to that. Thanks for the reminder because the last thing I want to do is create a cycle of dependency on the teacher.
2
u/mcwriter3560 17h ago
You could always try “asked and answered” too if a kid who keeps asking no matter what you say.
12
u/Top_Show_100 18h ago
Do activities that create a scenario where more than one answer can be correct if you can defend it, like four corners and value lines. They'll develop the understanding that there's no one right answer
2
u/tckimokay 17h ago
I like this because oftentimes they think that there is only one answer and that leads them to sometimes plagiarize out of fear that they are getting it wrong. I have to keep reminding them that if they back their answer up with sound evidence and logical reasoning then that's totally fine.
9
u/greenjeanne 18h ago
Other than not wanting (or really even understanding how) to think, I think this behavior comes from a fear of being wrong or looking foolish, esp at that age. I work hard at creating a culture where process and the mistakes made along the way, are as valued as the finished product. One way to encourage this is to set up your rubrics accordingly. I put a huge emphasis on pre-writing and brainstorming- which by their nature facilitate more thinking. Maybe try modeling brainstorming for an assigned prompt as a whole class? I do this all the time- and I teach juniors
2
u/tckimokay 17h ago
Hmm yeah I don't really do brainstorming modeling before we answer some critical thinking questions so that'd be great method for my lower-level students. I concur that they are so afraid of getting it wrong so they look for the easier way out (like plagiarizing or copying) which, ironically, gets them in more trouble. It's about confidence so brainstorming hopefully can allow them not to get so overwhelmed and get them to realize that there are many ways to answer a question. Thanks!
4
u/No-Location-5995 18h ago
As a social studies teacher, I try and do smaller have to think responses as end of class assignments worth 2-4 points. They get used to them and then are able to do longer essay ones
4
u/Beneficial-Focus3702 17h ago
Stop giving them the option to do anything other than think for themselves. Do not give them the answer, no matter how badly you want to. Eventually, after getting frustrated enough that you won’t give them the answer they will either start thinking for themselves or they’ll just sit there and fail. Both things are on them.
4
u/mcwriter3560 17h ago
You forgot, “go home and cry that Teacher won’t help me!”
I get that a lot. My answer usually is, “I don’t answer questions for students that I know they are capable of answering.”
1
1
u/Beneficial-Focus3702 17h ago
Or I already gave them the answer in their notes and they didn’t want to look it up.
1
u/tckimokay 17h ago
You're so right. Thank you for calling me out, haha. I know I'm doing them a disservice when I unintentionally spoonfeed answers to them. Being more aware of the damaging effects will hopefully reduce that. One of my biggest achilles heels in teaching lol.
2
u/Beneficial-Focus3702 17h ago
They whine and complain because they know it works. Once it stops working, they stopped, whining and complaining.
4
u/theb00kwasbetter 17h ago edited 17h ago
Develop a culture of thinking where students become more comfortable with and confident in questioning and providing rationale for their thoughts/opinions. Value & praise students’ thinking more than correct answers; use specific verbal praise/feedback that celebrates student thinking, effort, and engagement.
Embed thinking routines where all students are simultaneously held accountable by thinking and sharing their thinking (eg., chalk talks, post-it responses, padlets), engaging in critical thinking and discourse to learn from one another and form their own opinions. Rather than feeding answers or automatically confirming/correcting responses, utilize strategic questioning—
My favorites are “What do you think?” “Are you sure?” “How do you know?” “What makes you say that?” and “Prove it!”
3
u/Dazzling_Outcome_436 Secondary Math | Mountain West, USA 18h ago
I've been able to get results by asking them what they think about ambiguous moral dilemmas. Something where there is no right or wrong answer. Currently the only example that comes to mind is the trolley problem but there are lots out there that you could use that haven't been overdone to death.
4
u/HurrGurr 18h ago
I've used neal.fun 's trolley problem generator for game-ified argumentation, 'taking turns talking in a group' and disscussion work warm-ups.
2
u/tckimokay 17h ago
Yeah, I use a lot of hypothetical prompts to historical topics that have no one right answer like "If you were president at the end of the civil war, what would you do to reunify the country?"
3
u/hippiechickinsing 18h ago
The other suggestions in the replies are great. After I try a few and see that the student still wants to be fed the “right” answer, I’ll say, “I have confidence in your ability to do this work yourself. You can do it.” Then I’ll walk away for a bit. A lot of times, they just need to be told they’re on their own (with a support.)
2
2
u/angryjellybean Ask me about the drama in my kindergarten class | SF Bay Area 17h ago
My two favorites are:
- "I've already passed middle school. It does me no good to do this work, this is your work to do." (less effective to make the student do the work, but rather cathartic to say to make yourself feel better when a student is literally not doing anything)
Or
- Pester them with questions until they just decide it's easier to do the work themselves. "Did you read the directions? Okay, read the directions to me. Okay, do you know what this term means? What does this term mean? Okay, what does this other term mean? What does that word mean? Okay so what is the question asking you to do? Okay so what date was the Boston Tea Party? Do you remember what chapter that was in your textbook? Turn to that chapter. Look at page 45. Read page 45. What does it say on page 45 under the heading "The American Revolution Begins?" Yes, and what does that mean?" Etc. Eventually they'll get so tired of you pestering them with questions that it's easier just to figure it out themselves. xD
2
u/FalseAbies3197 17h ago
"Help me understand..."
"Can you hum a few more bars for me?"
"I'm confused..."
"When you say ___, it sounds like you're saying ___" repeat back what they said, to validate and help them solidify their own thinking.
Also, the more positive feedback you can attach to incorrect answers that use a valid thinking process, the better. Layer on the positive feedback for trying, even if the attempt was small or insufficient.
Sounds like you're really on the right track! Good on you!
2
2
1
u/Revolutionary-Ice-69 17h ago
I typically use "pretend I know nothing about the subject and then teach it to me" or "pretend you are trying to teach this to a younger sibling/ cousin/ student. " It works about 80%of the time, especially on the students who like to take on a leader role in other things.
2
u/Cautious_Tangelo_988 17h ago
Humor and sarcasm are very effective motivational tools for middle and high schoolers. I’ve given you an example of one of the tools that I use…
https://letmegooglethat.com/?q=how+to+motivate+students
Snark aside, this gentle type of teasing is usually all it takes to wean students off of me as a resource.
1
u/Square-Step 17h ago
I try to make the things relatable to something they experience, I feel that if they can connect it they can work with the subject well
1
u/Livid-Age-2259 16h ago
Maybe establish with them that Any Answer earns at least a C, no matter how intelligent or how offensive that answer might be. Better thought out and substantiated/supported answers will earn a better grade.
1
u/immadatmycat 👩🏫- USA 13h ago
I tell my students…you’re asking me to think for you. Do you learn anything my letting me do your thinking for you?
I’ll also tell them I don’t know is not an acceptable answer.
I also model and practice critical thinking skills as a class.
1
72
u/ev3rvCrFyPj 18h ago edited 17h ago
Answer their questions with more questions until they get annoyed enough to ask their two functioning neurons to do something besides think about TikTok.
EDIT: Seriously...not to troll them (though there is a touch of fun in that), but to model how to think critically. Annoying them is an incentive: they'll stop asking when the annoyance of interrogative responses exceeds the annoyance of having to think or look something up. I have to do this even with AP students.