Join the Quality Teaching Talk on Oct. 31: Questions as Teaching Tools

By Emma Larkins, Center for Teaching and Learning

CTL invites speakers to share pedagogical practices and strategies that can help bring the Quality Teaching (QT) framework to life for learning communities at OSU. Each QT Talk homes in on a principle from the framework with a focus on imparting tangible, practical ways to bring it to life. QT Talks take place on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. during weeks 3, 5, and 7 of every term. Attendees can participate either in-person on the Corvallis campus or by Zoom. All members of the OSU community are welcome to attend QT Talks!

Upcoming Session: Dr. Shana Carpenter, professor in the School of Psychological Science, will present “Questions as Teaching Tools: How ‘Pretrieval’ can Boost Academic Success.” Dr. Carpenter’s overview of the session:

Scientific studies show that practice questions help students learn information in their courses. However, very little research has been done to explore when is the best time to give these practice questions. In this talk, I will summarize the research on “retrieval practice,” showing that practice questions following a lecture or other learning activity significantly boost students’ learning. I will also present new research on the positive effects of asking “prequestions” prior to a learning activity. Although students often do not know the answers to these prequestions because they have not yet learned the material, trying to answer prequestions (even if just guessing) has positive effects on subsequent learning. I will present research showing various ways that prequestions have been incorporated into learning activities, and how they can be leveraged to improve student learning and engagement in real courses.

To attend the QT Talk, join us on Tuesday, October 31 at 11 a.m. in LINC 343 or by Zoom. (Halloween costumes welcomed!) To receive Zoom access, please pre-register. We hope to see you there!

About the author: Emma Larkins, Ph.D. Candidate, Graduate Teaching Assistant, Center for Teaching and Learning. Emma (she/her) is a doctoral candidate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oregon State University. Her professional background is in qualitative research, higher education assessment and evaluation, and advancing equity.