As teachers, we ask a lot of questions. But, did you know there are different kinds of questions (or ways of asking questions) that can actually promote learning? A good question does more than assess student learning or mastery of a concept; it can actually foster a deeper level of understanding, open a space for productive dialogue, and promote self-reflection.

This is important because, as music educators, we love nothing more than seeing people learn and grow, as individuals and as musicians.

There are two main types of questions: closed-ended and open-ended.

Here is a bit more about each one:

Closed-Ended Questions

These are questions that have a yes/no answer. This doesn’t promote a lot of deep thinking, as the answer is typically given in the question (e.g. "Is the bottom line of the treble staff an E?") and the learner has a 50/50 chance of getting the answer right. These types of questions work well for younger students when you're comparing things, though I would rephrase the question to, “Were those the same or different?”

Preparing for an interview? Wondering where to start?

The interview process is never easy, but preparing in advance can help you feel more confident and relaxed and help you give more thoughtful responses.

Having recently gone through a church interview (and gotten the job - yay!), I thought it might be helpful to share a bit of my process - how I prepared, questions I asked, responses I thought through, and things I reminded myself about in the moment.

Everyone's process is a little different, but here are a few things that helped me: