MA: Yes, I guess so, but I have actually heard from teachers that they think it is necessary to ask a certain number of factual recall questions in order to teach their students effectively.
EM: Well it has been shown that people memorize when tested with factual recall questions, and they memorize long enough to pass an exam, but research has shown that just after the exam everything is gone. In other words, they forget it again and what good is that?
MA: No good at all I suppose. I guess there are many objectives that an instructor may have in mind when asking a question or set of questions. All of these objectives tend to overlap. Questions, for example, may serve to motivate students to prepare. The students response to those same questions may provide the instructor with useful feedback. In considering the questions, the students may become aware of a discrepancy in their logic, or may be somehow inspired to deepen their understanding. Despite the fact that it is possible to accomplish all of these objectives and many more with a single question, do you think that it is useful to have a specific primary objective when designing and planning the delivery of a question?
EM: Oh, yes ! I often actually use students' questions. I actually use this now with a teaching technique called "Just-in-Time Teaching" ***. Basically, the students read before class and then they tell me in an e-mail what they find difficult or confusing. I use that to prepare my lecture. In other words rather than lecture on what I find difficult, I will take some of their confusion and bounce it straight back at them.