Question Tickets Strategy

I bet most of us in education have encountered a student who fires off a million questions regularly.  How do I do this?  Am I doing it right? How much longer till recess/lunch?  Where do I turn this in? These students always take me back to that great scene in the movie Uncle Buck.

Try the below strategy to decrease the barrage of questions a student may ask, while teaching them to become more judicious in what they choose to ask.  First, let's take a look at the characteristics of the excessive question asker.

This student...

1. asks a lot of questions about every step of a task even if there are written/drawn reminders accessible.  They have to talk to an adult about each step again before they can move forward.
2. asks a lot of questions even though they are bright/capable and (most of the time) understand the concepts without extended explanation.
3. is most likely not disrespectful or disruptive to the class.  They know the procedures and can work effectively within the environment.

select *picture to download

Solution

1. Collect baseline data on how many questions are asked during a subject period.
2. Choose an amount that is just a few less than the average taken for baseline.  This will be the number of tickets you give the student at the beginning of that subject.
3. Explain to the student that they give you one ticket each time they have a question.  When the tickets are gone, let them know you will no longer answer a question from them during that subject period.
4. Let the student graph the number of tickets left each day/subject period. If needed, tie in a reinforcement for either having 1 or more tickets left at the end of the subject, or decreasing the amount used from the day before.  
5. As the student learns to discern which questions are really worth asking, gradually lower the amount of tickets given each time.

This strategy may sound harsh, but it helps force students to use other resources in the room.  Rather than take the easy way out and ask you, you may notice they start using great strategies such as: looking at the board, or at what other students are doing, or even ask a peer. 

*Thanks to The Learning Palette for the downloadable tickets!