Effective Presentation explores the building of relationships with your guests, using a variety of different styles to present information. We will also look at the more advanced presentation considerations such as body language, question-based learning and the matching principle.
Question-based Learning
Question-based learning
Question-based learning is a dynamic teaching and learning style that uses purposeful questions to engage students, generate awareness, and guide them toward deeper understanding. Rather than simply delivering information, the instructor helps students uncover realisations for themselves, fostering independence and developing their understanding of snowboarding. For this method to be effective, each question should have a clear purpose and be designed to lead the student toward a specific learning outcome.
It’s important that instructors have an intended purpose in mind, something they want the student to arrive at through thoughtful questioning. This helps keep the conversation focused and meaningful, rather than drifting off track. The goal isn’t to quiz the student, but to lead them, step by step, to discover key insights for themselves.
This approach works for all ages and skill levels, but it does require instructors to be confident in the subject matter and able to adapt their language to suit the students’ age and communication style. Simpler questions may be needed for kids and instructors should consider whether students are ready for this kind of interaction or might respond better to more direct instruction.
Most importantly, instructors need to listen to student’s answers before moving on. A student’s response – right, wrong, or somewhere in between – can reveal a lot about what they understand, how they’re feeling, and what they’re ready for next. This is especially true in snowboarding, where fear or self-doubt can be very influential.
Building trust is key. Students need to feel safe to speak up honestly. Once trust is established, the instructor can draw from different types of questions depending on the situation. The most common types of questions are: open, closed, leading, clarifying, probing, and scaling.
The real art of question-based learning lies not just in asking the right questions, but in listening carefully to the answers and using them to guide the next step, always with the intended purpose in mind.
Open Questions
An open question is one that allows for a broad range of answers around a certain topic. This type of question can create an open environment for dialogue to follow.
The advantages are that the answer will portray students’ perception of a situation, their exact thoughts and even an insight into the complexity of their verbal communication.
The disadvantages are that the answers can vary greatly from person to person and include details that can be insufficient or undesirable towards the end goal. In this scenario, a follow up question of a different variety will be necessary.
Example
“Which toe turn felt the smoothest and why?”
“In that toe turn, what part of your body did you move across your board first and how did you move it?”
Closed Questions
A closed question is one that requires a definitive answer from its direct form, or from a choice of offered options. Once a response is given there is no environment for dialogue, only an option to ask another question or end your line of questioning.
The advantage is that the student provides a concise and definitive answer to the question asked, and that the lesson can move on promptly.
The disadvantage is that there is no opportunity for the student to expand upon or offer clarity around the answer given unless prompted by further questioning.
Example
“Was that toe turn better than your last toe turn?”
“Did you move your leading knee or shoulder into that toe turn first?”
Leading Questions
A leading question is one that is typically closed in structure and encourages an answer that leads the student towards a specific way of thinking. A leading question should have an intended answer in mind and be asked in a way that makes it easier for the student to answer “yes” than to offer a different answer.
The advantage here is that the student is guided towards the intended outcome and that it removes the possibilities of undesirable answers, whilst leaving the students feeling like they had a choice.
The disadvantages are that the student may be experiencing something outside the boundaries or parameters of the question, which is likely to be missed. Used in excess, this type of question can also be seen as manipulative.
Example
“The last toe turn you made was smoother than the first two, wouldn’t you agree?”
“From here it looked like you moved your leading shoulder across the board first, it would be better to move your leading knee first don’t you think?”
Clarifying Questions
A clarifying question is one that simply acts as a step to confirm factual information. It can be used effectively to check for understanding.
The advantage is that the information received is actually what was offered, in order to establish a plan for the next question.
The disadvantage is the limitation in gaining insight into anything other than the answers already given. If used too much, students may begin to think the instructor is not listening to them.
Example
“Did you say that the last toe turn was the best?”
“To make sure I understand, which body part did you move across your board into that toe turn first again?”
Probing Questions
A probing question is used to encourage students to think further about specific details from their given answer. A probing question has no intended answer, it simply offers insight into the subjective nature of a given answer.
The advantage is that, with effective use, it provides a deeper insight into the student’s perception of a situation as a whole.
The disadvantage is that if used too much, or applied to irrelevant information, the question can be perceived as invasive and create a feeling of interrogation.
Example
“Can you explain to me why your last toe turn was better than the first two?”
“Could you be more precise with how you know which body part you moved across the board first into your toe turn?”
Scaling Questions
A scaling question is used to quantify subjective information in a given answer. This type of question allows an avenue for students to set measures on their opinions, emotions and perceptions of a situation.
The advantage is that it transfers opinions and emotions into tangible measurements that can be used for comparison from one task to the next, in order to recognise achievements or to highlight a plateau or regression in development.
The disadvantage is that students may wonder what the relevance of the question and their answer is if the resulting measures are not used for later comparison.
Example
“On a scale of 1-10, 1 being worst and 10 best, how would you rate that last toe turn compared to the first toe turn?”
“On a scale of 1-10, 1 being jerky and 10 smooth, how would you rate that toe turn where you moved your shoulder across your board first compared to the toe turn where you moved your knee across the board first?"
Hot Tip
Use purposeful questions to guide students to self-discovery. Remember it’s about guiding, not quizzing. Listen deeply – students’ answers inform your next move.
Real World Application
In the real world, our conversations use a combination of question types, often without active thought about which types are being used. It’s natural to use a type of question that we think will result in an answer that we need as quickly as possible. This is where a patient approach to this style of teaching and learning is necessary. As we have explored, there are advantages and disadvantages with each type of question. It’s crucial to be able to adapt and change the type of question quickly and effectively when necessary. It does take time to develop versatility within question-based learning. However, a great way to practise the skill of questioning is to reflect on lessons and identify moments when this style could have been beneficial.
Hot Tip
Challenge yourself to construct one or more types of questions that you could have asked your students to generate awareness, strengthen knowledge or develop riding skills at that moment in the lesson. The only way for you to be able to do this is if you have been focusing and listening to your students throughout the lesson.
No matter what type of questions are used, the instructor’s role as a facilitator stays the same, guiding the student toward their goals. However, if question-based learning isn’t moving the student toward the intended outcome, it may be necessary to shift gears. In those cases, switching to a seek-give-seek, task-practice, or even a more direct command style might be more effective.
Hot Tip
Question type matters – match it to the situation and the student. Then consider how it can be used within the Seek-Give-Seek model.
The following example demonstrates question-based teaching and learning, utilising a range of question types. The end goal in the mind of the instructor is to have the student realise that they are moving their leading shoulder across their board first to start their toe turn. The instructor would like the student to become aware of this and decide to use their leading knee first, before their leading shoulder.
Example
Working example of question-based learning...
Instructor: “On a scale of 1-10, 1 being worst and 10 best, how would you rate that last toe turn compared to your first toe turn?”
Student: “I’d say the first turn was a 4 and the last turn was more like a 7.”
Instructor: “For the turn you scored a 4, did you move your leading shoulder or knee across the board first?”
Student: “Shoulder I think.”
Instructor: “And how did the snowboard turn as a result?”
Student: “It didn't really move much to start with but after a few moments it did turn quite quickly.”
Instructor: “Ok, so would you agree that you would like to snowboard with the toe turns you scored a 7 for more often?”
Student: “Yes, definitely!”
Instructor: “Well for the turn you scored a 7, help me understand, did you move your leading shoulder or knee across the board first?”
Student: “My knee.”
Instructor: “So when you moved your knee across first, how exactly did your board respond differently?”
Student: “It began to turn earlier and felt smoother.”
Instructor: “Sweet, so how will you move across your board to get all of your turns to feel like a 7 or more?”
Student: “I’m going to make sure I move my knee across my board before my shoulder to get them feeling better.”
Reflect on the line of questioning above. For each question, can you identify what the type of question being used is? (Clue: there’s one of each type.)
When reflecting after each lesson, try asking yourself questions like: