Jennifer Gonzalez on Answering Student Questions with a Question

            “One of our main goals as teachers should be to build students’ independence,” says Jennifer Gonzalez in this Cult of Pedagogy article/podcast. “The more we do for our students and the less they do for themselves, the more we perpetuate a cycle where they become helpless and dependent on us.”          

            Gonzalez kicks herself for answering too many student questions when she was a teacher. “I used to think of them as baby birds in a nest, with all of their beaks open, waiting for the mother bird to feed them,” she says. “I remember feeling like I was constantly racing around trying to meet everyone’s needs.” It’s quicker to answer the question than to push students to do more of the work, but “that short-term efficiency comes at a long-term cost,” she says. “It keeps us working harder than we need to and prevents students from developing the habits that will make them more independent.”

            Gonzalez’s suggestion to her former haggard self and many other overextended teachers: when students ask a certain kind of question, pause and answer them with questions that build self-sufficiency. And pose your questions with the right tone of voice and a smile, not in a way that embarrasses kids. Some examples:

• Where might you find that information?
• Where on the handout could you look for that?
• What resource could help you answer that question?
• What is our task completion routine? (when students ask what to do when they’re finished). 

The last question-and-answer exchange points to an important facet of classroom organization: an established routine and resources that will engage students when they finish early. For many other student questions, a redirecting question assumes clear instructions and readily available resources.

 “EduTip 33: Answer More Questions with Questions” by Jennifer Gonzalez in Cult of Pedagogy, September 7, 2025; Gonzalez can be reached at gonzjenn@cultofpedagogy.com.

Please Note: This summary is reprinted with permission from issue #1103 of The Marshall Memo, an excellent resource for educators.