The Art of Questioning: Building Strong Neural Pathways

Webinar Overview

At the heart of effective mediation is honing one’s skills in asking salient questions, in using wait-time and reflection effectively, and in identifying students’ faulty or inefficient reasoning. In this practical session, topics related to the art of questioning and the latest research will be presented. Through the educational therapist’s use of powerful questioning strategies, students will build strong connections that equip them in experiencing greater success in learning and life. Newly trained as well as highly experienced educational therapists should continually be asking themselves, “How can I further develop my questioning skills and my approach to critical thinking so that my students are challenged to reason more deeply and to respond more robustly?”

Learning Objectives:

• Learn efficacious strategies for strengthening your questioning skills within the educational therapy or classroom setting. What are the fundamental aspects of being a good questioner?
• Find out what the research is saying on the topic of questioning and thinking. How can today’s Google consumers become independent critical thinkers?
• Practice creating effective questions that cause your students to think about their own thinking. What if they knew the questions that you should be asking as well as the answers that they should be giving you?
• Enjoy knowing that you embrace a solid educational philosophy that values and promotes best practices in developing critical thinking. Our dynamic approach is unique among intervention models.

About Your Instructor:

Tony D. Ryff, PhD, PCET
Special Education Teacher, Andover Central High School, Andover, KS

Tony has served as an NILD instructor for 33 years and in a number of other roles across his 41-year career in Christian education including classroom teacher, principal, and school superintendent. He was an NILD program coordinator for 12 years and served as NILD’s Associate Director in the late 1990s. He is an adjunct professor at Liberty University and The Master’s University. This fall, Tony accepted a new challenge as a special education teacher in a suburban public high school. His wife, Kathy, is also an experienced educational therapist and a special education teacher within the public school setting. They both have the freedom to use NILD techniques in their respective schools. Tony and Kathy have three married children and five wonderful grandchildren!