TEACHERS/PROFESSORS-Are you ever scared that a student might ask a question that you don't know?

Question

Has this ever happened before? Is it a fear of yours that you would never admit in real life?


For something like math...are you ever afraid that you'll stall ...or you'll make a mistake with a basic calculation...or forget how to do something ..or forget how to solve a problem ...and embarrass yourself in from of the class?


Or any other subject?

Answer 1

I am a college professor and honestly this is not something I fear. I try very hard to do a good job every day in every class, and know that there will be times that I am not clear about something or make an out and out mistake; I like to think such occurrences are infrequent, but they happen. If I do make a mistake or do not explain something as clearly as I can, I can email my class, post supplemental notes to my website, or just handle in the next class period; it is not as if I am doing brain surgery and someone will die if I make an error.

As for being asked a question I cannot answer; I would love that. After a while, you can anticipate what students will ask, and if a student has a question that I have not heard before it will cause me to think of an answer and shows the he/she is thinking in original ways.

Thanks for giving us a chance to talk about something we don't get to do very often.

Answer 2

When i was teaching in 5-12 classes i wasn't afraid, it was too easy.
When I was teaching assistant at university, I had this fear. Because the problems were harder and you had to prepare beforehand. I felt uncomfortable to go to labs until I realized what was the reason. Then I started to prepare rigorously the classes and I got more confident.
The problem is that I can't fake that I know when I don't as some guys do. Or they talk superficially as if they solved the question when they don't. I can't do that because of my personality. Therefore I have to know the subject. On the other hand, you can do some things to attenuate the embarrassment. For example ask the students for "help" in a clever way. Because, after all, students should learn. Or you say that you have to think about it and solve the question at next class. It's not a shame, you can't know everything. And as a ultimate resource, I can use the teaching solution manual. The idea is that in a class of 50 minutes you can't solve all problems, math problems are for reflection not for speed.

Answer 3

I've had this happen before..... strangely, it has led to me adopting that exact approach to solving example problems in class. I definitely prepare ahead of time but, I try not to refer to my notes if I can help it. That way the thought process becomes clear as to how to solve the problems during the example. I've had a lot of success with this but, it came at a heavy cost in the beginning. I got a lot of bad reviews my first semester because I was new at it. Things have gotten considerably better now though and I think people find it pretty helpful.

The point of that probably too long response is that no, I don't sweat being wrong on a question. There are a lot of things I don't know but, as long as I can admit if or where I've made a mistake then I'm still teaching my audience something. Also, every now and then students like to be able to stump the teacher.

Answer 4

Yes, it's embarrassing if you stall or make mistakes. Nobody is perfect, but then it's still not a good impression to students if a teacher/professor keeps on committing blunders in his/her calculations.

The best way, however, to avoid such things is for a teacher/professor to be well prepared with his/her lessons. This means not only with the assignments he/she had given to the class but also with all other related matters pertaining to the topic being discussed. Of course, you will never be able to predict what a student's question might be. But, a good teacher/professor, without asking for more details from hi/her student, should be able to "predict" just what the students
is trying to ask and satisfy the student asking the question.

There are many moments like these that serve as an eye-opener for the teacher/professor which give him/her more in-depth knowledge of the particular topic he/she is discussing. Other solutions that were otherwise not entertained or given consideration by the teacher/professor might present themselves and afford a teacher/professor additional insights into the topic at hand.


teddy boy

Answer 5

Sometimes. Of course it also depends on how comfortable I am with the material/how often I have taught it. When I was first teaching AP Calculus for the first time, I did all of the problems that I assigned the students before I assigned them so that I could answer any questions that they might have.

Answer 6

You asked me my favourite question. I served as an engineer in industries for 20 years followed by as a private tutor of math/physics for 18 years.

My famous quotation addressed to the students was
"I like a student who asks me a problem that I cannot solve."
I had the opportunity of teaching many brilliant students. Many of them used to ask me problems for solving which I had to borrow time. Mostly, I used to solve the challenging problems in a day and those used to be my golden moments in life. I also remember occasions when I completely failed to solve the problems though they were very few.
I believe that a good teacher should be honest. Failure to solve a problem should not irritate him. It is the opportunity one gets to improve and become better. Today only, someone sent me an email calling me a math student claiming that I incorrectly solved his question and he selected someone else's answer as the best. But I did not mind it at all. I refreshed my knowledge of math surfing through the net. Incidentally, it seemed that I was correct. But even if I had not been correct, I would have been happier for someone to call me a math student and wanting me to improve my concepts. If I were wrong, I would have benefited by knowing what is right and acknowledged the same with appreciation. I am a student of math and so shall I ever remain. Learning is a never-ending process. Even Nobel Prize winners have made silly errors, but they are great souls.

I take this oppotunity of acknowledging all my math teachers in school and colleges I attended who were very humble and extremely knowledgeable. I consider myself lucky to have so good teachers all throughout my educational career. Once I wanted to point out a mistake of my professor which was quite serious. I felt it improper to do so in the class. He was our Head of the Dept. in Chemical Engineering and whose teaching of chemical engineering thermodynamics I can never forget. I went to his chamber and politely pointed out the error giving the correct solution. Next day, in the class, he acknowledged his error announcing my name. I can never forget his modesty.

Your question has inspired me to make one change on the homepage of my website. The site was dedicated to my parents. Now it is dedicated to my parents and teachers.

Answer 7

No embarrassment or fear at all.

I will prefer to quote the following with modification as under

"I do not know everything; still many things I understand."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Change "many" to some" in above.

Answer 8

as i student i can say that teachers need to calm down and not get so overworked of being wrong
my friend had a teacher who cried and left the school because they spelled "pizza" wrong
running out instead of simply correcting yourself or simply questioning a student fro help is a lot better than having a nervous break down
trust me

Answer 9

No, i am no god, so I don't know everything. I do know my subject very well, so If a question I don't know how to answer, I will tell them. By the way, there's lot's of unasnwered questions in this world for PhD students to do research to write their thesis.

Answer 10

" The best unprepared answer is the prepared answer."

ALWAYS be prepared and don`t chance your arm.

Such an approach reduces stress and the old brain box doesn`t function too well under stress.

Enjoy your day.