Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers

New Hanover County Schools

Instructional Services

2008-2009

Cues, questions, and advance organizers are techniques used to help students activate

prior knowledge and deepen understanding of current learning.

“Cueing and questioning might account for as much as 80 percent of what

occurs in a given classroom on a given day.”

Davis, O.L., & Tinsley, 1967; Fillippone, 1998.

Generalizations in using cues and questions:

• “Waiting” briefly before accepting responses from students has the effect of increasing the depth of students’ answers.

• “Higher level” questions produce deeper learning than “lower level” questions.

• Cues and questions should focus on what is important as opposed to what is unusual.

• Questions are effective learning tools even when asked before a learning experience.

Types of Advance Organizers

• Expository

• Narrative

• Skimming

• Graphic Organizers

Levels of Thinking and Reasoning

Evaluating

Integrating

Generating

Analyzing

Applying

Organizing

Knowledge

Usually higher order thinking skills

(Adapted from Marzano, et al, 1988)

Usually lower order thinking skills

Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy

Research to Application

“Higher-level questions tend to produce deeper levels of learning.”

(Marzano 114)

Levels of Questions

In the Disney version of Cinderella, what are the names of Cinderella’s stepsisters?

Compare and contrast Cinderella to one of her stepsisters.

What are the characteristics that make Cinderella’s stepsisters so undesirable to the prince?

Moving to Higher Levels of Questioning

1. With your group, read through the question cards.

2. Choose two questions.

3. Write a higher-level questionfor each of the questions your group selected.

“Helping students think about new knowledge before

experiencing it can go a long way toward enhancing student achievement.”

(Marzano 120)