Questioning

• Questions, whether self-initiated or "owned," are at the heart of inquiry learning.

• While questions are also a part of the traditional classroom, the sources, purposes, and levels of questioning are quite different.

• In the traditional classroom, the teacher is frequently the questioner.

• Questions are usually intended to provoke feedback

• In an inquiry classroom, the teacher asks questions that are more open and reflective in nature.

• Appropriate questioning techniques are important in an inquiry-based classroom, especially in the lower grades where they become a foundation for self-initiated questioning.

Questioning Strategies

• Questioning is a form of formative assessment and can be a very beneficial tool if used correctly.

• Our questions need to do more than just determine whether a student does or does not know a particular item of information

• Our questions need to promote higher-order thinking skills

• As teachers, we need to ask questions that make students think and apply what they are learning.

4 Major Types of Questions

Managerial Questions

• Managerial Questions – these are questions you would ask to keep the classroom operating smoothly. They’re procedural.

• Research shows that 20% of questions are procedural

• Exp: Will you turn to page 15?, Do you have a pencil?”

Rhetorical Questions

• Rhetorical Questions – used to reinforce a point or for emphasis. Teachers do not really anticipate an answer from students.

• Exp: “The green coloring matter in plants is called chlorophyll, right, The parts of blood are red and white blood cells, platelets, and plasma, right?”

Closed Questions

• Closed Question – there are a limited number of responses or “right answers”.

• 60% of these types of questions are used in the classroom

• Exp: “What are plant cell walls made of? What chemical does the liver make?”

Open Questions

• Open Questions – anticipate a wide range of acceptable responses rather than one or two “right answers”. These are high-order thinking questions.

• Only 20% of these types of questions are used in the classroom

• Exp. “What do you suppose life on Earth would be like with less gravity?”

Importance of Open Questions

• Open questions help students to develop skills in problem solving and decision making.

• Asking too many closed questions encourages students to become skillful in the stockpiling and retrieval of information.

Open Questions

• There are some key verbs to use to ensure you are asking an open question– Discuss - Interpret– Explain - Evaluate– Compare - What if– Summarize - Describe

Wait Time

• Use appropriate wait time when asking questions (3-5 second).

• You should wait long enough to sing Baa, baa, black sheep have you any wool?

• Wait time has many benefits – see pg. 67 in Vellom

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Another way to look at questioning

What is Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Many years ago, an educator named Benjamin Bloom developed a classification system we now refer to as Bloom’s Taxonomy, to assist teachers in recognizing their various levels of asking questions.

• The system contains six levels, which are arranged in hierarchical form, moving from the lowest level of thinking to the highest level of thinking.

The Bloom’s You Know!!

Bloom’s Has Been Revised!!

• Remembering, understanding, and applying are lower-level thinking questions

• Analyzing, evaluating, and creating are higher-order thinking questions

Remembering

Can the student recall or remember the information?

• observation and recall of information • knowledge of dates, events, places • knowledge of major ideas • mastery of subject matter

Question Cues: – Define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall,

repeat, reproduce, state

UnderstandingCan the student explain ideas and concepts?• understanding information • grasp meaning • translate knowledge into new context • interpret facts, compare, contrast • order, group, infer causes • predict consequences • Question Cues:

– Classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphase

Applying

Can the student use the information in a new way?

• use information • use methods, concepts, theories in new situations • solve problems using required skills or knowledge

Questions Cues: – Choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ,

illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write

Analyzing

Can the student distinguish between the different parts?

• seeing patterns • organization of parts • recognition of hidden meanings • identification of components

Question Cues: – Appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate,

discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test

Evaluating

Can the student justify a stand or decision?• use old ideas to create new ones • generalize from given facts • relate knowledge from several areas • predict, draw conclusions • Question Cues:

– Appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate

CreatingCan the student create a new product or point of view?

• involves putting things together to make something new.

• Question Cues – Assemble, construct, create, design, develop,

formulate, write

Example – Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Remember: Describe where Goldilocks lived.

Understand: Summarize what the Goldilocks story was about.

Apply: Construct a theory as to why Goldilocks went into the house.

Analyze: Differentiate between how Goldilocks reacted and how you would react in each story event.

Evaluate: Assess whether or not you think this really happened to Goldilocks.

Create: Compose a song, skit, poem, or rap to convey the Goldilocks story in a new form.

What does all this mean?

• It means you can ask your students several different kinds of questions.

• If you only focus on one type of question, your students might not be exposed to higher levels of thinking necessary to a complete understanding of a topic.

• If, for example, you only ask students knowledge-based questions, then your students might think that learning is nothing more than the ability to memorize a select number of facts.

What does all this mean?

• You can use this taxonomy to help craft a wide range of questions—from low-level thinking questions to high-level thinking questions.

• You should sprinkle a variety of question types throughout every lesson, regardless of the topic or the grade level you teach.

What does all this mean?

• You can even use this taxonomy to help plan your unit plan.

• You should have lessons and activities that use a variety of Bloom’s taxonomy levels.

References

• TeacherVision: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/teaching-methods/new-teacher/48445.html?page=2&detoured=1#ixzz18Zl36aXH