Questioning TechniquesQuestioning Techniques

Why Question?Why Question?• Questions are asked not just to monitor

comprehension but also to stimulate students to think about the content, connect it to their prior knowledge, and begin to explore its applications

• Questions should stimulate students to process content actively and “make it their own” by rephrasing it in their own words and considering its meanings and implications

Characteristics ofCharacteristics of Good Questions Good Questions

• 1. Clear-- Questions should specify the points to which students are to respond

• 2. Purposeful-- Purposeful questions help achieve the lesson's intent

• 3. Brief-- The longer the question, the more difficult it is to understand

• 4. Natural-- Questions should be phrased in natural, simple language

• 5. Sequenced-- If questions are intended as teaching devices and not merely as oral test items, they should be asked in carefully planned sequences, and the answer to each sequence should be integrated with previously discussed material before moving on

• 6. Thought Provoking-- Discussion should help students to clarify their ideas and to analyze and synthesize what they are learning

Questions to AvoidQuestions to Avoid

• 1. Yes-No-- Initial yes-no questions confuse the lesson focus and waste time; these questions also have low diagnostic power

• 2. Tugging-- These say “Tell me more,” but provide no help to the student

• 3. Guessing-- Encourage students to guess thoughtlessly rather than to think carefully

• 4. Leading-- Leading questions and other rhetorical questions should be avoided; questions should only be asked if the teacher really wants a response

Calling on Students...Calling on Students...• Addressing questions to

the class involved first asking the question, then allowing students time to think, and only then calling on someone to respond

• This makes everyone in the class responsible for the answer

Wait TimeWait Time

• Good questioning technique allows students sufficient time to think about and respond to questions

• Desirable changes occur with 3 to 5 second wait times:– increase in the average length of student responses– increase in unsolicited but appropriate students

responses– decrease in failures to respond– increase in speculative responses– increase in student-to-student comparisons of data– increase in statements that involve drawing

inferences from evidence– increase in student-initiated questions– a greater variety of contributions by students

Question DistributionQuestion Distribution

• Teachers should distribute questions widely rather than allow a few students to answer most of them

• Students learn more if they are actively involved in discussions than if they sit passively without participating

FeedbackFeedback

• Feedback is important both to motivate students and to let them know how they are doing

• Feedback need not be long or elaborate

• Feedback can be provided personally or through answer sheets

Divergent Thinking QuestionsDivergent Thinking Questions• 1. The playground question:

– structured by instructor’s designating a carefully chosen aspect of the material

– “Let’s see if we can make any generalizations about the play as a whole from the nature of the opening lines”

• 2. The brainstorm question:– structure is thematic– generate as many ideas on a single topic as possible

within a short period of time– “What kinds of things is Hamlet questioning- not just in

his soliloquy, but throughout the play?”

• 3. The focal question:– focuses on a well articulated issue– choose among a limited number of

positions or viewpoints and support your views

– “Is Ivan Illych a victim of his society or did he create his problems by his own choices?”

Bloom’s TaxonomyBloom’s Taxonomy

• 1. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state

• 2. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate

• 3. Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write

• 4. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, text

• 5. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write

• 6. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose, compare, defend, estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate

Marzano’s DimensionsMarzano’s Dimensions of Learning of Learning

• 1. Developing positive attitudes and perceptions about learning

• 2. Acquiring and integrating knowledge

• 3. Extending and refining knowledge

• 4. Using knowledge meaningfully

• 5. Developing productive habits of mind

Thinking Skill LevelsThinking Skill Levels

adapted from Marzano for North Carolina Curriculum

KnowledgeKnowledge• When content is new, students must be

guided in relating the new knowledge to what they already know, organizing and then using that new knowledge

• Knowledge can be of two types: declarative or procedural

OrganizingOrganizing

• Organizing is used to arrange information so it can be understood

• Classifying groups of items into categories on the basis of attributes

• Comparing identifies similarities and differences between or among entities

ApplyingApplying• Applying requires demonstration of prior

knowledge within a new situation

• The task is to bring together the appropriate information, generalization or principles that are required to solve a problem

AnalyzingAnalyzing

• Analyzing clarifies existing information by examining parts/relationships

• Identifying attributes, components, relationships, and patterns

GeneratingGenerating

• Generating constructs a framework of ideas that holds new and old information together

• Inferring, predicting, and elaborating

IntegratingIntegrating• Integrating connects

or combines prior knowledge and new information to build new understandings

• Summarizing and restructuring

EvaluatingEvaluating

• Evaluating requires assessing the appropriateness and quality of ideas

• Establishing criteria sets standards for judging the value or logic of ideas

• Verifying refers to confirming or proving the truth of an idea