Strategic QuestioningUncovering the Learning

Karen Yager: Knox Grammar School & UNSW

‘The unexamined life is not worth living’

Socrates.

ELIS Launch and Conference 6th & 7th Sep 2011

Workshop Goals To develop teachers’ self-awareness and

analysis of their own questioning techniques

To identify key features of good questioning To identify and share effective questioning

techniques To enhance the design of a quality learning

environment through effective questioning

Culture of Learning

“Building a strong foundation in language, and enriching language learning for all.”

“Learners are at the centre of the teaching-learning process” (English Language Syllabus 2010).

Philosophy A means of making meaning

and of communication A system with its own rules and

conventions which can be used to create various discourse forms or types of texts

Learning involves cognitive and affective engagement, and interaction

Guided by our awareness of the purpose, audience, context and culture in which the communication takes place.

EL Syllabus 2010 A greater focus on oral communication (listening and

speaking skills) Principles of EL Teaching: - Learners are at the centre of the teaching-learning

process.- The teacher will provide a visually and experientially

rich environment for communication that will explicitly foster listening and speaking skills and focus on the achievement of the Learning Outcomes.

The Questioning GameThe rules of the Questioning game: You may only respond to each other

with questions No pausing Some degree of congruency in

discussion – no non sequiturs Loser knocked out, winner continues

How did you feel?

Anxious? Nervous Insecure? Threatened?‘In the middle of difficulty

lies opportunity. The important thing is not to stop questioning.’

Albert Einstein

Purpose of Questioning

Discuss in small groups - what are the top five reasons for asking questions in the classroom?

Use Activity Sheet 1

Purpose of Questioning Interest, engage and challenge pupils Check on prior knowledge Stimulate recall and use of existing knowledge to create

new understanding and meaning Help pupils to extend their thinking from the concrete and

factual to the analytical and evaluative Focus pupils’ thinking on key concepts and issues Promote pupils’ thinking about the way they have learned Promote reasoning, problem solving and synthesis Improve listening and speaking skills

Pitfalls of Questioning

What are some of the common mistakes in asking pupils questions in class?

Discuss in your group and list five using Activity Sheet 1.

Pitfalls of Questioning Not being clear about why you are asking

the question Asking too many closed questions Asking too many questions at once Asking difficult questions without

building up to them Asking a question then answering it

yourself

Pitfalls of Questioning Teachers ask up to two questions every minute, up

to 400 in a day, around 70,000 a year, or two to three million in the course of a career.

Questioning accounts for up to a third of all teaching time, second only to the time devoted to explanation.

Most questions are answered in less than a second. Lower-order questions are often used as a means of

control in the classroom.Steven Hastings, 2003

Asking bogus ‘guess what’s in my head’ questions.

Focusing on a small number of pupils. Starting all questions with the same stem. Dealing ineffectively with incorrect answers. Not giving the pupils time to reflect or

generate own questions.

Pitfalls of Questioning

We often focus on knowing the right answer rather than asking the right question.

Our assumptions about what matters in the classroom and about our pupils influences the way we design and deliver questions.

Covering rather than uncovering! Content and recall focus rather than the art of uncovering new possibilities through dynamic questioning.

Pitfalls of Questioning

Design “Teaching is the art of asking

questions” Socrates. Questions are not just devices

to evaluate specifics of learning but a means of actively promoting conceptual thinking, deepening learning and understanding.

Questions can be more powerful than answers.

Teaching is about designing the learning environment

Design It is about asking the right

questions. Plan questions with others

as you will always design questions that reflect the way you see the world.

It is not the answer that matters but the discussion that is generated by the question.

Complete Activity Sheet 2 and share your responses.

“The first thing that teachers will need to do is select and organise

the essential knowledge, understandings, skills and

values from the syllabus around central concepts or ideas…” Quality teaching in NSW Public Schools

Designing the Learning

“Without designing around provocative questions and big ideas,

teaching easily succumbs into an activity - or coverage - orientation

without clear priorities.” Understanding by Design

McTigh and Wiggins ASCD 1999

Designing the Learning

Focus on learning What do the pupils need to learn? Why does it matter? What do they already know? How will they demonstrate

learning? How will they get there? How well do I expect them to do it?

Design Decide in

your group the five features of powerful questions.

Use Activity Sheet 3

Highly Effective Questions Simplicity and clarity Thought provoking Generates curiosity and engagement Channels attention and focuses inquiry Stimulates reflective thinking and conversation Surfaces and challenges assumptions Invites creativity and new possibilities Connects to a deeper meaning and understanding Evokes more questions

Types of Questions Closed questions: Require specific information

which can often be answered yes or no. Open questions: Require deeper thinking about

the answer by requiring pupils to generate divergent thinking and creative answers based on possible predictions.

Hypothetical or scenario-based questions: Require a thoughtful and considered response.

Active Listening Do we really listen? Turn to the person

next to you and find out what they did last weekend.

The interviewee is to take note of the type of questions being asked.

Report back to the group.

Synthesising Really listening to pupil

responses Identifying relationships Building on pupil responses Connecting pupil responses

to make meaning and emphasis key points.

This contrasts/compares with…?

What conclusion can we draw from…?

Time… Increasing the wait time

improves the number and quality of the responses.

Three seconds for a lower-order question and more than 10 seconds for a higher-order question.

Stick-it notes Exit questions Phone a friend

Question Cycle Ask the question

Wait for 10 seconds

No response

Simplify the question

Wait for 10 seconds

Discuss the question

Responses to incorrect answers

The teacher's positive response to both good and wrong answers is essential.

Consider: facial, body and verbal responses. You can:- Rephrase the question: ‘Let me put it another way…’- Seek clarification: 'What do you mean when you say …?‘- Request for specific examples: 'Can you give me an

example of this?’- Request for rephrasing: 'Can you put it another way?'

Assessment as Learning

Pupils gain a deeper understanding of their skills, knowledge, level of understanding and the expected standards through self and peer assessment.

Pupils develop ownership of the learning process.

They learn to plan for how to improve their skills and understanding.

Design questions that facilitate self and peer assessment.

Why, how, what if?...

Session 2:Ways to design

effective questions

Bloom’s Model C: What if…? & Can you

see other possibilities? E: Is there a better

solution? AN: How was the setting

represented? AP: Could you apply this

approach to…? U: Who is the main

character? R: Can you name the…?

Using Bloom’s Model

Listen to the podcast

Using Bloom’s taxonomy, in groups devise questions that could be used in class to enrich the learning experience.

De Bono’s Thinking Hats

S.C.A.M.P.E.R S: What if I change or swap this? C: What can I blend or combine? A: What could I substitute? M: What will happen if I add…? P: How could I use this

somewhere else? E: What happens when I

remove…? R: What if I did this the other

way? Activity Sheet 5

Thinker’s Keys Reverse Listing: Use

cannot, never or not in the questions

What if? Disadvantages Combination: Attributes

of two dissimilar objects

Variations: How many ways can you…?

Question first: Then provide five answers

Williams’ Model - Extending Paradox: Paradoxes can be used to evaluate ideas and challenge pupils to reason and

find proof. Analogy: Pupils find the similarities between things and compare one thing to another. Discrepancy: Pupils should be challenged to discuss what is not known or understood. Provocative questions: These are questions that require thoughtful consideration to

clarify meaning or develop new knowledge. Organised Random Search: Given a situation or body of knowledge, pupils search for

other information to answer questions such as, what would you do or what would you have done?

Tolerance for Ambiguity: Open-ended questions Intuitive Expression: Empathy questions Evaluative Situations: Evaluate solutions and answers in terms of their consequences

and implications — pose the question what if? Visualisation Skills: Provide opportunities for pupils to perceive or visualise themselves

in many contexts.

Williams’ Model

View the film clip

In groups, use Williams’ model to develop a series of questions.

Socratic Questioning

Langford’s 5 Whys

Ask a question This leads to a

second question Ask three more

questions Probes and

deepens understanding

Thwarts superficial responses

Flip Learning Pupils taking responsibility for

their own learning Provide the content and

resources Pupils generate the questions ‘If children aren't asking

questions, they're being spoon-fed. That might be effective in terms of getting results, but it won't turn out curious, flexible learners suited to the 21st century’ Guy Claxton.

Other Ideas ABCD voting cards Exit cards Phone a friend No hands up policy No opt out Question Cube Pause-pounce-bounce: No hands

up - the teacher 'pounces' on a random pupil for their response - and then 'bounces' round four or more other pupils for their answers - before the class decides which answer was the more correct.

Where to? Take the passage

provided and decide on how you could use this text in the classroom.

Use Activity Sheet 7 to plan the learning and develop a series of questions using one or more of the ideas presented.

Share your ideas!

http://assessment4quality.wikispaces.com/