Deliberation Questioning Is it all about the Technique

Deliberation Questioning…. . Is it all about the ‘Technique’… …. or ‘Method’…?

“Did any of you see what was on the front page of the papers last week? . . . A natural disaster…. ? …. come on, made all the news with people dying…. . ? …. I can’t believe no-one saw it…. . was all over the news…. ? (An Answer) A Local Flood “No, not that…. . Anyone else? . . . (Another Answer) That Ebola thing That’s not a ‘natural’ disaster is it…. . I asked for a *natural* disaster… …Anyone…? Oh well, looks like I’m going to have to tell you then……”

Characteristics of ineffective questioning • Questions are a parade of ‘closed’ questions which aren’t leading anywhere. • Questions are outside the experiences of the students (“What story was on the front of all the newspapers last week? ”) • Answers to questions with multiple possibilities are rejected – because they’re not the one the teacher has in mind. (“What is the biggest danger to young people today? ”) • Time is devoted to questions which seek low-level information - which could be more effectively ‘given’ by the teacher as free information. • Simple, superficial answers are praised – which creates a low level expectation atmosphere • Questions are directed only to those with their hands up – leaving the majority of the class unchallenged. • Questions don’t have a follow-up question to probe thought process. • Students who give a shrug and a ‘dunno’ response - are allowed to.

3 Questions on Questioning 1. Can we ‘see’ effective Questioning occurring ? 2. Can we identify the characteristic features of effective Questioning? 3. If we can, are they transferable to other teachers?

Questioning Technique Codes of Behaviour Immersion to Orchestrate The most impressive teachers who we watch holding captivating discussions in their rooms seem to effortlessly combine technique, with tight but supportive behaviour parameters – and then let themselves loose to involve themselves in the ‘indeterminate outcome’ of a full-blown discussion. It’s the closest we get to see subject mind-melds taking place.

Bloom’s taxonomy Evaluation Synthesis Analysis Application Comprehension and understanding • Recall/ knowledge • • •

A hierarchy of question focus 1 Key vocabulary 1 Description 1 Accurate facts 2 Cause and effect 2 Sequencing 2 Active listening 2 Representing information 2 Revision skills 2 Explanation 2 Prioritising 2 Compare and contrast 3 Forecasting and predicting 3 Interpreting data 3 Classification 3 Bias detection 3 Linking information 3 Applying to new context 3 Solution generation 3 Pose relevant questions 3 Identifying pattern 4 Looking for anomalies 4 Synthesis & summarising 4 Evaluating 4 Correlations 4 Cycles and Systems. 5 Hypothesis generation

“To what extent would Question you agree that…… “Compare & contrast…… “How do you know it is? “Why is……? “What is……?

Describe…. The effects of an Earthquake

Describe…. The Distribution of the World’s Population.

To what extent do you agree that…. . Vanilla ice-cream is nicer than Raspberry Ripple ice cream.

To what extent do you agree that…. . Light is more often experienced as a wave than a particle beam?

3 Aspect of Effective Class Involvement • Mechanistic Needs • Participatory Needs • Intellectual Needs Mechanistic Needs CLARITY – of speech, of question, of vocabulary AUDIBILITY – of responses VISIBILITY – of participants

3 Aspect of Effective Class Involvement • Mechanistic Needs • Participatory Needs • Intellectual Needs Participatory Needs VALIDITY – The question is valid, and my response will be valid REASSURANCE – not belittled or embarrassed ASSISTANCE – I’ll be moved from wrong to right RESPONSE VALIDATION – positive feedback GROUP NORMATIVE – what my peers are doing

3 Aspect of Effective Class Involvement • Mechanistic Needs • Participatory Needs • Intellectual Needs RANGE – within my zone of stretch PURPOSE – moving the discussion from A-B QUALITY CONTROL – being pressed to contribute something of quality ACCEPTABLE PERSISTENCE – being ‘made’ to be involved, but in a way I can accept

The Students The Teacher • Check knowledge Cloud of Uncertainty • Check Understanding • Remediate errors • Stretch the pitch • Activate participation Core of clarity

Teacher : How do you make sure a tennis umpire is not biased? PPPB POSE (waits 10 seconds) PAUSE POUNCE BOUNCE …. Mike – what’s your response? …. . Charlotte – respond to Mike’s answer. Do you agree or not? ABC Question Technique Teacher : What did we learn last lesson about the importance of lighting in staging a drama Add to Build upon Challenge …. James ? …. Kieran – do you want to ‘Add’, ‘Build on’ or ‘Challenge’ James’ answer? …. . Jaime – Kieran did a ‘Build on’ – choose either an ‘Add’ or ‘Challenge’…

Right is Right: Nothing short of 100% Teacher: What is a peninsula? Ella: It’s where water indents into the land. Teacher: A bay is where water indents into the land. Who can tell me what a peninsula is? Ella: Ah, a peninsula is where land goes into the water. Teacher: There is a bit more to it than. Can you be precise. Dan: Is a peninsula a thing where land is surrounded by water. Teacher: That sounds like a island. And avoid the term ‘thing’ please. Tariq : A peninsula is a feature where land is surrounded by water on three sides I think

Doug Lemov: “Productive discussion is a group of people developing an idea or notion further by sustaining focus on it and entertaining a variety of viewpoints. That sounds obvious but what we often refer to in our classes as ‘discussions’ aren’t that. They are more often a series of atomised student comments, some of which are illegible and not useful to other students; some of which are disconnected from the shared topic and pull the discussion away from a topic of sustained focus. ”

Why do we have Bones? Zoë Elder ‘Full On Learning’ “Of primary importance is cultivating a disposition towards learning. In terms of Questioning, that’s Curiosity. ” What happens if you fall in a Black Hole?

The Students The Teacher • Zone of Clarity Anomalous facts • Discordant interpretations • Evaluating evidence • Challenging the assumptions • Activating Curiosity Arena of Contemplative Exploration

SOCRATIC Questioning Q 1. Get your students to clarify their thinking, for instance: “Why do you say that? ” …. “Could you explain that further? ” Q 2. Challenging students about assumptions, for instance: “Is this always the case? Why do you think that this assumption holds here? ” Q 3. Evidence as a basis for argument, questions such as: “Why do you say that? ” or “Is there reason to doubt this evidence? ” Q 4. Viewpoints and perspectives, this challenges the students to investigate other ways of looking at the same issue, for example: “What is the counter argument for…? ” or Can/did anyone see this another way? ” Q 5. Implications and consequences, given that actions have consequences, this is an area ripe for questioning, for instance: “But if that happened, what else would result? ” or “How does… affect …. ? ” By investigating this, students may analyse more carefully before jumping to an opinion Q 6. Question the question, just when students think they have a valid answer this is where you can tip them back into the pit: “Why do you think I asked that question? ” or “Why was that question important? ”

Doug’s observations of teachers who lead effective discussion… Direct Intentional Feedback : Summarizing mid-discussion what the participants are doing well, or need to do. • “I just want to pause you to point out how effectively you are building off each others’ ideas. You’re really sticking to the topic at hand. ” • “I want to pause to observe that we can do a better job, I think, of ensuring that our comments show that we are listening to one another. Our goal is not to generate a new idea each time someone speaks but to add to the idea that came before. ”

Doug’s observations of teachers who lead effective discussion… Habits of discussion: Norming the behaviours that are more likely to generate further participation. • Making sure they direct their comments to the class (or a specific peer) rather than to you–ie they turn and face the majority of the room. Message: I am speaking to the group. • Making sure they put their hands down when someone else is speaking. (If your hand is up you’re probably thinking about something you wanted to say before you even heard them speak. So your point is increasingly likely to be disconnected from theirs.

Doug’s observations of teachers who lead effective discussion… Visual & Verbal Response Cues: Using body-language and responses to points to orchestrate the discussion • “Great to see you all so enthusiastic to contribute, but we can only focus on one person’s argument at a time…” rather than “No, stop!. . . We don’t all shout at the same time…that’s incredibly rude…” • Mr. Miller’s corrections are an exercise in Purpose, Not Power. He avoids making corrections personal, but instead frames them in terms of the goal–which is to engage in a quality discussion– and delivers them with warmth (at times even adding a smile). This signals to students that his corrections are about discipline—teaching students the right way to engage in a productive, collegiate seminar discussion —not about publicly shaming those who don’t uphold them.

Facets of the Deliberating Questioner The Challenger The Learner “I’m sorry, I can’t agree “You know, I’ve never with you on that thought of that because…. ” The Mechanic before… that’s such an Breaks an issue down original point…. ” into its constituent parts to aid comprehension –then The Moderator rebuilds “No, stop there… not what I meant / random The Curator question / park that / The Orchestrator we’ll come back “That links neatly to “Can you find a more specific word than to that. . ” what Dan was saying earlier – just say your ‘stuff’ - can you use a key term. . ? ” point again Dan”

Facets of the Deliberating Questioner The Pace-Rider Mirrors: rapidity /depth Short / Extended Concise / Elaborate The Cultivator “Maddie, just jot that point/question onto the post-it. I’ll ask you to bring it up later “ The Demonstrator “Now, if I was answering that point I’d want to consider…. ” The Terminator The Discriminator “That’s a great point to Can pick out the valid end on – that’s exactly part of an answer from the idea I want you to the inaccurate/less hold in mind as we relevant & hone do this. . ” it

The Students Cloud of Uncertainty The Teacher Core of clarity The Students and Teacher Plunge Pool of Exploration “C’mon, jump in & get involved. ” “Different types of questioning allow us to chivvy and chase learning around the room, in and out of learners’ brains, enabling them to glue together individual pieces of understanding. ” Zoë Elder ‘Full on Learning’

Teacher REACTIVES “What made you say that…. “Where could you take that idea…. “What could you add to that to make it more accurate…. “What led to that idea…. . “Can you point to any evidence for that point…. “I hadn’t thought of that…. I suppose if that’s the case, then…… “That’s an interesting angle that hasn’t been mentioned yet…. “How can you put that another way that’s more precise…. “Give us an illustration of what you mean by that…. . “Do you think many other people in the room would agree with you there… “What additional question does that throw up…. . “Under what circumstances would you say that’s most likely to happen….

This image of the Atlantic Road in Norway captures what I feel has happened when I’ve witnessed great discussion in someone’s classroom. The teacher knows the end-point of a destination but is a little hazy about the road conditions and exact route the road will take. But it’s saying to the students “It’s fine, trust me – we may have to work hard on this but the destination is a worthy one and I’ll get you there. Let’s go explore. ”

Recommended further reading on Questioning Techniques: (hyperlinks take you to the Questioning section of the blogs listed Alex Quigley @huntingenglish has a wide collection of valuable posts David Fawcett @davidfawcett 27 has written widely on Questioning techniques Doug Lemov’s ‘Teach Like a Champion’ blog addresses Discussion techniques Zoë Elder’s ‘Full on Learning’ website includes a number of posts on Questioning Tom Sherrington poses some exemplar Probing Questions in his @headguruteacher post John Sayers demonstrates how he uses his Socratic Question prompts and his Question Grid in this post