QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES Goals and Objectives Why Use Questioning

QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES

Goals and Objectives Why Use Questioning Strategies? Effective Questioning Techniques Levels of Questioning…Increasing Understanding, Models for Use What is Depth and Complexity? Applying the Strategies

What are the purposes of teachers’ classroom questions? § To develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons § To evaluate students’ preparation and check on homework or seatwork completion § To develop critical thinking skills and inquiring attitudes § To review and summarize previous lessons

What are the purposes of teachers’ classroom questions? Cont. § To help students gain insights by showing new relationships § To assess achievement of instructional goals and objectives § To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own

Asking Questions About Picture 1 - Activity § Look at the picture of the car driving down the road. § Generate three questions.

Why use Questioning Strategies? Questioning strategies are essential to the growth of critical, creative, and higher level thinking skills. (Shaunessy, 2005) When teachers regularly model questioning strategies and expect student questions, students learn to formulate questions that will improve their learning. (Fisher, 2007) 6

Teachers ask _____ questions a day -- _______ a year, according to The Guardian. Pair/Share 7

Teachers ask 400 questions a day -- 70, 000 a year, according to The Guardian. 8

I Wonder………. How many of those 400 questions a day were INTENTIONAL?

Research states. . . § On the average, during classroom recitations § Approximately 60 percent of the questions asked are lower cognitive questions § 20 percent are higher cognitive questions § 20 percent are procedural.

Research States…. § Research indicates that questioning is second only to lecturing in popularity as a teaching method § Classroom teachers spend anywhere from thirty-five to fifty percent of their instructional time conducting questioning sessions § What is the implication this data has on our classrooms?

Take the Questioning Quiz From a study on Questioning Techniques by Kathleen Cotton

Question 1 Which is more effective for fostering learning? 1. ) Oral questions posed during classroom recitation? 2. ) Written questions 13

Question 1 - Answer Which is more effective for fostering learning? 1. ) Oral questions posed during classroom recitation? 2. ) Written questions Answer: “ 1", Oral questions. 14

Question 2 Should posing questions before students read be done with students who are: 1. ) Older/better readers? 2. ) Younger/struggling readers?

Question 2 - Answer Should posing questions before a reading be done with students who are: 1. ) Older/better readers? 2. ) Younger/struggling readers? Answer: “ 1", because young/struggling readers often only read the parts of the text that help them answer the questions.

Question 3 Increasing the use of higher-order questions to ___ percent or more is positively related to student-to-student interactions, speculative thinking, length of student responses, and relevant questions posed by learners.

Question 3 - Answer Increasing the use of higher-order questions to ___ percent or more is positively related to student-tostudent interactions, speculative thinking, length of student responses, and relevant questions posed by learners. Answer: 50 percent.

Question 4 Should wait time differ when asking lower- vs. higher-order questions?

Question 4 - Answer Should wait time differ when asking lower- vs. higher-order questions? Answer: Yes. Wait time for lower-order questions should be about three seconds, and beyond three seconds for higher-order questions

Wait Time – 2 kinds § amount of time the teacher allows to elapse after he/she has posed a question and before a student begins to speak § amount of time a teacher waits after a student has stopped speaking before saying anything

Wait Time § The average wait-time teachers allow after posing a question is one second or less. § Why is this not a good practice? (Pair/share)

Wait Time § Increasing wait-time beyond three seconds is positively related to the following student outcomes: (1) Improvements in the student achievement (2) Improvements in student retention (3) Increases the number of higher cognitive responses generated by students (4) Increases the length of student responses (5) Increases the number of unsolicited responses (6) Decreases students’ failure to respond

Depth…. The Bigger Picture Refers to how a person approaches “the big picture”. Often, the approach starts with the concrete and moves to the abstract; or starts with the known and moves to the unknown. 24

Depth… continued § Requires students to examine § facts, concepts, details, and new knowledge § generalizations § related principles and theories §. 25

Complexity…. More Parts § Bridges the content to other disciplines, § Enhancing the relevance for students 26

Depth: Requires a student to uncover the detail about how a car works Complexity: Requires a student to see the working relationships between the different parts 27

How to increase Depth and Complexity § Teachers choose instructional materials that engage, develop, and challenge. § Teachers model for and interact with students: § § ask questions provide feedback give assignments provide assessment § Students engage with the content and each other at high levels, with increased Depth and Complexity in their interactions. 28

Increasing question complexity… § Extends thinking skills § Clarifies understanding § Creates links between ideas § Enhances curiosity § Provides challenges 29

Research has drawn theses conclusions from role of classroom questioning: § Instruction which includes posing questions during lessons is more effective in producing achievement gains than instruction carried out without questioning students. § Students perform better on test items previously asked as recitation questions than on items they have not been exposed to before. § Questions which focus student attention on important elements in the lesson result in better comprehension than questions which do not.

Thin & Thick questions § Thin Questions: § Who, When, Where, How Many…. . § Thick Questions: § What if… § How did… § Why did… § What would happen if… § What might… § How would you feel if… § What do you think. . .

Lower cognitive questions Vs Higher cognitive questions § Lower Cognitive Questions § Fact, closed, direct, recall, and knowledge questions § Higher Cognitive Questions § Open-ended, interpretive, evaluative, inquiry, inferential, and synthesis questions

“While questions which elicit lower level thinking are an important part of teaching, they are useless unless they build toward questions which help kids develop higher order thinking skills. ” Benjamin Bloom 33

Asking Questions About Picture 2 - Activity § Look at the questions in the first picture as a group. § Decide if the questions were low or high level questions § Using handout 4, write four higher order questions about picture 2

Effective Questioning Techniques Increase Think time and Wait time Talk less, ask more Move from simple to complex Avoid “yes or no” question Don’t say a student’s name before posing question Don’t let a few students dominate the conversation/questioning/answering 35

Questions? 36

Good questions help: § Provide Clarification § What is meant by ______? § Check Assumptions § How could you say that another way? § Provide Reasons and Evidence § Examine Viewpoints § How do you know? § How could we prove or confirm that? § Investigate Implications and § If ____happened, what would Consequences be the result? Support your conclusion. § What feelings or emotions might have caused _____? 37

Levels of Inquiry – Handout 2 § Level 1 – Gather and recall information § Create a foundation to prior knowledge § Level 2– Processing § Make connections with the information gathered § Level 3 – Apply and evaluate actions/solution § Applying the new knowledge

Costa’s Levels of Questioning Practice - Activity

Maximize… Minimize. . . asking questions that begin with words like "What if, " "Explain, " "Analyze, " "Create, " and "Compare and contrast, " etc. . asking questions that have a "yes" or "no" response and questions that require merely direct recall of definitions etc. . the amount of time you wait after you pose a question, i. e. wait-time, in order to allow students to process the question in their minds. . calling on students directly after you pose a question and calling on a student before you even ask the question. . asking students to elaborate on their answers and asking students "why. " . . . telling a student their answer is wrong and not asking them to think of why it is wrong. . opportunities for students to pose questions amongst themselves. . straight lecture without student interaction. providing opportunities that challenge students' original conceptual understandings . . . providing opportunities that do not encourage creative and critical thinking . . . encouraging students to work through their decision making process, even if it bring frustration and makes them leave their comfort zone of learning. …giving students direct answers to their questions without allowing them to think through the decision making process.

Tools of the Trade Effective Questioning Techniques • Costa’s Level of Inquiry – Practice activity (handout) – Subject area groups • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Depth and Complexity Resources • DOK • Q Chart – Practice activity (handout) – Picture questions, one from each quadrant 41