Questioning

ESU 6 Blue River CohortMitzi Hoback & Suzanne Whisler

ESU 4, Auburn, NE

The Art of Questioning

Great teachers are great questioners.

Everyday form of Instructional Feedback.

Questioning is a great engagement tool.

Questioning comes in many forms.

How NOT to Question…

CategoryAve. Effect

SizePercentile

gainIdentifying similarities and differences

1.61 45

Summarizing and note taking 1.00 34

Reinforcing effort and providing recognition .80 29

Homework and Practice .77 28

Nonlinguistic representations .75 27

Cooperative learning .73 27

Setting objectives/providing feedback .61 23

Generating and testing hypotheses .61 23

Questions, cues, and advance organizers .59 22

Previewing

“The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows.

Ascertain this and teach him accordingly”

David Ausubel

Previewing Any activity that starts students thinking

about the content they will encounter Helps students activate prior knowledge Particularly useful for students who don’t have

a lot of background knowledge about the topic The activation of prior knowledge is critical to

learning because it helps students understand new information, predict what might be coming, and clarify misconceptions.

Use Advance Organizers

Getting ready to learn…..The film “A Country in Conflict” describes the conditions of the North and South prior to the Civil War and the events leading up to the Civil War.

What do you already know about the Civil War?

While watching the film. Think about:

•What were the political, economic, and social conditions that existed in the South and North before the Civil War?

•How did the differences between the North and South lead to war?

•Could the differences have been resolved using another means other than war?

What did you learn as a result of watching the film?

Anticipation Guides

Miss Rumphius by Barbara CooneyDirections: Before we read this story, please put a check next to those statements that you agree with in the BEFORE column. Compare your opinions with a partner’s opinions and discuss your reasons for checking or not checking each statement. After we have read this book, please go back and check those statements you now agree with under the AFTER column.

BEFORE AFTER______ ______ Older people can’t do anything to help others because they need help themselves.______ ______ The more things you have the happier you are.______ ______ People can make the world more beautiful by doing simple things in nature.______ ______ If you have a lot of money, you will be happy.______ ______ We can learn many lessons from our elders.

_______ ________ 1. Before the building of the can ships traveled South to get from the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean._______ ________ 2. The fastest way from the Caribbean to the Pacific was by plane._______ ________ 3. The building of the canal continued the US policy of isolation._______ ________ 4. The geographic conditions helped make the building of the canal easier._______ ________ 5. A canal through Panama would benefit the US politically and economically._______ ________ 6. Latin America welcomed US control of the Panama Canal._______ ________ 7. The control of Latin America by the US required the US to send troops to protect its interests.

ME Text

Before reading: In the column labeled me, place a check next to any statement with which you agree.After reading: Compare your opinions on those statements with information contained in the text.

Graphic Organizers Presented in Advance

Graphic organizers also provide students with guidance on what the important information is in a lesson or unit.

They give students direction and also provide a visual representing of the important information.

It is easy to see what is important and the relationships between the ideas and patterns in the information where they exist.

Sample Advance Graphic Organizer

Main Topic

Sub-topic Sub-topic Sub-topic

K-W-L

What do you know? What do you want to know? What did you learn?

In Summary… Before learning new information, teachers should

help students retrieve what they already know about a topic or “activate prior knowledge.”

Questions, and advance organizers are common ways that a classroom teacher helps students use what they already know about a topic to learn new information.

Analytical and inferential questions asked of students before learning help fill-in the gaps and provide a focus for learning.

Advance graphic organizers help students focus on important information by providing a mental set.

Share Your Wisdom

Number off, 1-6At your chart, read the research and discuss with your team the implications. What should you do as a classroom teacher in regards to the research? Give generalizations or examples

When you hear the music, move to the next chart.

1. Research Finding: Teachers ask many questions

Teachers asked an average of 50.6 questions; students posed only 1.8 questions in a 30 minute period. Encouraging teachers to encourage children’s

curiosity: A pivotal competence. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 8, 101-106.

Implications: Teachers should plan their questions before

asking. Ensure that questions match the instructional

objectives and promote thinking.

2. Research Finding:

Most teacher questions are at the lowest cognitive level—known as fact, recall, or knowledge.

Sattes,B. & Walsh, J., (2005). Quality questioning research-based practice to engage every learner.

Implication:

Teachers should purposefully plan and ask questions that require students to engage in higher level thinking.

3. Research Finding: Not all students are accountable to respond to all questions. Teachers frequently call on volunteers, and

these volunteers constitute a select group of students.

Implications: Teachers should establish classroom norms

that every student deserves an opportunity to answer questions.

All students’ answers are important.

Questions and Response Rates Be aware of behaviors that decrease response

rates. If only one or only a few students are

responding, you’re losing learning opportunities.

Questioning is an essential form of instructional feedback.

Every Child responds every time!

Make every classroom activity one in which all students respond to every question/activity/discussion.

“Smile if you’re ready.” “Nod if you’re on page 16.” “Hold your pen up and wiggle it if you have your

homework .” “If you agree with me on this, raise one pinky.” “If this concept makes sense to you, give me a

thumbs up.” “If you’re finished, turn your paper over.” “Hold up the handout if you have received one.”Richard Howell Allen, Impact Teaching, 2002

Try some procedures that get every child involved:

Using Paired Responses (A/B partner response) Using choral responses Using Quick Draws Using hand signals (thumbs up/down) Using response systems Using Response Chaining

4. Research Finding: Teachers typically wait less than one second after asking a question before calling on a student to answer.

Teachers wait even less time before speaking after the student has answered.

Implication:Both wait times 1 and 2 promote student

thinking and foster more students formulating answers to more questions.

5. Research Finding: Teachers often accept incorrect answers without probing; they frequently answer their own questions.

Implication:Teachers should seek to understand incorrect or

incomplete answers more completely by gently guiding student thinking with appropriate probes.

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Probes for incomplete or incorrect….

1. Say more about that….2. Give an example….3. Tell me why you think that….4. I might agree but I need

more….

6. Research Finding: Students ask very few content-related questions.

Implication: Value student questions.

Honor student questions. Help students learn to formulate good questions;

and Make it possible for students to ask questions.

Have you done a Scoot?o Write content questions (enough so there is

one on every desk).o Give each student a response sheet

(depending on level, they can respond with A,B,C or single words or sentences).

o Each child goes to a desk and reads the question on the card and marks their response on their sheet. At the teacher’s signal, they move to the next desk.

Commitment:

•Jot down one new thing you will try in your classroom as a result of today’s discussion.•Tell someone else what you plan to do.