Effective Questioning: Working Towards a Thinking Classroom
Presented by John Medina
I keep six honest service men (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who
~ Rudyard Kipling
Advance Organizer
Art of Questioning in the Classroom
Range and Types of Questions
Right vs. Poor Questions
Rules and Guidelines in
Asking Questions
Questioning Techniques and Responding to
Students’ Answers
The Art of Questioning
in the Classroom
Self-Survey: First Thing First!
Why do teachers ask questions?
How do you use questions in teaching?
What kinds of questions do you ask?
Who asks more questions in your classes? yourself or your
students? Why?
Just when I finally knew the answers, they changed
all the questions!
What is a question?
The dictionary defines question as an inquiry.
Some educators define it as an oral statement
that is intended to evoke a response.
Questions are the most dominant mode of
communication in most classrooms.
The Art of Questioning
Questioning is an integral part of an inquiry centered
classroom.
It is a learner’s thinking tool to carry out investigation about a
subject matter.
Part of Good Teaching is Effective Questioning
The learning process and
effective instruction are
both anchored on the art of
questioning.
It is the skillful questioning that
can elicit the correct response
from students.
When questions are defective they
cease to make students think;
their thoughts are muddled and they
do not feel challenged at all.
Asking Questions in the Classroom: What does research say?
Teachers rarely pose questions
beyond the literal/factual level (Gall,
1970).
Questions that call for inferential reasoning or
hypothesis formation are rarely asked (Mills, Rice Berliner, & Rousseau,
1980).
Extended stretches of questioning in which the
information builds from facts toward insight or complex
ideas rarely take place (Goodlad, 1984; Sadker &
Sadker, 1985).
Many questions are rhetorical; mere
information checks (Bly, 1986; Cook-Gumperz, 1982).
Teachers tend to monopolize the right to question ( Campbell,
1986).
Question-driven exchanges take place often between
teacher and students only; rarely between students
(Erickson, 1975).
Issues and Concerns About the Questions Teachers Ask
What questions are asked How are questions posed
Do the questions teach students to think
What is the purpose of the question – rote learning or
inquiry
Questioning and Thinking Process in the Classroom
The kind of questions a teacher
asks
shapes the kind of
thinking of students
What are the type of questions that we should ask to promote critical thinking and creative
thinking in the classroom
Range and Types of
Questions
Type
s an
d R
ange
of
Que
stio
ns
Purpose in Asking Questions
Questions According to Thinking Process
Low-level Questions
High-level Questions
Questions According to Answers Requested
Convergent
Divergent
Let’s answer these questions:
•Why do teachers ask questions? •Why do students ask questions?
Purpose in Asking Questions
Purposes of Questioning (Teacher)
Instruction
Focus Thinking
Extend Thinking
Encouragement
Promote Active Learning
Encourage Involvement
Motivate Students
Management
Maintain Attention
Control Behavior
Maintain Order
Assessment
Evaluate Comprehension
Make Instructional Decisions
Diagnose Readiness
Such as
Purposes of Questioning (Students)
Such as
Procedural Information seeking Attention Seeking
How are we going to do … ? When are we going home?
Low-level Questions
Factual + Memory Questions; require only one
correct answer
Example: Who are the proponents of
constructivism?
High-level Questions Go beyond memory and
factual information; require varied points of
view/opinions/abstraction answers; challenging and
stimulating questions
Examples: In what classroom activity would
constructivism be demonstrated and why?
Questions According to Thinking Process
Low Level Questions
Comprehension Knowledge
What is the definition of … ? Can you state . . . ? What is the description … ? What did the text say … ?
How will you interpret the … ? What steps are required … ? Can you explain in your own words …?
High Level Questions
Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation
How would you solve for … ?
What principle is involved … ?
How is … used?
What factors influenced … ?
Which are facts and which are myths … ?
Why did you choose … ?
What are the differences and similarities?
What proposal can you suggest?
How can you establish … ?
What will happen to … ?
What generalization … ?
Which factor is most effective?
Which activity do you prefer?
Why would you not favor … ?
Given a choice, which … ?
Questions According to Answers Requested
Convergent Questions • Referred as low-level questions • Have one correct and best
answer • Used to drill vocabulary,
spelling, mathematical facts, and oral skills
• Usually start with what, who, when, where
• Require short and specific answers
Divergent Questions • Associated with high-level
thinking questions • Have many possible
acceptable answers • Use to encourage creative
thinking and discovery learning • Usually start with how, why or
what of who followed by why • Learners usually need to
explain and elaborate their answers.
Right vs. Poor
Questions
Right Question
Simple
Specific
Direct
Focused
Thought-provoking
Poor Question
High-sounding
General
Misleading
Loaded
Rhetorical
Simple vs. High-sounding
Simple • Employ commonly
used words • Easy to comprehend • E.g. What primate is
genetically closest to human being?
High-sounding • Contain unfamiliar
words • Creates confusion • E.g. What primate
juxtaposes human being?
NOTE: High-sounding questions usually contain technical words. Unless the technical word itself is considered significant, the questions on should be stated within the comprehension level of students.
Original: As your epidermis is worn
away, how is it replaced?
Improved: As your outer layer of skin is worn away, how is it
replaced?
Original: In what direction is light
refracted as it passes from air to water?
Improved: In what direction is light bent as it passes from air
to water?
Specific vs. General Questions
General • What are these
people doing? • What color is it?
Specific • What are these
people planting? • Was it a bright
or a dark color?
Direct vs. Misleading Questions
How do you correct this sentence?
What is the proper
punctuation mark at the end of this sentence?
Focused vs. Loaded Questions
Loaded: What are the three
branches of the government? What is the
function of each? What is the
composition of every branch,
and how are they interrelated?
Focused: What is the function of
each of the three branches of the government?
Loaded Questions = Confusing
Focused
Questions: Direct Student’s Thinking
Thought-provoking vs. Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical: question sounds good; yet hard to understand or it’s not challenging. • Example: Why is it called
lipstick if you can still move your lips?
Thought-provoking: questions arouse strong, thoughtful responses form students • Example: Does putting
lipstick increase one’s self of beauty and confidence? Yes or No and Why?
Let’s improve these questions!
Poor Question
“The purpose of evaluation is
to…”
“Can you tell me the name of
this tool?”
Improved Question “What is the purpose of
evaluation?”
“What is the name of this
tool?”
Let’s improve these questions!
Poor Question
“What is the difference between wool and cotton in
warmth?”
“Tell me about needs analysis. What is it?”
Improved Question
“Why is wool warmer than cotton?”
“What is needs analysis?”
Let’s improve these questions!
Poor Question
“Eight different types of data about other
employees should be considered in salary appraisal. They are salary increases,
employees, performance ratings, and salary actions.
What are they?”
Improved Question
“What data should be considered in salary
appraisal?”
Let’s improve these questions!
Poor Question
“What do you know about
work program negotiations?”
Improved Question
“How do you negotiate a
work program?”
Rules and Guidelines in Asking Questions
Rule 1: Know why you are asking a question
Questions should be
purposeful.
Keep in mind the lesson objectives
and activities.
Rule 2: Provide students with some background information
before asking questions.
Activate students’ prior knowledge before
asking. Explain first some concepts they need as background information to answer
the question.
E.g. Don’t ask “How does environmental degradation relate to climate change?” if students don’t know these two concepts.
Rule 3: Present well-sequenced questions.
Well-sequenced questions result in
smooth flow of thoughts. This is more cognitively
sound.
Types of Questions Sequence: Logical,
Chronological, Inductive and
Deductive
Logical Questioning – syllogistic mode of
thinking
Chronological Questioning – step-by-step questioning
Inductive Questioning –
concrete to abstract; particular to general; known to unknown
Deductive Questioning –
abstract to concrete; general to particular; unknown to known.
Types of Questions Sequence
Logical Questioning Teacher: Kindly give one characteristic of
organisms?
Teacher: Are humans organisms?
Teacher: So what can humans do?
Student: Organisms can adapt.
Student: Yes, humans are organisms.
Student: Humans can adapt.
Chronological Questioning
Teacher: How did humans start?
Teacher: Later, how did they evolve?
Teacher: What is their latest change?
Student: Humans started as apes.
Student: They became half-
human, half-ape.
Student: They are truly humans.
Inductive Questioning Teacher: Study the following pairs:
typewriter → computer cart → car
telephone → cellphone
Teacher: Which in each pair is better than the other? Why?
Teacher: What do these four pair of things show?
Student will analyze the relationship of the first item to the second item.
Student: A computer is better than the typewriter because it has many
functions compare to it. A car is better than a cart because it is driven by machine and it goes far. A cellular phone is better than a telephone
because it is handy, more convenient, and so on.
Student: There is improvement in the things we use.
Deductive Questioning Teacher: To what group of countries does the Philippines belong?
Teacher: What are the characteristics of Third World Countries like the Philippines
?
Teacher: Kindly suggest how our country bails herself out
of the 3rd World?
Student: The Philippines belong to
Third World Countries.
Student: Some characteristics are Low GNP, imbalance foreign trade, and
massive foreign loans.
Student: Some ways are through Strong domestic trade, more employment opportunities, and so on.
Rule 4: Provide students with enough time to answer. (Pause
Time/ Wait Time – 3 to 5 seconds before calling a student.)
Students need time to process the question in order
to bring forward the necessary schema to their working memories and to
consider the question in light of what they already know
about the topic. (Eby, 2002)
The teacher should also remember that some
students need more time than others to see
connections between new ideas and already stored
information and to generate a response of their own.
Benefits of Wait Time or Pause Time
More students volunteer to
answer Students show
more confidence Students give long
answers
Failure to respond are reduced
Less-able students has greater
chance to respond
Student-student exchange increases
Number of HOTS and speculative
answers increase
Improves classroom climate; need to discipline
decreases
Questions and unsolicited
response from students increase
Rule 5: Vary the kind of questions asked.
Teacher must go beyond the questions that are mostly on the
factual level that merely requires simple recall of the past lesson and rote
memorization.
Pose high-level questions that call for
application of HOTS, to ensure in-depth and
more meaningful learning.
Rule 6: Avoid being bookish in formulating
questions.
Effective questioning does not start and ends up with what is contained in the
book. While it may begin with the book, it must gradually
move into the realities of life.
High-level questions are found in the realm of actual human experiences. While
the textbook may be a good guide in learning, it may be by itself inadequate and not
as meaningful as what students actually encounter
in their everyday lives.
Rule 7: Give all students fair chance to
answer questions. No student is to be left
out in answering question. Questions
should be well distributed, giving
everyone a chance to answer.
Teacher should discourage students’ monopoly. Provisions should be made for
both the less able and the more able
students.
Provisions for both less able and more able students (Moore, 1995)
Less Able
Ask convergent questions (E.g. “What is the process of food-making of green plants
called?”)
Use more review/recall questions. (E.g. “What lesson did
we draw out from the story?”)
More Able
Ask divergent questions (E.g. “Can you explain how
photosynthesis takes place?”)
Present relatively more difficult questions. (E.g. “How can you
apply in your daily life the lesson we derived from the story?”)
Provisions for both less able and more able students (Moore, 1995)
Less Able
Ask questions that call for giving another
similar example.
Use questions in a step-by-step approach.
More Able
Ask questions that call for new idea or
concepts.
Ask questions that call for inference
Rule 8: Allow the students to finish
answering the question.
Patience and respect should be observed when students are answering
questions, more particularly during the time
when they can hardly complete their response.
Interrupting or cutting off students before they are
through is unethical aside from being distracting,
frustrating, inappropriate, and a hindrance to develop
logical response on the part of the students.
Rule 9: Formulate questions using interrogating words in
the beginning.
Avoid elliptical questions because these are
confusing and encourage guessing.
Poor: Quartz crystals are formed from the _______
dissolved in ground water?
Improved: What is dissolved in ground water to make quartz crystals?
Rule 10: Questions should be stated
concisely.
Be direct and straightforward in asking
questions. Avoid unnecessary preambles
and words (E.g. “Can you tell me…?”)
Poor: Can you tell me your idea on why do you
think people are unequal?
Better: What cause human inequality?
Rule 11: Address questions to the whole
class. If you have a pattern on calling students make it unpredictable. If such
mechanical arrangement is done, students tend to
disregard questions they know are unassigned to
them.
Proper Way of Asking and Calling Students:
1. Ask the Question 2. Pause for 3-5 seconds
3. Call a student to answer
Rule 12: Questions should be used only for instructional purposes.
They should not be used to punish or embarrass students.
E.g. A student gives a wrong response and then is asked even more difficult
question.
E.g. A student who disrupts the class is
asked a question for which the
answer cannot be possibly known.
Rule 13: Ask with encouraging or friendly
tone.
E.g. Teachers should avoid being hostile and intimidating
when they ask questions. This practice creates a more
negative classroom atmosphere like withdrawal
from participating in the discussion.
E.g. Students who may know initially the answer to the
question might forget it as a result of nervousness.
Rule 14: Ask one question one at a time.
Asking one question one at a time gives
students enough time to understand it, to “digest” it, and to
increase the chance of answering it correctly.
But bombarding them with questions only
overwhelms, confuses, and bewilders them. It
does not speed up their learning, either.
Rule 15: Raise questions before students go through a planned classroom activity (e.g. film-showing, observational work,
group and individual investigation, watching a stage play, and the like).
Questions in advance serve as a guide for students in doing the
activity. They provide the lesson structure and direction (Burden
and Byrd, 2000). This practice will certainly result in successful
learning.
This strategy follows the principle of using the questions as an advance organizer. Giving
students the questions prior to the presentation of new materials alerts them to what to listen or
read for and allows sufficient time for them to process the
information they receive.
Common Pitfalls When Asking Questions
• Asking questions in a threatening way.
• Not indicating a change in the type of questions.
• Not using probing questions. • Not giving students the time to
think. • Not correcting wrong answers. • Failing to see the implications
of answers. • Failing to build on answers.
• Asking too many questions at once.
• Asking a question and answering it yourself.
• Asking questions only of the brightest and most likeable.
• Asking a difficult question too early
• Asking irrelevant questions. • Always asking the same
types of questions. • Ignoring answers.
Identify errors that you or your teachers committed recently.
In general, when you ask questions:
Vary the type of your questions. Ask different
kind of questions.
Questions should call for Higher-Order Thinking
Skills, Critical and Creative Thinking.
Ask non-directed question. Address the
question to all students.
Maximize students’ participation. Call on
non-volunteers.
Frame and sequence your questions correctly
and logically.
Allow for a sufficient wait time 2 to 5 seconds for
low-level questions or for “what” questions and 5 to 10 seconds for high-level
questions or for “how” and “why” questions.
Questioning Techniques
and Responding to Students’
Answers
Responding Techniques
Focusing
Prompting Probing
Redirecting
Focusing
A technique in which questions are asked to
make students concentrate on specific
items to the very essence of the lesson
Example: Questions that highlight the salient
points (e.g. the moral lesson of a story, the
conclusion of an investigation, the main
idea, and the most effective solution to a
particular problem.
Prompting It is a technique involving the use of hints or clues that are used to aid the student in responding
successfully or in correcting their wrong answers (Jacobson, Eggen, & Kauchak,
2002).
Here, the teacher makes follow-up questions to re-
direct the thinking process of students,
leading them to give the correct answer.
Example of Prompting
Example of Prompting
Example of Prompting
Example of Prompting
Probing
It is a technique which involves
asking questions after students have
given only half-answers, not well-thought out ones.
This technique is used when the
student’s reply is correct but
insufficient because it lacks depth (Lang
& Herber, 2000).
Sample Probing Questions
• Does that always apply? • Can you give an example of that? • How does that fit in (relevance)? • You say it is X, which particular kind of X? • What are the exceptions? • Why do you think that is true? • Is there another view? • What is the idea behind that? • Can you tell me the difference between the two?
Redirecting It is a technique used in which a
single question is framed for which there are many
possible responses are elicited from
students.
This attempts to minimize teacher participation and
conversely to maximize student
involvement.
Example of Redirecting
Techniques in handling student responses
• They should be made to feel free to do their best.
• Ask further questions to help students arrive at the correct answer.
Show an appreciative attitude toward student
responses.
• Refrain from giving sarcastic comments. • Any portion of the answer that is correct
should be recognized. Treat incorrect answers
tactfully.
• Seize the moment to praise students; praise sincerely.
• Commendation should be judged by the quality or nature of the response.
Compliment good answers.
cont. • If a student fails to make a point clear, ask
him/her to elaborate. • Guide students to frame their answers
clearly.
Encourage clarity of answers.
• This will result to classroom chaos. • The lazy or inattentive students will love this.
Discourage answering in concert.
• This will reduce recitation as a chore or as a burden.
• This may paralyze critical thinking and hamper spontaneity.
Avoid marking students in your record
notebook during class recitation.
In answering recitation questions, require students to:
always stand and face their classmates
answer in complete
sentence to get the
complete thought or
idea
frame grammatically
correct questions or
answers. (give your feedback or correction if
necessary)
Questions and Comments
• Answer relevant questions • Redirect them to class • Incorporate relevant comments into the lesson • Follow-up student comments with feedback • As much as possible, avoid dismissing irrelevant
questions and answers. Admonish, refocus, or relate students’ questions and answers to the lesson at hand.
Judge of a man by his questions rather than
by his answers.
~Voltaire (1694 - 1778)
References: Corpuz, B. B., & Salandanan , G. G. (2007). Principles of Teaching 1. Quezon City: Lorimar Publishing.
Garcia , M. B. (2010). A Teaching Handbook on Asking Questions. Quezon City: Rex Book Store.
Montealegre , M. (2013). Lecture on the Art of Questioning. Manila: Philippine Normal University.