Questioning - Teacher Tools

1 QuestioningModule 490|Training materials for the foundation subjectsModule 4 Questioning Crown copyright 2002 QuestioningObjectives To develop teachers self-awareness and analysis of their own questioningtechniques To identify key features of good Questioning To enhance the planning for, and use of, questions To identify relevant skills and plans for professional development (related toquestioning) which teachers can then pursueResources OHTs Handouts (Handout is OHT Cut up handout into separatequestions prior to the session.) Appendix , Questions for learning Video sequence for this module Flipchart and pensSession outline75 of questions from pre-course task5 of questions7 : pitfalls and alternatives6 questions to promote thinking20 tactics for effective questioning25 an overview4 for more?

2 3 minutesNotes for presentersIn this module, presenters should seek to model good practice in their ownquestions and responses to participants. Prompts to help to achieve this have been written into various sections. It may aid the understanding and learning ofparticipants if presenters think aloud as they ask questions (for example, Now I mgoing to pause and provide thinking time ).Appendix , Questions for learning, contains further ideas and suggestions fordeveloping effective Questioning and is to be distributed to participants at the endof the session. Crown copyright 200291|Training materials for the foundation subjectsModule 4 QuestioningModule 4 Pre-course taskAt least two weeks before the session, inform participants that they should bringwith them to the session a selection of 12 questions they have asked in recentlessons.

3 They may choose questions that they have asked in whole-class sessionsor those used with groups or individuals. Encourage them to select questions thatrepresent the normal range and type of questions they 5 minutesShow OHT these points: This is an area characterised by a good deal of instinctive practice. State thatafter this session, participants will be increasingly able to reflect on and analysewhat they do currently. They will also be able to identify specific ways of developing questioningtechniques that will enhance pupils OHT , which identifies five reasons why questions are central to teachingand of questioningQuestioning is a critical skill for teachers because it is: the most common form of interaction betweenteacher and pupil; an element of virtually every type and model oflesson; a key method of providing appropriate challengefor all pupils; an important influence on the extent of progressmade.

4 The most immediate and accessible way for ateacher to assess To develop teachers self-awareness and analysis of their own Questioning techniques To identify key features of good Questioning To enhance the planning for, and use of,questions To identify relevant skills and plans for professionaldevelopment (related to Questioning ) whichteachers can then pursueOHT |Training materials for the foundation subjectsModule 4 Questioning Crown copyright Analysis of questions from 5 minutespre-course taskExplain that this activity is designed to help participants to reflect on their currentpractice by looking at the types of questions they often handout participants to spend 5 minutes analysing the questions they have broughtwith them, using the handout.

5 (One example has been provided on the handout toclarify the nature of the task.) of questions7 minutesOrganise participants into groups of three or four and ask them to: compare their notes from the completed handout ; generate a list of three key purposes of asking questions in order to draw out important purposes when generating this list, participantsshould focus upon the outcomes of Questioning when it is done well and what theirgoals are when they question brief feedback from the group, and use OHT summarise. This feedback session presents an opportunity to modeleffective questioningtechniques, particularly: distributing questions carefully to include a mix of conscripts and volunteers ; probing for explanation and of questions Question posedOpen/PurposeEvaluation of pupils closed?

6 Responses (impact on learning)What did we call this ClosedTo stimulate recallHelped all pupils rememberstyle of painting?a key wordHandout Crown copyright 200293|Training materials for the foundation subjectsModule 4 : pitfalls and alternatives6 minutesRearrange participants into new groups of three or four to discuss common pitfallsthat they have encountered in asking pupils questions. Show the first two bulletspoints of OHT prompt discussion. Take brief feedback, logging ideas on a flipchart. This presents a furtheropportunity to modeleffective Questioning , particularly to: provide wait time / tolerate thinking time; use the no hands up rule; build up fuller, more sophisticated answers by layering one answer you do this you should attempt to reflect upon the effectiveness of your practiceso that you can adjust it for the later parts of the with OHT to summarise common these points: Avoiding these pitfalls can have two key outcomes: greater pupil participation inlessons and greater depth in teaching and learning.

7 Questions such as Can you ..? or Are you ..? may be unhelpful for pupilswith special educational needs as they may interpret the question literally andthe response will be yes or no .Pitfalls of Questioning It is easy to fall into the trap of: asking too many closed questions; asking pupils questions to which they canrespond with a simple yes or no answer; asking too many short-answer, recall-basedquestions; asking bogus guess what I m thinking questions; starting all questions with the same stem; pursuing red herrings; dealing ineffectively with incorrect answers ormisconceptions; focusing on a small number of pupils and notinvolving the whole class; making the sequence of questions too rigid.

8 Not giving pupils time to reflect, or to pose theirown questions; asking questions when another strategy might bemore of Questioning To interest, engage and challenge pupils To check on prior knowledge To stimulate recall and use of existing knowledgeand experience in order to create newunderstanding and meaning To focus thinking on key concepts and issues To extend pupils thinking from the concrete andfactual to the analytical and evaluative To lead pupils through a planned sequence whichprogressively establishes key understandings To promote reasoning, problem solving, evaluationand the formulation of hypotheses To promote pupils thinking about the way theyhave learnedOHT |Training materials for the foundation subjectsModule 4 Questioning Crown copyright 2002 Some pupils on the autistic spectrum often need to know why a question isbeing asked.

9 Questions that demand specific information will often yield apositive response, for example Can you tell me the way to the station? .However, questions such as Can you tell me how you worked that out? mayyield a yes response, but no more. The pupil with autistic spectrum disordersmay not be able to understand why the question has been asked as they gotthe answer right. As an alternative, try Explain to the class how you workedthat out on the whiteboard because we might like to try the same strategy .Pupils are more likely to respond positively as clear direction and purpose isgiven. Teachers may need to consider how to use a range of questions sensitively inorder to maintain the self-esteem of individual pupils.

10 Draw attention to handout , which identifies a variety of alternatives toquestioning. Ask participants to consider the examples and if possible add moreideas or examples of alternative Using questions to promote thinking20 minutesShow OHT distribute handout s taxonomy of Questioning Knowledge DescribeIdentifyWho, when, where Comprehension TranslatePredictWhy? ApplicationDemonstrate howSolveTry it in a new context Analysis ExplainInferAnalyse SynthesisDesignCreateCompose EvaluationAssessCompare/contrastJudgeHan dout s taxonomy of Questioning Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis EvaluationOHT to questionsAlternative strategyExampleInvite pupils to elaborate Would you say a little more about that.