Bloom’s Taxonomy & Costa’s Levels of Questioning

Costa’s Levels of Questions Costa’s Levels of Questioning are types of questions that help develop a deeper understanding of a text or topic. Each level corresponds- roughly – to the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

Level One Questions are primarily about what the text says Can be answered completely by quoting directly from the text Require the responder to remember and – to some extent – understand the text Brainstorming Questions: ask students to generate a large number and diverse set of responses. Brainstorming Questions help set the foundation for the next two levels of questions. Effective Level One Question: After reading To Kill a Mockingbird, list all the (major and minor) societal influences that impact Scout’s view on race? Ineffective Level One Question: Is Scout a racist?

Level Two Questions are primarily about what the text means / suggests Are answered by making inferences about the text May have multiple right answers (although there certainly are wrong answers as well). Require the responder to understand, apply and even analyze the text Interpretive Questions: often are about the themes, characters, or writing style of the text. The best answers will be ones that can be most thoroughly supported by evidence from the text. Sample Interpretive Question: What does the symbol of the mockingbird represent? Subjective Questions: require students to develop a response by taking on the perspective of an individual/group in the text or the author of the text. Sample Subjective Question: Based on the events and repercussions of these events in To Kill a Mockingbird, what is Harper Lee’s conviction about the potential for society to become fully racially just?

Level Three Questions are primarily about how the text informs our understanding of other texts and situations Are answered by connecting the text to ideas outside of the text. Require the responder to apply, analyze, and evaluate the text in conjunction with ideas outside the text Require the responder to create something new from the text.

Evaluative/Debate Questions: these questions ask students to develop and defend their opinion or judgment on an (often polarizing) issue. Debate questions require students to also understand the topic itself, prepare counterarguments against objections, and organize their ideas to maximize their persuasive potential. Evaluative Questions are Level 3 because they connect your opinion (which is outside of the text) to the text itself. Evaluative Question: Because To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of a socially powerful white man coming to the rescue of a disempowered black man, many readers find it problematic and insist that there should be more stories about black individuals empowered to fight for their own justice instead of relying on white figures. What is your opinion on this issue?

Synthesis Questions: these questions ask students to compare and contrast the text to other outside texts, current events, personal experiences, etc. Synthesis Question: In To Kill a Mockingbird, we read about a mob that formed in an attempt to kidnap and lynch Tom Robinson. What modern day mob‐like situations do you hear about on our current news? What motivated the mob in To Kill a Mockingbird to form and how does this compare with the motivation behind these modern day mobs? Are mobs, under any circumstances, justified? Explain.

Problem Solving Questions: these questions present a problem or dilemma that requires students to develop a clear solution based on their knowledge and opinions. The best problem solving questions require students to discuss potential strategies, foresee obstacles, and weigh options. Problem Solving Question: In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson is unjustly convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. While Atticus insists that Tom has a fair chance for winning an appeal for the case, Tom instead attempts to escape prison and is fatally shot as a result. If you were in Tom’s situation, what would have been your options for securing a just outcome for yourself? Which option would be most favorable, considering the obstacles and costs that you may face?