FACILITATING THE QUESTION FORMULATION TECHNIQUE™ (QFT™) © Questioning to Develop Critical Thinking Skills: The Right Question Technique © Applied to ESL By Jennie Farnell, University of Bridgeport

Why are you here? 

Background -- Me Desperation

Background -- RQI  Started – parent advocacy  Developed into “Microdemocracy”  Spread into various areas  Parent / family involvement  Education  Local government  Voter engagement  Healthcare / mental health  Innovation (work/business related)

Relevance to education?  To avoid this

But seriously…why?  Career readiness  Recent AACU study found fewer than 3 in 10 employers feel recent graduates are well prepared Critical thinking skills Applying knowledge/skill to real world Written / oral communications  Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus (32,000 students / 169 schools) 40% college seniors don’t graduate w/complex reasoning skills employers look for

Common core It’s here!  Designed for college readiness  Creativity  “deep dive”  Rigor  Collaborative  Equality  College readiness

What would you add?

But how?

RULES FOR PRODUCING QUESTIONS  Ask as many questions as you can  Do not stop to discuss, judge or answer the questions  Write down every question exactly as it is stated  Change any statement into a question

RULES FOR PRODUCING QUESTIONS  Ask as many questions as you can  Do not stop to discuss, judge or answer the questions  Write down every question exactly as it is stated  Change any statement into a question What might be difficult about following these rules?

PRODUCING THE QUESTIONS 1.Follow the Rules for Producing Questions. 2.Number your questions. QFocus: Students aren’t asking questions.

IMPROVING THE QUESTIONS You might have these two kinds of questions in your list: Closed-ended questions – they can be answered with “yes” or “no” or with one word. Open-ended questions – they require an explanation and cannot be answered with yes” or “no” or with one word.

IMPROVE YOUR QUESTIONS Identify closed- and open-ended questions.  Mark the closed-ended questions with a C and the open-ended questions with an O.

IMPROVE YOUR QUESTIONS  Name advantages of asking closed-ended questions.  Name disadvantages of asking closed-ended questions.  Name advantages of asking open-ended questions.  Name disadvantages of asking open-ended questions.

IMPROVE YOUR QUESTIONS  Review your list of questions and change one closed-ended question into an open-ended.  Change one open-ended question into a closed-ended one.

PRIORITIZE YOUR QUESTIONS  Choose the three most important questions from your list.  Keep in mind the QFocus.  Mark each priority question with an “X”

SHARE YOUR QUESTIONS Please share:  The questions you changed from closed to open-ended and from open-ended to closed. Read each question as originally written and how it was changed  your three priority questions  your rationale for selecting those three  the numbers of your priority questions

USE YOUR QUESTIONS How?  Independent projects  Experiments, presentations, interviews  Group projects  Debates  Socratic seminars  More???

RQT IN ACTION (modified)  Who -- ESL credit class: Oral Communications Advanced  Goal – Oral presentation: “What happiness means to me.”  Challenge  Students didn’t talk!  Students weren’t self directed learners

Procedure  Brainstorming prompt “What is happiness?” – independent free write Think, pair, share ideas about happiness RQI prompt – “happiness” Introduced RQI rules Skipped discussion about they could be difficult Pairwork – 15 minutes for as many questions as they could make Skipped “opened/closed” questions & changing questions Asked pairs to share their “best” questions w/class (their judgment of “best”) Teacher wrote questions shared

Results  Do you think friends and family are part of your happiness?  Is there any real meaning for happiness?  What does happiness mean?  Can money make you happy?  How do you know you are happy?  Do you think rich people are happier than poor ones?  Do you agree when you're happy you don't have to worry?  Is happiness just a state of mind?  What is your philosophy in life about happiness?  Is freedom happiness?  Can we borrow happiness from someone else?  Can happiness be endless?  Is being healthy a part of your happiness?

Results (continued)  Will you sacrifice your happiness for someone else?  When someone comments on your posting or picture (answers), are you happy?  Does living after the expression "carpe diem" make you happy?  If you reach happiness is your life going to meaning (what's next?)  What makes you happy?  Are you happy when you achieve your goals?  Do you use the smiley icon / emoji when you text, , skype to express your happiness?  Is anyone really happy?  Can you tell un event that happened in your life that makes you happy?  Are animals happy?  Do you think being alone can be happy?  Why are all kids kind of happy and adults aren't?  Are you happy when your friend is happy?

Assignment  Use Glogster ( Powerpoint (with recording feature), or any other presentation tool to create your assignment.  Include in your presentation:  Your personal answer to “What makes you happy?”. Use the questions we came up with in class to help focus your ideas  Your advice to others for finding happiness / meaning in life.  Record your presentation and support it with pictures.

REFLECTION 1.What did you learn? 2.What value does it have?

Feedback  Please share ideas, suggestions, additional questions, or other thoughts.  All is anonymous and appreciated!  Link will be open for the next few days

Sources  Cox, John Woodrow. (2015) Why are so many college students failing to gain job skills before graduation? - The Washington Post. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from college-students-failing-to-gain-job-skills-before-graduation/ college-students-failing-to-gain-job-skills-before-graduation/  Educator Resource Area - Right Question Institute (Right Question Institute) Retrieved October 18, 2015, from  Employability Skills Lesson Plans and Career Readiness. (2015) Retrieved October 18, 2015, from  Pohlmannneethi,Tom & Thomas, Mary. (2015) Relearning the Art of Asking Questions. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from questions?utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweethttps://hbr.org/2015/03/relearning-the-art-of-asking- questions?utm_campaign=Socialflow&utm_source=Socialflow&utm_medium=Tweet  Six Ways the Common Core is Good For Students. (2015) NEA Today. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from students-2/  Study finds big gaps between student and employer perceptions. (2015) Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from and-employer-perceptions and-employer-perceptions