Asking the Right Questions Using lower cognitive questions as a gateway to Critical thinking questions

Research Findings Related to Questioning and Student Achievement Instruction that includes posing questions during lessons is more effective in producing achievement gains than instruction carried out without questioning students On average, 60% of questions asked during instruction are lower cognitive questions, 20% are procedural, and 20% are higher cognitive questions, although many of these are not focused on curriculum In most classes, a balance of lower cognitive questions and higher cognitive questions produces superior learning gains to classrooms where there is a preponderance of one kind over the other This would be a good time to ask teachers to reflect on their own questioning behaviors. Do these percentages reflect what happens in their classroom?

What Are Examples of Higher and Lower Cognitive Questions? Yes/No questions Factual Questions Higher Cognitive Open Questions (questions with multiple reasonable responses) Questions that call for students to analyze and evaluate rather than recall information Questions that call for students to create or critique an argument This might be a good time to practice distinguishing between lower and higher cognitive questions. I would suggest having teachers quickly brainstorm and share lower and higher cognitive questions related to their content.

Both Kinds of Questions are Important A lower cognitive question is not necessarily a bad question A higher cognitive question is not necessarily a good question Higher cognitive questions are not inherently better than lower cognitive questions However . . . Research suggests that teachers are asking far too many lower cognitive questions and not enough higher cognitive questions Teachers need to maintain an appropriate balance between lower cognitive and higher cognitive questions

Lower cognitive questions should lead to higher cognitive questions and probing Teacher probing that calls for students to explain, justify, and defend The big idea here is that the lower cognitive questions should be used to focus the students’ attention on the details that they’ll need to answer the higher cognitive questions that come next. This is not simply a sequential progression of questions. Each part builds on each successive part.

So What Kind of Higher Cognitive Question Makes the Most Sense in Light of the Common Core? Look at this language from the Common Core Curriculum Justify conclusions Comprehend as well as critique Value evidence Construct effective arguments Explore the truth of conjectures Constructively evaluate the use of evidence Determine the domain to which an argument applies Clarify or improve arguments Build a logical progression of statements Critically evaluate other points of view Question a speaker’s assumptions and reasoning Have teachers discuss the commonalities they notice with the common core items. They will probably realize fairly quickly that all of these relate to arguments and evidence.

What does all of that Common Core language have in common? They all call for students to be fluent with arguments and evidence So a category of higher cognitive question that will allow you to get a lot of instructional bang for your questioning buck is questions that call for students to create, analyze, and/or critique arguments Let’s call these kinds of questions Critical Thinking Questions Please emphasize that no one is advocating that critical thinking questions should be the only kind of questions teachers ask. There needs to be a balance between lower and higher cognitive questions, and not all higher cognitive questions need to be critical thinking questions. However, the research suggests that not enough higher cognitive questions are being asked in classrooms, particularly at the secondary level, and critical thinking questions are one kind of higher cognitive question that relates well to the core curriculum.

What Constitutes a Good Critical Thinking Question? A good critical thinking question causes students to explore curricular content A good critical thinking question calls for students to analyze and evaluate rather than recall information A good critical thinking question sparks disagreement or debate A good critical thinking question might anticipate student misconceptions A good critical thinking question is open rather than closed; It has multiple, reasonable responses A good critical thinking question can be supported using evidence from a text or primary source document

Let’s Practice writing curriculum-based lower cognitive Questions that lead to Critical Thinking Questions Use the following Curricular Objectives as your focus Analyze multiple accounts of the same topic, noting important similarities and differences in the points of view they represent Explain how an author uses reasons and evidence to support particular points, identifying which reasons support which points Use the texts on the next two slides to practice. I do not have copyright permission to make paper copies of these texts so you’ll just have to just them on the slides. I have written several examples of lower cognitive and critical thinking questions and I have a model of how lower cognitive questions can lead to critical thinking questions (the first half of the organizer). The second half of the organizer has been left blank so teachers can practice asking their own series of questions for the second text. I filled in the probing section of the blank organizer because while to a certain extent, you can anticipate student answers or misconceptions, teachers need to be knowledgeable about all of these categories of probing so they can respond if students answer in unexpected ways.

Shark Text #1 (Model) PEOPLE FOR SAFE BEACHES CLAIMED: The great white shark is a murderer. It has taken the lives of men, women and children. As a murderer, it should be hunted down and jailed or destroyed to make our beaches safe to enjoy. From Arguments by Michael O. Baker, Critical Thinking Books and Software

Shark Text #2 (Practice) PEOPLE FOR SEA LIFE CONSERVATION COUNTERED: The great white shark is no different from any other fish in the sea; it eats to survive. The shark is like an eagle who combs the sea in search of food. We do not treat eagles like criminals just because they kill to survive. Therefore, we should not treat the great white shark like a criminal because it kills to survive. From Arguments by Michael O. Baker, Critical Thinking Books and Software

What does probing sound like? Probing is how the teacher responds to answers given by students Ask students to clarify their answer What do you mean by that? Why did you choose to use that word? Ask students to provide other, reasonable answers Is there another possibility? Ask students to provide evidence that justifies their answer How do you know? Can you prove that? Is your answer the best answer? Ask students to extend their answer Would your argument still make sense if something changed? How would your argument apply to another context? Ask students to critique another argument Does that argument make sense? What’s wrong with that argument? Does the evidence support that argument? Challenge the student to defend their argument in the face of critique Does this new piece of evidence invalidate your argument? Your argument is incompatible with this one. Which is correct?

Some Questioning Guidelines to Remember Provide sufficient wait time (at least 5 seconds for critical thinking questions) Make sure questions are focused on the curriculum and are planned ahead of time Balance responses from volunteering and non-volunteering students Encourage students to respond to each other