Questions Used To evaluate & diagnose discover students interests motivate students ’ learning give practice in expression emphasize important point provide review—drill or practice show agreement & disagreement develop students ’ ability to think uncover students ’ mental process find out something one did not know obtain the attention of wandering minds find out whether students knows something show relationships, such as cause & effect help students organize & interpret materials Based on information found in: Victor, E. & Kellough, R.D. Science for the Elementary & Middle School, pgs Prentice Hall: Columbus, Ohio

Types of Questions Based on information found in: Victor, E. & Kellough, R.D. Science for the Elementary & Middle School, pgs Prentice Hall: Columbus, Ohio Convergent-Thinking low-order, recall, one answer questions—aka: narrow & closed What are the five types of questions? use to start discussions Cueing after 3-9 second wait, used to cue students Do you recall the cow mnemonic we learned? Clarifying & Probing student to go beyond simple or quick response you understand student ’ s ideas, feeling, thought processes What I hear you saying is that you prefer to work alone. Is this correct? Why do you think/feel you work better alone? strong positive correlation with student learning & development of metacognitive skills Evaluative compels students to place a value on something Should points be given for informal assignments? Divergent-Thinking higher-order, call for analysis, synthesis, evaluation— aka: broad, reflective, thought & open-ended questions What measures could you take to increase your learning in this class?

Questioning Dos Give students’ sufficient “think time” minimum wait time of 3-9 seconds Listen to students’ responses clue to their understanding—you know when they need clarification or have misconceptions informal, assessment tool. Ask for clarification whether responses accurate or inaccurate Why? also ask other students to respond Do you agree? careful probing can reveal misunderstandings Involve more students calling on volunteers teaches other students they don ’ t have to participate ensure involvement: surveys, draw names at random, check names off list, etc. develop system to help you assess individual students ’ Use open-ended questions closed questions ask recall of isolated facts open-ended questions call for analysis, evaluation, creativeness & involve everyone in discussion Accept all answers questioning or ridiculing students ’ responses makes them anxious & unwilling to respond in future remain neutral reduce “ verbal rewards ” & sanctions praise effort not “ accuracy ” of response

Questioning Don ’ ts Don’t ask leading questions or answer own questions when greeted with silence, use wait time or rephrase question avoid leading questions: Don ’ t you think that... ? or Wouldn ’ t you agree that... ? use questions to find out what students know & stimulate more questions Avoid multiple questions multiple questions confuse students & complicate issues— How many different kinds of light bulbs are there? How do they work? Which is the most energy efficient? ask only one question at a time Do not use questions to discipline students Don ’ t use sarcastic questions to confront students ’ misbehavior—Isn ’ t it about time you stopped fooling around? never ask questions to embarrass or punish students Steer clear of the “ boys club ” female elementary teachers ask boys more questions (and probe their responses more often) than they do girls solution: record & analyze class discussion or ask someone to count number of times you call on male/female if you have a problem, call on girl, boy, girl, boy Avoid falling into a rut vary way you ask questions & how students respond start with fact/definition recall questions, progress to explanation, analysis, hypothesis, prediction questions use Bloom ’ s Taxonomy to explore higher levels