Questioning Techniques

Questioning Second most widely used teaching strategy Some teachers used as many as 150 questions per hour Average was 395 questions a day –71% were factual –29% required thought

Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge – to know about Comprehension – to understand Application – to use knowledge & understanding Analysis – to break down Synthesis – to combine, to create Evaluation – to judge

Convergent Questions Knowledge and Comprehension levels Low level Encourage student responses to converge or focus on a special theme Short, factual answers

Convergent Examples What did the witch give Snow White? Where did apprenticeships originate?

Divergent Questions Application, Analysis, & Synthesis levels Higher level questions Questions that evoke student responses that may vary greatly Longer student responses usually needed Seldom determined to be write or wrong More than one way to answer

Divergent Examples What would happen in a school if it had no rules? How does the environment affect human behavior?

Evaluative Questions Evaluation level Questions that ask for judgment No right or wrong answers

Evaluative Examples Is the world a better place because of computers? What should Snow White have done when she received the apple?

Questioning Procedure Ask Pause (3 to 5 seconds) Call on someone Listen to response Emphasize correct answer

Encouraging Responses Maintain a positive, friendly environment Be generous with positive feedback Offer some easy to answer questions Allow for making mistakes as a way of learning Make a game out of asking/answering questions (teams)

Encouraging Responses Draw cards out of hat for random names Give students questions the day before Balance responses from volunteers and non- volunteers Avoid being sarcastic or punishing Watch your nonverbal cues Try to make them feel successful

Prompts Supply prompts to encourage responses That’s a good description of the first part. Now what about...? Yes, that’s part of the answer. Tell me more. That’s the basic idea. Can you expand on that? Okay. Continue.

Handling Wrong Answers Think about that again. Then take another try. Can you tell us how you got your answer? You’ve got the first part right. Tell me more about your answer. That’s a very unique way of looking at things.