Effective Questioning and Discussion Strategies Betsy Madison Betsymadison.com

Please complete the Questioning Anticipation Guide "Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." Josef Albers

Today’s target for learning: Today we will expand our understanding and use of questioning and discussion techniques to enhance teaching and learning and increase student achievement

Habits Are Hard to Break A teacher with 20 years of experience will have asked something like a half a million questions in her career. And when you’ve done something the same way, half a million times, it’s quite difficult to start doing it another way. Wiliam (2003) Questions

Questioning Facts On Average, a teacher asks 400 questions a day (one third of their time) Most of the questions are answered in less than one second (Hastings, 2003) 60% recall facts and 20% are procedural (Hattie, 2012) IRE structure is dominate (Initiate – respond – evaluate) Most answers are right or wrong

Why do we ask questions? To guide students toward understanding when we introduce material To push students to do a greater share of the thinking in the classroom To remediate an error To stretch students To check for understanding

Questioning and “the Acronyms”

Effective Questioning and CHETL

5 Keys to Formative Assessment Clarifying, sharing, understanding goals for learning and criteria for success with learners. Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, activities, and tasks that elicit evidence of students’ learning. Providing feedback that moves learning forward. Activating students as learners for their own learning. Activating students as learning resources for one another.

The Formative Assessment Question Loop Question Aligned with Learning Target Student Response actual level of student knowledge and skills The Gap teacher and student analysis of discrepancy Feedback for Teacher modify instruction Feedback for Student change learning strategy/correct misconception

Cognitive Level of QuestionType of Feedback RememberLet students know if the answer is correct or incorrect. Provide cues or clues to guide them to a correct answer. Understand, ApplyAsk students to elaborate, explain their answers, expand on responses. Let students know if their answers are factually correct or incorrect. Analyze, Evaluate, CreateProvide feedback on students’ thinking. “Help me know how you arrived at that answer.” Let students know if their answers are factually correct or incorrect.

To what extent do you intentionally and systematically use questioning to facilitate formative assessment and feedback to support student learning? (Strategy= Think-Pair-Share)

Questioning in…PGES P (Professional) G (Growth) and E (Effectiveness) S (System)

Authentic Discussions~ what does it take? A warm classroom climate- students must feel comfortable talking to each other A physical set up conducive to discussion- students need to see each other Establish criteria for a good discussion- if you want to see if you need to teach it…

Listen well and validate questions- expand on them, challenge them, and encourage students to challenge you! Allow enough time for the discussion and for students to respond. “wait time.” Warm up the audience: review questions, etc… Talk Moves

I am an extrovert. I find that when I’m with people, I have more thoughts and ideas, more motivation and excitement to write and learn, than when I am in periods of silence. In order to write well, I need conversation. I need other people. When I am silent, I don’t really know what I am thinking. My thoughts swirl around idly and I can’t grab ahold of them. I only know what I’m thinking when someone asks me a question. Tanya Marlow

Consider what it takes to move your practice from accomplished to exemplary in the area of questioning and discussion techniques Write down one Classroom idea for each element that you can use to move your practice from accomplished to exemplary (Strategy= Give one/Get one)

Questioning in… KCAS 80-90% of the Reading Standards require Text-Dependent analysis. Text Dependent questions can only be answered by close reading of the text. Text Dependent questions are not all recall questions. They should require inference.

Text Dependent Questions Text Dependent How did Frederick Douglass’ ability to read contribute to his emotional struggle for freedom? Cite examples from the text to support your answers. Non Text Dependent In what ways does America represent the hope for freedom that lived in the heart of Frederick Douglas?

Text Dependent Questions  Sequenced questions guide students’ focus through the text.  Sequence= focus on words and details, logic of author’s argument, central ideas and themes of the text.  Questions guide students to look for patterns within and among text(s).

Lexile 950 Grade level Equivalent 5.3 Interest Level 9-12

Sequence of Text Dependent Questions  General Understandings  Why would the author title the chapter “Go Away”?  Key Details  Find two places in the text where something could have been done to prevent this tragedy?

 Vocabulary and Text Structure  How does the chronological structure help you understand the events?  Author’s Purpose  Whose story is most represented and whose story is under-represented?

Inferences Why would Mrs. Brown run lifeboat number 6 with a revolver? Opinions, arguments, intertextual conections Compare this book with Ken Marschall’s Inside the Titanic. Give two similarities and two differences. A Night to Remember (Walter Lord) Ch. 10

From Martin Luther King’s note to “Letter from Birmingham Jail” “Begun on the margins of the newspaper in which the statement appeared while I was in jail, the letter was continued on scraps of writing paper supplied by a friendly Negro trusty, and concluded on a pad my attorneys were eventually permitted to leave me.” Creating Text-Dependent Questions

Bloom’s taxonomy of Questions 6 Types of Questions & 3 Levels of Processing

Level 1-the lowest level of thinking Remembering Understanding Asks: Who? What? When? Where? Define….

Level 2-asks students to process information and make connections Applying Analyzing Students – Describe – Compare/Contrast – Identify the Main Idea

Level 3-requires a higher level of mental operation. Evaluating Creating Students – Think intuitively – Think creatively – Think hypothetically – Ask WHY?

Write 3 questions about this picture. One must be from each of the 3 levels Of Bloom’s Taxonomy Level 1: Remembering & Understanding Level 2: Processing & Making Connections Level 3: Evaluating, Creating, Hypothesizing

Intentional Bloom's Sequence of Questions

General Rules of Thumb For Effective Questioning

Balance Open & Closed Questions Balance Open & Closed Questions

“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” Anthony Robbins  Closed Questions  Open Questions  Imply that teacher has a predetermined correct response in mind  Recall of facts  Simple comprehension where answer has been previously provided  Allow for range of responses  Encourage students to think beyond literal answers  Help teacher to assess student’s understanding of content

Strategies for Redeeming Closed Questions A Range of Answers A Statement Right and Wrong Starting From the Answer/End Opposing Standpoint

One at a Time  Have you ever done this?  “Sarah, how is the rat’s house different from Mrs. Frisby’s and which one do you think she would rather live in?”  Do you want Sarah to compare and contrast specific details OR infer a character’s point of view on an event?  We are more tempted to do this when we are excited or in a hurry.

Simple to Complex Simple questions engage student thinking, and activate memory and opinions. Simple questions build a fact base students can build on to argue more complex questions. Correctly answering simple questions builds student confidence and increases the likelihood they will attempt harder questions.

No Bait and Switch  If you repeat a question, make sure to ask the same question.  Small changes can derail a student—  Why do you think the author wrote this article?  What was the purpose of this article?  Students may have raised their hands because they felt confident in the first question, yet are not prepared for the second question.

Clear and Concise Is it a wrong answer or a wrong question? – Start with a question word – Limit questions to two clauses – Write important questions in advance – Assume the answer

Wait Time--Think Time--Write Time- -Talk Time  When 3 or more seconds of Wait Time is given…  …the length and correctness of student responses increases.  …the number of “I don’t know” and no answer responses decreases.  …the number of volunteered, correct answers increases.

 When 3 or more seconds of Wait Time is given….  …teacher questions are more varied and flexible.  …the quantity of questions decreases and the quality increases.  …teachers ask add-on questions requiring higher-level thinking and processing.

Think Time  3 second minimum  Instruct students to take a “thinking moment” before you either open the floor for answers or, better yet, YOU choose a student to respond.  Provides the students with a time of reflection and rehearsal  Write the question on the board during student think time.

Write Time “I don’t know what I think until I write it down.” (Norman Mailer)  Especially helpful for tactile/kinesthetic learners  It’s not specifically the writing that helps the learning  Writing is an active, rather than passive, task  Writing involves more of the whole body in the process of thinking  Writing clarifies perspectives

Talk Time “If you have to talk, you have to think.”  The importance of dialogic talk  “ By the age of 4, the child of professional parents in the US will have had nearly twice as many words addressed to it as the working-class child, and over four times as many as a child on welfare. For the middle- class child, encouragement from parents vastly outweighs discouragement; but for the child on welfare the climate of adult reaction is an overwhelmingly discouraging one. While talk is essential for intellectual and social development, for some children, the talk which they engage in at school is nothing less than a lifeline.”  (Robin Alexander, 2004)

Strategies for increasing focused Academic Discussions in your classroom Agree or Disagree with this statement “ If my students are to demonstrate, explain, critique, analyze, and answer, they need to have academic conversations.”

Think Time/Write Time  Write a few of your thoughts on a post- it note Talk Time  Group (table) discussion using Accountable Language Stems  At least one Extension question must be asked

How do we increase the likelihood that our students will engage in academically focused conversations? Curiosity + Purpose + Structure

Write the first question that comes to your mind when you see this image.

Specific Questioning Techniques

No Opt Out  A sequence that begins with a student unable to answer a question and should end with the student answering that question  1. Teacher provides the answer; the student repeats the answer.  2. Another student provides the answer; the initial student repeats the answer.  3. You provide a cue; the student uses it to find the answer.  4. Another student provides the cue; the initial student uses it to find the answer.

Stretch It  A sequence of questioning that doesn’t end with the right answer.  Right answers are rewarded with follow-up questions that extend the knowledge and test for reliability.  Ask how or why  Ask for another way to answer  Ask for a better word  Ask for evidence  Ask students to integrate a related skill  Ask students to apply the same skill in a new setting

Right is Right What’s the difference between pretty good and 100% correct? How do you respond to “almost right” answers?

Right is Right  Many teachers respond to almost-correct answers by “rounding up.” They affirm and repeat the answer, adding the details to make it fully correct.  Most students stop processing when they hear the word “right.”  What does this communicate about the standard of correctness in your classroom?  Who’s doing the cognitive work?

My Favorite No How does this strategy allow for immediate re-teach or intervention? How does this approach of discussing what is correct and incorrect address both students' academic and psychosocial needs?

Students asking Questions  Teachers take up to two-thirds of the classroom talk time. Students are “talk-deprived ” (Alvermann et al., 1996)  Student discussion increases retention as much as 50%. (Sousa, 2001)

Consider this… The teacher is usually the person who asks the questions during a discussion. In a longitudinal study of elementary and secondary school classes, Dillon (1990) found that each student asks only one question per month on average. Teachers must take deliberate steps to get their students to ask questions.

Daily Question Writing Practice  What questions come to mind when you see this picture?  List your questions in your reading journal.  At least one question must be an open question.  At least one question must come from the evaluating, creating, hypothesizing level on your Bloom’s chart.

Engaging Students in Effective Questions  When giving an assignment, ask your students to prepare three questions they had while they were completing the assignment.  Ask your students to write three questions they would expect to answer on a quiz covering the assignment content.  Start class by having your students share their questions in small groups or as a whole class.  Your students’ questions will stimulate discussion and provide you “informative” assessment data.  Use your Blooms’ Flip chart to help. Make a class set.  Students Asking Questions Students Asking Questions

Teachers cannot teach (and students cannot learn) everything there is to know. (Brookhart, 2009) Authentic Questions

Resources Teach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov (Jossey-Bass Teacher) Active Learning Through formative Assessment by Shirley Clarke (Hodder Education) Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom by Moss and Brookhart Thinking Through Quality Questioning by Walsh and Sattes