1. FACILITATING THE QUESTION FORMULATION TECHNIQUE™ (QFT™) www.rightquestion.org © 2001- 2012 www.rightquestion.org Questioning to Develop Critical Thinking Skills: The Right Question Technique © Applied to ESL By Jennie Farnell, University of Bridgeport

2. Why are you here? www.rightquestion.org  http://padlet.com/jfarnellub/conntesol http://padlet.com/jfarnellub/conntesol

3. Background -- Me www.rightquestion.org Desperation

4. Background -- RQI www.rightquestion.org  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)

5. Relevance to education? www.rightquestion.org  To avoid this

6. But seriously…why? www.rightquestion.org  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

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

8. What would you add? www.rightquestion.org http://padlet.com/jfarnellub/rqt

9. But how? www.rightquestion.org

10. 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 www.rightquestion.org

11. 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? www.rightquestion.org

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

13. 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. www.rightquestion.org

14. 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. www.rightquestion.org

15. 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. www.rightquestion.org

16. 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. www.rightquestion.org

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

18. 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 www.rightquestion.org

19. USE YOUR QUESTIONS www.rightquestion.org How?  Independent projects  Experiments, presentations, interviews  Group projects  Debates  Socratic seminars  More???

20. RQT IN ACTION (modified) www.rightquestion.org  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

21. Procedure www.rightquestion.org  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

22. Results www.rightquestion.org  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?

23. Results (continued) www.rightquestion.org  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, email, 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?

24. Assignment www.rightquestion.org  Use Glogster (http://edu.glogster.com/?ref=com), Powerpoint (with recording feature), or any other presentation tool to create your assignment.http://edu.glogster.com/?ref=com  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.

25. REFLECTION 1.What did you learn? 2.What value does it have? www.rightquestion.org

26. Feedback www.rightquestion.org  Please share ideas, suggestions, additional questions, or other thoughts.  All is anonymous and appreciated!  Link will be open for the next few days http://padlet.com/jfarnellub/feedback

27. Sources www.rightquestion.org  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 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/26/why-are-so-many- college-students-failing-to-gain-job-skills-before-graduation/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/01/26/why-are-so-many- college-students-failing-to-gain-job-skills-before-graduation/  Educator Resource Area - Right Question Institute (Right Question Institute) http://rightquestion.org/educators/resources/ Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://rightquestion.org/educators/resources/ http://rightquestion.org/educators/resources/  Employability Skills Lesson Plans and Career Readiness. (2015) Retrieved October 18, 2015, from http://www.aeseducation.com/careercenter21/employability-skills-lesson-plans/http://www.aeseducation.com/careercenter21/employability-skills-lesson-plans/  Pohlmannneethi,Tom & Thomas, Mary. (2015) Relearning the Art of Asking Questions. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from https://hbr.org/2015/03/relearning-the-art-of-asking- 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 http://neatoday.org/2013/05/10/six-ways-the-common-core-is-good-for- students-2/  Study finds big gaps between student and employer perceptions. (2015) Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved October 18, 2015, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/20/study-finds-big-gaps-between-student- and-employer-perceptions https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/20/study-finds-big-gaps-between-student- and-employer-perceptions