1. Effective Questioning
Questioning techniques to support learning and progress
SLIDE 1: WELCOME
EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING – is one of a series of Bite Sized training resources designed to develop the skills and knowledge of classroom teachers in assessment for learning techniques.
Other training in the ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING series include:
Understanding assessment
Effective feedback
Self and peer assessment
Smart target setting and interventions
In order to facilitate today’s training, you will need:
Copies of the PowerPoint slides printed three to a page with space for notes for each participant
Copies of the accompanying ‘Starting to lead’ handout for each participant
Flip chart paper and marker pens
All resources for this training are available from
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2. Outcomes from today
By the end of this Bite Sized Training you will be able to:
Describe an effective question
Explain the main features of good questioning
Be able to apply effective questioning techniques in your classroom
Identify your own personal strengths and potential weaknesses in questioning techniques
SLIDE 2: INTRODUCTION
EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING will focus on the three key pieces of learning that those new to questioning techniques need to know:
Knowing what good questioning looks like and sounds like
Understanding why we need to ask good questions
Be able to identify good questioning and use questioning effectively in the classroom
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3. What do you think?
If a question is important enough to ask, shouldn’t ALL students have the opportunity to answer it? ACTIVITY: Think-Pair-Share
SLIDE 3: What do you think?
If a question is important enough to ask, shouldn’t ALL students have the opportunity to answer it?
ACTIVITY - Think-Pair-Share
Ask participants to THINK individually about their response to this question, discuss their thinking in a PAIR and then SHARE their ideas with the group.
Trainer to collate answers on a flip chart and summarize key points.
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4. Inclusive questioning
Turn-To-Your-Neighbour
Think-Pair-Share
Snow Ball
Value Line
Lollypop sticks
Voting
Diamond Nine
White board answers
Activity
Work together to devise one or more learning activities that employ the questioning techniques described here.
SLIDE 4: Inclusive questioning
For questioning to be effective, every member of the class should have an opportunity to take part.
Techniques to do this include:
Turn-To-Your-Neighbour – Learners discuss their thinking and answers to a question with a learning neighbour
Think-Pair-Share – After a question, learners think individually, then discuss with a partner and then share their thinking with the class
Snow ball – Development of think, pair share: After discussing in a pair, the pair shares with another pair to make a four, then the four shares to make an eight etc. so the size of the group snow balls.
Value Line – After a question, learners take their place on an imaginary line to show their response to the question (good for strongly agree to strongly disagree type questions)
Lollypop sticks – Learners are chosen at random to answer questions posed by the teacher
Voting – After a question, learners vote on a range of answers (good for open ended questions).
Diamond Nine Ranking – Learners have to rank a range of answers from ‘best’ to ‘worse’ to form a diamond shape.
White Board Answers – Learners use individual white boards to write down their answers and then show the class or group.
Activity
Work together to devise one or more learning activities that employ the questioning techniques described here.
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5. Prompting
What can we do when students don’t, won’t or can’t respond to a question?
Try this sequence:
Original question
Alternate question (ask the same thing in a different way)
Open-ended question (I.e. descriptions or comparisons)
Alternative response (give students an “either/or” option)
Activity
Adapt the questioning activity you devised from the last slide to reflect this prompting technique.
SLIDE 5: Prompting
What can we do when students don’t, won’t or can’t respond to a question?
Try this sequence:
Original question
Alternate question (ask the same thing in a different way)
Open-ended question (I.e. descriptions or comparisons)
Alternative response (give students an “either/or” option)
Activity
Adapt the questioning activity you devised from the last slide to reflect this prompting technique.
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6. Wait-Time
After posing a questions, wait AT LEAT 3 seconds before asking for a response.
Traditional Questioning
Teacher questions (pause)
Call on student (pause)
Student responds or teacher intervenes (pause)
Go back to Teacher Questions
Cooperative Questioning
ALL individuals think (pause)
ALL individuals respond (team members and teacher intervene)(pause)
Responses are shared with the class
Go Back to “Teacher Questions”
SLIDE 6: WAIT TIME
After posing a questions, wait AT LEAT 3 seconds before asking for a response.
Traditional Questioning
Teacher questions (pause)
Call on student (pause)
Student responds or teacher intervenes (pause)
Go back to Teacher Questions
Cooperative Questioning
ALL individuals think (pause)
ALL individuals respond (team members and teacher intervene)(pause)
Responses are shared with the class
Go Back to “Teacher Questions”
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7. Take an answer round the class
Use Volleyball not Table Tennis
SLIDE 7: Take the answer around the class.
Many questioning interactions in the classroom are like a game of tennis – the teacher serves a question, the answer is hit back by a student, the teacher responds with another question etc. So the interaction is just back and fourth with one question after another.
This misses the opportunity to explore questions in greater depth and breadth.
Treat questions like volleyball not tennis
The teacher serves the question to the class and then accepts a range of answers with the object being to keep improving the quality, depth and breadth of questions for as long as is useful before asking the next question.
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8. Pose, Pause, Pounce and Bounce
POSE  - Pose your question to the whole class.
PAUSE - Pause and wait for as long as possible before anyone is asked to answer…
POUNCE(!) - Pounce on a student(s) to answer…
BOUNCE! - Bounce the students response onto another student(s) and allow time to tease out concepts and opinions…
SLIDE 8: Pose, pause, pounce and bounce
This activity was first published in 2011 ( and is another great strategy for extending the useful life of a question and developing greater depth and breadth in learners’ answers:
POSE  - Pose your question to the whole class.
PAUSE - Pause and wait for as long as possible before anyone is asked to answer…
POUNCE(!) - Pounce on a student(s) to answer…
BOUNCE! - Bounce the students response onto another student(s) and allow time to tease out concepts and opinions…
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9. What about ‘hands up’? Think about introducing a ‘no hands up’ rule?
ACTIVITY: How would ‘No hands up’ change the dynamic of your classroom?
SLIDE 9: What about ‘hands up’?
Departing from the standard practice of asking pupils to put their hands up to answer a question enables the teacher to call on anyone to answer a question and everyone is expected to answer at any time, even if it is ‘I don’t know’.
The ‘no hands up’ rule changes the dynamic of the classroom. It makes it difficult for pupils to switch off from classroom discussions.
It is more like to work when used with increasing wait time to help students think about their answers.
ACTIVITY: How would ‘No hands up’ change the dynamic of your classroom?
Trainer to use the cooperative questioning model to lead this activity:
Trainer poses question - How would ‘No hands up’ change the dynamic of your classroom? (pause)
ALL individuals think (pause)
ALL individuals respond (team members and trainer intervene)(pause)
Responses are shared with the group
Go Back to “Trainer Questions”
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10. Coaching questions
Closed questions encourage closed thinking and shallow answers
Coaching questions get students to think for themselves:
Focus attention - What does this tell us about …?
Force comparison - What is the same and what is different about …?
Seek clarification - How can we explain …?
Stimulate enquiry - What would happen if? What do we need to know …?
Look for reasons - How can we be sure that ?Why do you think that …?
ACTIVITY: Coaching questions
Work together to plan a series of coaching questions about a topic you teach.
Try them out on a partner and ask for feedback.
SLIDE 10: Coaching questions
Closed questions encourage closed thinking and shallow answers
Coaching questions get students to think for themselves:
Focus attention - What does this tell us about …?
Force comparison - What is the same and what is different about …?
Seek clarification - How can we explain …?
Stimulate enquiry - What would happen if? What do we need to know …?
Look for reasons - How can we be sure that ?Why do you think that …?
These sorts of questions are especially good for incorrect answers
ACTIVITY: Coaching questions
Work together to plan a series of coaching questions about a topic you teach.
Try them out on a partner and ask for feedback.
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11. What about incorrect answers?
Incorrect answers present a great opportunity for us to use better questions to check and develop students’ understanding You might use questions such as:
Why do you think that?
Can you be sure?
Is there another way?
Do you have a reason?
How do you know?
What do you think?
SLIDE 11: What about incorrect answers?
Incorrect answers present a great opportunity for us to use better questions to check and develop students’ understanding
You might use questions such as:
Why do you think that?
Can you be sure?
Is there another way?
Do you have a reason?
How do you know?
What do you think?
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12. Questioning Level Bloom’s Taxonomy ACTIVITY: Using Blooms
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analysising
Evaluating
Creating
ACTIVITY: Using Blooms
Adjust the questioning activity you have already devised to reflect different levels of questioning as outlined in Bloom’s taxonomy.
SLIDE 12: Questioning level
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Remembering – WHAT is the capital of England?
Understanding – WHY is London the capital city of England?
Applying – WHICH features make London a capital city?
Analysising – WHAT is needed in an effective capital city?
Evaluating – Do you think Paris or Moscow have the necessary features to be an effective capital city?
Creating – What features would you include in a capital city?
ACTIVITY: Using Blooms
Adjust the questioning activity you have already devised to reflect different levels of questioning as outlined in Bloom’s taxonomy.
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13. Make it Work at Work
What are you going to DO as a result of this Bite Sized Training session?
SLIDE 13: MAKING IT WORK AT WORK
ACTIVITY: What will you do as a result of this Bite Sized Training?
Working in groups, look at the action sheet you have produced during today’s training.
What are the three key learning points for you?
What will you change tomorrow to improve your middle leadership?
How will you know when your change has been successful?
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14. Where next?
EFFECTIVER QUESTIONING – is one of a series of Bite Sized training resources designed to develop the skills and knowledge of classroom teachers in assessment for learning techniques.
Other training in the ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING series include:
Understanding assessment
Effective feedback
Self and peer assessment
Smart target setting and interventions
Bite Sized Training offers a wide range of school based CPD sessions designed to be used as sharply focused yet active training sessions of no more than 45 minutes in length. Bite Sized Training materials are produced by Steve Burnage through Steve is an experienced author, trainer and education consultant with over 25 years experience of working in UK schools.
For details of other CPD offered through Bite Sized Training, or call
SLIDE 14: Where next?
EFFECTIVER QUESTIONING – is one of a series of Bite Sized training resources designed to develop the skills and knowledge of classroom teachers in assessment for learning techniques.
Other training in the ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING series include:
Understanding assessment
Effective feedback
Self and peer assessment
Smart target setting and interventions
Bite Sized Training offers a wide range of school based CPD sessions designed to be used as sharply focused yet active training sessions of no more than 45 minutes in length. Bite Sized Training materials are produced by Steve Burnage through Steve is an experienced author, trainer and education consultant with over 25 years experience of working in UK schools.
For details of other CPD offered through Bite Sized Training, or call
Bite Sized Training - Brought to you by Call or