1. Questioning: Consider the following statements
The majority of questions asked during lessons are:
Asked by teachers
Answered by teachers
Are closed questions
For review and to assess understanding, rather than to challenge thinking and develop understanding.
What is your experience?

2. Pitfalls of questioning
asking too many closed questions;
asking pupils questions to which they can respond with a simple yes or no answer;
asking too many short-answer, recall-based questions;
asking bogus ‘guess what I’m thinking’ questions;
starting all questions with the same stem;
It is easy to fall into the trap of:

3. Pitfalls of questioning
dealing ineffectively with incorrect answers or misconceptions;
focusing on a small number of pupils and not involving the whole class;
not giving pupils time to reflect, or to pose their own questions;
asking questions when another strategy might be more appropriate.

4. The purpose of questioning
To promote reasoning, problem solving evaluation and the formation of hypotheses
To lead pupils through a planned sequence
To promote pupils thinking about the way they have learned.
The purpose of questioning
Interest, engage and challenge pupils
Check prior knowledge
To extend thinking from the concrete and factual to the analytical and evaluative
To focus thinking on key concepts and issues
To build on prior knowledge in order to create new understanding and meaning

5. Effective questioning
reinforces and revisits the learning objectives;
includes ‘staging’ questions;
involves all pupils;
engages pupils in thinking for themselves;
promotes justification and reasoning;
creates an atmosphere of trust;

6. Effective questioning
shows connections between previous and new learning;
encourages pupils to speculate and hypothesize;
encourages pupils to ask as questions;
encourages pupils to listen and respond to each other as well as to the teacher.
Includes ‘wait time’

7. Alternatives to questioning
Invite pupils to elaborate.
Speculate about the subject
Make a suggestion.
Offer extra information
Reinforce useful suggestions.
Clarify ideas
Echo comments.
Non- verbal intervention.

8. Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge Low order skills Comprehension.
Application.
Middle order skills
Analysis
High order skills
Synthesis
Evaluation

9. Retention rates Lecture – 5% Reading -10% Audio – visual -20%
Demonstrating – 30%
Discussion-50%
Practice by doing – 75%
Teaching others – 90%
Source: National Training Laboratories, Bethel, Maine