1. Welcome to today’s training on the Hope you brought your folder from last time; please take a seat near a stapled set of handouts.

2. “The Question Focus, or QFocus, is a prompt that can be presented in the form of a statement or a visual or aural aid to focus and attract student attention and quickly stimulate the formation of questions.” From Harvard Education Newsletter

3. January 10, 2013 Today’s Learning Goals To understand what a QFocus is and what role it plays in the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) process To experience a suggested process for developing an effective QFocus To explore resources for developing QFocus prompts and for reporting on initial experimentation with a QFocus and an associated QFT process

4. January 10, 2013 Today’s Agenda 1. Welcome and Basic Definitions 1. Exploring the Relative Quality of Several Potential QFocus Prompts Context QFocus Criteria Rank Ordering Potential QFocus Prompts 2. Testing Your “Favorite” QFocus, Followed by Reflection 3. Beginning to Design QFocus Prompts (if time permits) 4. Resources and a Way to Share Your QFT Experimentation Next Time

5. “The QFocus is different from many traditional prompts because it is not a teacher’s question. It serves, instead, as the focus for student questions so students can, on their own, identify and explore a wide range of themes and ideas. For example, after studying the causes of the 1804 Haitian revolution, one teacher presented this QFocus: “Once we were slaves. Now we are free.” The students began asking questions about what changed and what stayed the same after the revolution.”

6. The Question Formulation Technique is one tool. “Use every tool that you have.” -- Mr. Baker Central High School Mobile, Alabama (Archy LaSalle’s Teacher)

7. The purpose behind my/Joan’s QFocus: I am hoping that CRLS faculty will consider making QFT another questioning knife in their pedagogical drawers. When they begin to experiment with QFT, I want them to do so with real openness to the possibility of its usefulness at particular instructional points. So I would like them to generate questions that will help them think about their teaching beliefs and needs – and help them understand their pre- experimentation feelings about the QFT.

8. From http://prezi.com/5vqwas_17wbm/questioning-module-part-2/ -- a really great Prezi by Jay Corrigan called “Questioning Module Part 2: Students asking questions”http://prezi.com/5vqwas_17wbm/questioning-module-part-2/

9. QFocus Prompts for Analysis  Question Levels Matter  Questions vs. “Better” Questions  Some types of student questions will lead to deeper engagement and learning.  To model or not to model how to ask high- level questions, that is the teacher question.

10. More QFocus Prompts for Analysis  How We Learn  Questions and Answers  The Relative Importance of Questions and Answers for Learning  Better Questions = Better Answers

11. Suggested Reflection Prompts for QFT “First Time”  What did you learn?  What did you like?  What did you not like?

12. RESOURCES The Right Question Institute Educator Resource Area: You’ve been to the first workshop – So maybe you’d like to read the book!!! And in the district Joan Soble X6777 CRLS/Room 2613 jsoble@cpsd.us