1. 5 STRATEGIES FOR QUESTIONING WITH INTENTION ED. LEADERSHIP 2015

2. DO YOU USE QUESTIONS AT ALL COGNITIVE LEVELS? LEVEL 1- INPUT OF DATA TASKS INVOLVE LISTENING, RECITING, NAMING, COUNTING, DEFINING, RECOGNIZING “DESCRIBE THE DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE” LEVEL 2- PROCESSING OF DATA TASKS INVOLVE COMPARING, ORGANIZING, SUMMARIZING, SEQUENCING, ANALYZING, ESTIMATING “HOW ARE CONDITIONS IN SAN FRANCISCO TODAY SIMILAR TO AND DIFFERENT FROM THOSE THAT EXISTED AT THE TIME OF THE 1906 SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE?” LEVEL 3- OUTPUT OF CONCEPTS TASKS INVOLVE PREDICTION, APPLICATION, CREATION, EVALUATION “DRAWING ON WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED ABOUT THE 1906 EARTHQUAKE AND YOUR EVALUATION OF PRESENT-DAY BUILDING CODES, HOW WOULD YOU ADVISE THE SAN FRANCISCO CITY COUNCIL TO IMPROVE EARTHQUAKE SAFETY MEASURES?

3. DO YOUR QUESTIONS BUILD ON POSITIVE ASSUMPTIONS? EMBEDDED IN THE LANGUAGE WE USE ARE CUES FROM WHICH LISTENERS INTERPRET MEANING AND MAKE INFERENCES NEGATIVE: DO YOU THINK THAT EVEN TONY COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THIS PROJECT? DID YOU FORGET TO DO YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT AGAIN? HERE, I’LL GIVE YOU AN EASIER PUZZLE, AND THEN YOU’LL BE SUCCESSFUL. POSITIVE: WHAT GOALS DO YOU HAVE IN MIND FOR THIS PROJECT? AS YOU PLAN FOR YOUR ASSIGNMENT, WHAT MATERIALS WILL YOU NEED? THE ASSUMPTION IS THAT STUDENTS HAVE MULTIPLE GOALS AND A PLAN OF ACTION AND A CAPABLE MIND WHAT INSIGHTS DID YOU GAIN FROM WORKING ON THIS PROJECT THAT YOU’LL CARRY INTO YOUR NEXT PROJECT? THE ASSUMPTIONS ARE THAT THE STUDENT IS INSIGHTFUL, LEARNED SOMETHING FROM WORKING ON THE PROJECT AND HAS THE CAPACITY TO APPLY IT TO THE NEXT PROJECT) AS YOU EXAMINE THESE TWO SETS OF QUESTIONS, THINK OUT EACH MIGHT AFFECT STUDENTS GROWTH MIND-SET AND SELF- ESTEEM.

4. DO YOUR QUESTIONS BUILD HABITS OF MIND? GOOD QUESTIONING HELPS STUDENTS LEARN HOW TO CULTIVATE DISPOSITIONS (HABITS OF THE MIND) THEY WILL NEED TO PERSIST AND SUCCEED IN ALL SUBJECT AREAS. THINK FLEXIBLY- WHAT MIGHT BE SOME ALTERNATIVES? WHAT HUNCHES DO YOU HAVE IN MIND? PERSISTENCE- AS YOU READ, WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR MIND WANDERS BUT YOU WANT TO REMAIN ON TASK? PersistingThinking and Communicating with clarity Managing Impulsivity Gathering Data through all senses Listening and understanding with empathy Creating, imagining, innovating Thinking flexiblyResponding with wonderment and awe Thinking about Thinking Taking responsible risks Striving for accuracy Finding Humor Questioning and posing problems Thinking interdependently Applying past knowledge to new situations Remaining open to continuous learning

5. DO YOUR QUESTIONS ENCOURAGE REFLECTION? “WE DO NOT LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE, WE LEARN FROM REFLECTING ON EXPERIENCE” – JOHN DEWEY CONSIDER SUCH QUESTIONS: HOW DID STRIVING FOR ACCURACY AND PRECISION IMPROVE YOUR PRODUCT? WHILE YOU WERE READING, WHAT WAS GOING ON INSIDE YOUR HEAD? AS YOU TALKED TO YOURSELF ABOUT THE PROBLEM, WHAT NEW INSIGHTS DID YOU GENERATE? WHEN YOUR GROUP GOT STUCK, HOW DID YOU REACT? HOW DID YOUR REACTION HELP REACH A RESOLUTION? THESE QUESTIONS INVITE STUDENTS TO TAKE CHARGE OF THEIR OWN THINKING PROCESSES. TEACHERS CAN LEAD STUDENTS TO INTERNALIZE THE HABITS OF THE MIND AND CONSCIOUSLY APPLY THEM TO ALL LEARNING TASKS.

6. DO YOU POSE LONG-RANGE ETERNAL QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS THAT ARE SO LARGE THEY HAVE NOT YET BEEN ANSWERED. THEY FOSTER THE REALIZATION THAT THE PUZZLES AND MYSTERIES OF LIFE REMAIN OPEN TO CONTINUAL LEARNING WHAT IS THE NATURE OF VIRTUE? (FAIRNESS?) (EQUITY?) (BEAUTY?) IS THERE A SUCH THING AS A GOOD WAR? WHAT IS THE REAL PROBLEM IN THIS SITUATION? THESE QUESTIONS CAN CAPTURE THE IMAGINATIONS AND PHILOSOPHICAL INCLINATIONS OF STUDENTS OF ALL AGES.

7. WHAT IS THE REASONING BEHIND THESE CHAIN RESTAURANT IMAGES THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION?

8. MOST OF US HAVE BEEN TO ALL OF THESE RESTAURANTS DESPITE THEIR EXTREME SIMILARITIES AS TEACHERS, MOST OF US AS MASTERED STRONG “QUESTIONING” TECHNIQUES OCCASIONALLY, WE GO TO ONE OF THESE RESTAURANTS TO BE REMINDED OF HOW GREAT AN ITEM ON THEIR MENU IS ( CHILIS BABY BACK RIBS, OUTBACK WINGS, ETC) AS TEACHERS, WE OCCASIONALLY NEED A REMINDER ON HOW TO “UP OUR GAME” SO THAT IT DOESN’T BECOME STAGNANT AND WE GET THE MOST OUT OF OUR STUDENTS MOST OF US OUR “BRAVE” ENOUGH TO BREAK OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE AND TRY SOMETHING NEW