Questions Used To

1. Questions Used To • evaluate & diagnose • discover students interests • motivate students’ learning • give practice in expression • emphasize important point • provide review—drill or practice • show agreement & disagreement • develop students’ ability to think • uncover students’ mental process • find out something one did not know • obtain the attention of wandering minds • find out whether students knows something • show relationships, such as cause & effect • help students organize & interpret materials Based on information found in: Victor, E. & Kellough, R.D. Science for the Elementary & Middle School, pgs. 68-70. Prentice Hall: Columbus, Ohio

2. Types of Questions • Convergent-Thinking • low-order, recall, one answer questions—aka: narrow & closed • What are the five types of questions? • use to start discussions • Cueing • after 3-9 second wait, used to cue students • Do you recall the quadratic equation we learned? • Clarifying & Probing • student to go beyond simple or quick response • you understand student’s ideas, feeling, thought processes • What I hear you saying is that you prefer to work alone. Is this correct?Why do you think/feel you work better alone? • strong positive correlation with student learning & development of metacognitive skills • Evaluative • compels students to place a value on something • Should points be given for informal assignments? • Divergent-Thinking • higher-order, call for analysis, synthesis, evaluation— aka: broad, reflective, thought & open-ended questions • What measures could you take to increase your learning in this class? Based on information found in: Victor, E. & Kellough, R.D. Science for the Elementary & Middle School, pgs. 70-71. Prentice Hall: Columbus, Ohio

3. Questioning Dos • Give students’ sufficient “think time” • minimum wait time of 3-9 seconds • Listen to students’ responses • clue to their understanding—you know when they need clarification or have misconceptions • informal, assessment tool. • Ask for clarification • whether responses accurate or inaccurate Why? • also ask other students to respond Do you agree? • careful probing can reveal misunderstandings • Involve more students • calling on volunteers teaches other students they don’t have to participate • ensure involvement: surveys, draw names at random, check names off list, etc. • develop system to help you assess individual students’ • Use open-ended questions • closed questions ask recall of isolated facts • open-ended questions call for analysis, evaluation, creativeness & involve everyone in discussion • Accept all answers • questioning or ridiculing students’ responses makes them anxious & unwilling to respond in future • remain neutral • reduce “verbal rewards” & sanctions • praise effort not “accuracy” of response

4. Questioning Don’ts • Don’t ask leading questions or answer own questions • when greeted with silence, use wait time or rephrase question • avoid leading questions: Don’t you think that . . . ? or Wouldn’t you agree that . . . ? • use questions to find out what students know & stimulate more questions  • Avoid multiple questions • multiple questions confuse students & complicate issues—How many different kinds of light bulbs are there? How do they work? Which is the most energy efficient? • ask only one question at a time • Do not use questions to discipline students • Don’t use sarcastic questions to confront students’ misbehavior—Isn’t it about time you stopped fooling around? • never ask questions to embarrass or punish students • Steer clear of the “boys club” • female elementary teachers ask boys more questions (and probe their responses more often) than they do girls • solution: record & analyze class discussion or ask someone to count number of times you call on male/female • if you have a problem, call on girl, boy, girl, boy • Avoid falling into a rut • vary way you ask questions & how students respond • start with fact/definition recall questions, progress to explanation, analysis, hypothesis, prediction questions • use Bloom’s Taxonomy to explore higher levels