Questioning- 19th June

1. “In the middle of difficulty lies
opportunity. The important
thing is not to stop
questioning.”
Albert Einstein

2. Good Practice at LLS this term- Questioning
How many of these strategies have you used recently?
Do you have any other strategies?

3. Follow-up questions for learning
Some ways to follow up a student’s verbal or written answer, in
a whole-class, small group or one-to-one situation
Probing Pushing for more
clarity or depth?
What do you mean by…?
Can you say more about…?
In what sense…?
What exactly…?
Challenging Requiring re-
evaluation or
justification
But how do you know that…?
What evidence is there that…?
What are you assuming when…?
But surely…?
Bridging Moving thinking
across to another
example or topic
So would that be the same for…?
How does that compare to…?
Can you think of another…?
When else…?
Reflecting Asking about the
thinking or learning
process
When/how/what did you learn…?
How did you work out…?
Why did you think of…?
What have you just…?
Extending Moving towards
greater complexity or
difficulty
Could you explain…?
What would happen if…?
Can you think of other ways of…?
What might be the problem with…?
Personalising Asking for a personal
angle or an evaluative
response
What do you, personally, think…?
What’s your own view about…?
How well does…?
In your opinion, why…?

4. Useful Verbs Sample Question Stems
Application
Using a concept or skill in a new
or unprompted situation
solve
apply
show
use
illustrate
construct
complete
examine
classify
modify
demonstrate
relate
Can you give another example of…?
How could this have happened in...?
What would you change in order to...?
Can you use this method to...?
From the information that you have, can you develop a set of instructions
for...?
When would this information be useful?
Analysis
Separating material into parts, in
order to understand how it is
constructed or how it works
analyse
distinguish
examine
investigate
identify
explain
separate
explore
infer
differentiate
discriminate
compare
Why…?
What is the difference between…?
Where are there examples of…?
What is the effect of…?
What underlies…?
Can you distinguish between...?
How was this similar to...?
What was the underlying theme of...?
Can you explain…?
Synthesis
Putting diverse parts together to
create a new whole, with new
meaning
compare
contrast
create
invent
compose
predict
plan
construct
design
imagine
propose
devise
formulate
generate
combine
What might happen if…?
Is there a pattern in…?
Can you compare…?
What connects…?
What themes emerge across…?
How many ways can you...?
Evaluation
Making judgements about the
value of ideas or texts
judge
select
choose
decide
justify
debate
verify
argue
recommend
assess
discuss
rate
prioritise
How effectively does…?
What do you think of…?
How do you respond to…?
What is the value of…?
Which … do you prefer, and why?
How would you change…?
Can you defend…?
How successful is…?
Higher order
questioning

5. Higher order questions
• Feedback in exercise books/folders- framing targets
• Setting challenge questions/extension tasks in lessons
• Encouraging meta-cognition- students thinking about their thought process
• Peer assessment- creating challenge questions for each other
• Ask the teacher- students creating questions about the lesson- at the start of the
lesson- what do we want to find out?
• Students formulate questions following presentation by teacher/student(s)
• End of the lesson- one question you would like to ask- students could lead this
part of the lesson
• Schemes of Learning- other people’s lesson plans are often difficult to use, but
questions are portable.