Mary Queen T. Bernardo

4. Even in today's modern educational practices, the art of
questioning has remained one of the best tools in promoting
effective learning. In fact, questioning continues to be an essential
component of good teaching. There are even some people who
believe that the effectiveness of a teacher can be measured by his
ability to ask good questions. And yet far too many teachers take
this teaching tool for granted, or use it carelessly.
Skillful questioning involves:
 knowledge of the various uses of the question
 the characteristics of a good question
 the techniques of questioning
 and the techniques of handling the learners' responses

5. © PMB 2007
• It often takes many years of classroom experience,
professional reading, and self-evaluation for a teacher to be a
proficient questioner. All the while, the teacher must make a
constant and persistent effort to improve his questioning
ability and technique (Dalao, 2007) .
• Teachers spent approximately 80% of the school day asking
questions (Leven and Long, 1981)
• Typical teacher asks between 300-400 questions per day

6. © PMB 2007
Some Starter Questions
• Do you ask pupils to come up with their own ideas and to think
aloud?
• Do you encourage your pupils to explain their reasons for their
answers?
• Do they get the opportunity to ask their own questions?
• Is it okay to give a ‘wrong’ answer in your classroom?
• Is everybody’s opinion valued by everyone?

9. It is important for a teacher to
always think of his or her intentions
for tossing questions in the class

10. © PMB 2007
• To manage and organise
pupils’ behaviour
• To find out what pupils
know
• To stimulate interest in a
new topic
• To focus on an issue or
topic
• To structure a task for maximum
learning
• To identify, diagnose difficulties
or blocks to learning
• To stimulate pupils to ask
questions
• To give pupils opportunity to
assimilate, reflect and learn
through discussion

11. • Effective questioning performs three key functions:
- to identify the present level of understanding;
- to extend and deepen learning; and
- to inform future planning.