1. Chap 7. Effective Questioning SCED 570, Fall 2011

2. Questioning: an essential tool Strategic questioning: selecting and using specific types of questions. Researchers have created a variety of ways to categorize types of questions: Bloom’s Taxonomy Socratic Questioning Productive questions (Martens, 1999) Blosser’sQuestion Category System for Science (QCSS, 1973)

3. Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation

4. Socratic Questioning conceptual clarification questions(Why are you saying that? What exactly does this mean? ) probing assumptions (How can you verify or disprove that assumption? What would happen if ... ? ) probing rationale, reasons and evidence (What do you think causes ... ? What is the nature of this? ) questioning viewpoints and perspectives (Why it is ... necessary? Who benefits from this? ) probe implications and consequences (What are the implications of ... ? How does ... affect ... ? ) questions about the question (Why do you think I asked this question?What does that mean? ) From http://changingminds.org/techniques/questioning/socratic_questions.htm

5. QCSS (Blosser, 1973) Closed Questions Memory Convergent thinking Open (open-ended) Questions Evaluative Divergent thinking Managerial Rhetoricalhttp://www.narst.org/publications/research/question.cfm

6. Types of Questions Research reveals a high frequency of basic questioning in the classroom: Rhetorical – “Are we all here?” “Read-it-and-repeat-it” Lower level thinking without further development More open-ended questions: More thoughtful responses Stimulate discussion

7. Inquiry & Questioning Questioning can lead to deeper inquiry experiences. “feedback loop” 1- Teachers ask questions to elicit levels of student understanding 2- Students respond- orally, diagram, drawings 3- Teachers recognize and acknowledge student responses. 4- Teachers provide scaffolds to improve learning and understanding.

8. Inquiry & Questioning 5-E Model Table 7-1 (p. 188)Engage- Initiate InquiryExplore- Guide Discussions of ObservationsExplain- Guide Discussions of ExplanationsElaborate- Guide Discussions of Applications to New Situations Questions to promote inquiry http://tlc.ousd.k12.ca.us/~acody/inquiryquery.html

9. Respond to students (Table 7-2 p.195) Accept student responses Acknowledge, reinforce, repeat Establish safe learning environment Extend student responses Build on, compare, apply, summarize Probe student responses Go beyond superficial responses Build on ideas, clarify, justify, verify

10. Final thoughts Questions need to serve a purpose and reflect a genuine intent to promote learning. Wait time supports processing, increases participation, positive for students. Fade teachers’ questioning support; develop students’ metacognition Broaden questioning repertoire Support critical thinking skills Support inquiry in the science classroom