Teachers, have you ever thrown out a question to your class and received only silence as a reply? It happens to everyone, but to some more than others. In this presentation we identify questioning strategies that lead to lively discussions and compare to those that leave the class in silence.

2. uncertainty
of the
question Before posing a
question to
students, consider
the question’s level
of uncertainty.

3. 1 right answer
uncertainty
of the
question A question with
only one right
answer has no
uncertainty.

4. Too broad
1 right answer
uncertainty
of the
question A question with an
infinite number of
acceptable
answers is totally
uncertain.

5. Too broad
Just right
1 right answer
uncertainty
of the
question

6. What happens when we pose a question
that has no uncertainty at all?

7. What is the
square root of
4?

8. Q: What is the square root of 4?
Quá dễ
It’s two sir.

9. Q: What is the square root of 4?
Quá dễ
Is there any
other
answer?
It’s two sir.

10. Q: What is the square root of 4?
Quá dễ
Questions that have only
one right answer don’t
stimulate discussion.

11. Let’s look at a few more
examples of zero
uncertainty questions.

12.  Who is the president
of our school?

13.  Who is the president
of our school?
 SATA supports a
maximum of how
many drives?

14.  Who is the president
of our school?
 SATA supports a
maximum of how
many drives?
 How many habits
does Steven Covey
describe in his book?

15.  Who is the president
of our school?
 SATA supports a
maximum of how
many drives?
 How many habits
does Steven Covey
describe in his book?
1 right answer

16. Now let’s see what
happens when there’s
too much uncertainty.

17. What must one do in
order to get a job?

18. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
We must wear
clothes, of course.

19. What must one do in order to get a job?
And comb
our hair too!
We must wear
clothes, of course.

20. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
We should slip a $20
bill to the head of
human resources.

21. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
We should slip a $20
bill to the head of
human resources.
Or we should ask our
dad to introduce us
to his friends.

22. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
Go to the temple
and offer prayers!

23. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
I have no idea what
answer the teacher
wants us to say.

24. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
I think it’s better to
just keep quiet.

25. Let’s study that exchange in more detail.

26. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
We must wear
clothes, of course.

27. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
We must wear
clothes, of course.
The student’s answer is
correct but it sounds silly,
and even disrespectful.
Why?

28. This dot represents the space of all
answers discussed in the literature.

29. The teacher tends to
think inside this small,
finite space because
he has studied the
literature.

30. The green dot
represents the set of
all correct answers to
the question.

31. Students minds
operate in this space.

32. “What must one do in
order to get a job?”
To merely give a correct
answer to this question is
not sufficient because
answers too far outside the
teacher’s intended context
will be perceived as rude or
inappropriate.

33. In addition to formulating
a correct answer, the
student must also guess
the context within which
the teacher intends for
the students to think.

34. The context guessing
problem is usually
much harder than the
problem of simply
formulating a correct
answer.

35. Now, let’s see how the students handle
the context guessing problem.

36. What must one do in
order to get a job?

37. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
Let’s assume this is a
computer science
course.

38. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
He’s probably thinking
something about real-world
programming skills.

39. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
No, that’s too easy. This
teacher likes us to think
outside the box.

40. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
It’s probably something
related to computers but
slightly counter-intuitive.

41. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
Maybe he’s thinking of IT
communication skills?

42. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
Maybe this is an aside that
doesn’t relate to
computers at all.

43. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
Well, we need to be able
to provide value for our
potential employer.

44. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
That idea is too vague.
He’s probably looking for
something specific.

45. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
These students are
having trouble identifying
the context.

46. What must one do in order to get a job?
Quá dễ
In this situation, students
won’t volunteer to answer
the question.

47. Let’s see some more
examples of questions
that are too broad.

48. Too broad
 What is unique about
our university?

49. Too broad
 What is unique about
our university?
 In the movie Star
Wars, what does the
main character do?

50. Too broad
 What is unique about
our university?
 In the movie Star
Wars, what does the
main character do?
 In the future, how will
computers develop?

51. The hope of providing a
definitive answer
is the force that motivates students to discuss.

52. What is the best
colour for website
design?

53. What is the best
colour for website
design?
Students have no hope of
answering this question
definitively.
As a result, they will not attempt
to answer at all.

54. The the level of
uncertainty determines
the amount of time a
class will spend
discussing the question.

55. One correct answer:
Less than one minute of
discussion

56. Infinitely many answers:
discussion is inconclusive
One correct answer:
Less than one minute of
discussion

57. Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

58. Useful for quick
review of a
previous
lesson.
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

59. Useful for quick
review of a
previous
lesson.
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute
Useful for more
in-depth
discussion.

60. Students will
not attempt to
answer
Useful for quick
review of a
previous
lesson.
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute
Useful for more
in-depth
discussion.

61. 1. What is the algorithmic
complexity of insertion sort?
2. What’s the difference between
int and float?
3. What does judging mean in the
Meyers-briggs personality test?
4. What are the notes in the first
inversion of a D Major chord?
5. What are the locations of the
three dan tian?
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

62. This type of question is useful
for checking students’
understanding of a previous
lesson.
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

63. In order to inspire longer
discussions with more lasting
impact, we must ask broader
questions.
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

64. Let’s look at some examples.
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

65. self-actualisation
esteem
social
safety
physiological
According to
Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs,
needs on the lower levels must
be satisfied before an individual
can feel strong motivation to
satisfy the needs at a higher
level.
Here’s an example from a
business communication
skills course.

66. self-actualisation
esteem
social
safety
physiological
According to
Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs,
needs on the lower levels must
be satisfied before an individual
can feel strong motivation to
satisfy the needs at a higher
level.

67. self-actualisation
esteem
social
safety
physiological
For example:
Humans who are struggling to
find food for survival
(physiological need) are not
strongly motivated to seek
recognition as scientific
researchers (esteem level
need).

68. self-actualisation
esteem
social
safety
physiological
For example:
Humans who are struggling to
find food for survival
(physiological need) are not
strongly motivated to seek
recognition as scientific
researchers (esteem level
need).
Now, let’s write some
questions pertaining to
this lesson.

69. Question:
What type of needs are in the
foundation level of Maslow’s
hierarchy?
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

70. Question:
What type of needs are in the
foundation level of Maslow’s
hierarchy?
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute
This type of question is
sufficient for less than one
minute of discussion.

71. In wartime we often hear
stories of soldiers who bravely
risk their lives for their
comrades and country.
Are these stories an example
of a contradiction to Maslow’s
theory or an indication that our
understanding of the theory is
incomplete?
Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute

72. Too broad
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
1 minute
The question on the previous
slide points out an apparent
contradiction in the material of
the previous day’s lesson and
asks students to give their
personal opinion.
This is a typical strategy for
eliciting more enthusiastic
student participation.

73. Too easy OK Too hard
Difficulty level

74. Too easy
(everyone knows)

75. How many key
points were there in
yesterday’s lesson?
Quá dễ

76. How many key
points were there in
yesterday’s Quá lesson?
dễ
In the video we just
watched, what did
the main character
do?

77. How many key
points were there in
yesterday’s Quá lesson?
dễ
In the video we just
watched, what did
the main character
do?
Why do we need
computers?

78. Why do we
need
computers?

79. Why do we need computers?
Quá dễ
Why is he asking
such an easy
question?

80. Why do we need computers?
Quá dễ
It’s probably a
trick question.
Why is he asking
such an easy
question?

81. Why do we need computers?
Quá dễ
What does he
mean by that?

82. Why do we need computers?
Quá dễ
I think it’s better
to just keep
What does he
mean by that?
silent.

83. Too hard
(no one knows)

84. Who is the CEO of
Fujitsu corporation?

85. Who is the CEO of
Fujitsu corporation?
When was the first
telephone
manufactured?

86. Who is the CEO of
Fujitsu corporation?
When was the first
telephone
manufactured?
What’s the
maximum number
of cells in an excel
spreadsheet?

87. In what year was the
world’s first financial
audit conducted?

88. In what year was the world’s first financial audit conducted?
Quá dễ
How should
I know?

89. In what year was the world’s first financial audit conducted?
Quá dễ
1282? 1555?
What’s the point of
guessing random
numbers?

90. In what year was the world’s first financial audit conducted?
Quá dễ
It’s probably better
to just keep quiet.

91. Students are motivated by the
feeling of accomplishment
that comes from giving a correct answer.
Difficulty

92. Difficulty
Why do
computers have
mice?
Students get no sense of
accomplishment from answering
easy questions.

93. Difficulty
Why do
computers have
mice?
They also avoid
questions that are too
hard.
How many keys
are on a Dvorak
keyboard?

94. To get students to discuss,
ask for their opinion on open
questions that are neither too
easy nor too hard.
Are touch screens
going to replace
mice in the future?
Difficulty

95. easy hard
Too easy and not
broad enough
1+1 = ?
broad
1 answer

96. easy hard
Too hard, too
specific
Who is the
leader of the
national bank of
Australia?
broad
1 answer

97. What does MS
Excel do?
Too easy, too
broad
broad
easy hard
1 answer

98. How should we carry
out a tax audit of a
fortune 500 company?
Too hard, too
broad
broad
easy hard
1 answer

99. To easy
broad
easy hard
1 answer
Give examples of
English-speaking
countries.

100. To broad
broad
How do we debug
runtime errors?
easy hard
1 answer

101. broad
Discussions
happen in this
middle area.
easy hard
1 answer

102. The quickest way to start
a real discussion is to ask
about a subject that’s
controversial.

103. Ask students for their opinion.

104. Invite them to disagree with
the experts.

105. Opinion Questions:
• A and B are both right
but which is better?
• A and B are both bad
but which is less bad?
• Some experts believe A.
Are they correct?
• Person A took action B. Was
that good or bad?