This document defines classroom questions and discusses their purpose and types. It outlines the objectives of understanding classroom questions and identifies several functions of questions including checking understanding and eliciting information. The document also describes various types of questions like display vs referential, open vs closed, and lists "seven deadly sins" of classroom questions. Finally, it shows how questions can be classified according to Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive objectives like knowledge, comprehension, and analysis.

1. Classroom
Question

2. Objectives:

define Classroom Questions;

determine the purpose of Classroom Questions;

enumerate the Seven Deadly Sins in Asking
Questions and the ways on how to correct them;

identify the Kinds of Question; and

classify Classroom questions for Objectives in the
Bloom‟s Taxonomy (Cognitive Domain).

3. Classroom Questions
 A scientific process, the technique of which all
teachers can develop or improve (Fairbairn,1987).
 A question is any sentence which has an interrogative
form or function. In classroom settings, teacher
questions are defined as instructional cues or stimuli
that convey to students the content elements to be
learned and directions for what they are to do and
how they are to do it (Cotton, 2009).
 As Tsui (1995:23) notes, “questions are... a very
important aspect of classroom talk”.
Wood (1998:175) adds that “classroom talk is
dominated by teacher‟s questions.”

4. Purpose/Functions of Classroom Questions

Brown & Wragg (1993: 4) list several functions of questions, such as
“to arouse interest and curiosity concerning a topic, to focus
attention on a particular issue or concept, to develop an active
approach to learning, to stimulate pupils to ask questions of
themselves and others.”

However, with reference to language teaching, Nunan & Lamb (1996)
state that teachers ask questions mainly to check learners‟
understanding, to elicit information and to control their classrooms.

Peacock (1990: 128) says that “more often than not teachers appear
to ask questions either to find out what pupils do or do not know and
understand, or to remind them about work completed in a previous
lesson, or perhaps to challenge, stimulate and develop their
thinking”.

5. Purpose/Functions of Classroom
Questions

Teachers ask questions to keep their learners involved during
lessons, to express their ideas and thoughts, to enable learners
to hear different explanations of the material, and to help
teachers to evaluate their learners‟ learning and revise their
lessons when necessary (Morgan and Saxton (1991, cited in
Brualdi 1998).

The primary purpose for questioning is to promote thinking
(Fairbairn,1987).

Questions serve a variety of functions to check pupils‟
knowledge or obtain or check reception (Cazden, 1987)

6. Seven Deadly Sins in Classroom Questions
(Posamentier and Stepelman, 1981)
 Factual
or Yes-No Questions
 Overlaid or Multiple Questions
 Elliptic or Ambiguous Questions
 Chorus Response Questions
 Whiplash Questions
 Leading Questions
 Teacher-centered Questions

7. Kinds of Question
(Nawal ,Mohammed Al-Farsi)
 Display
Questions vs. Referential Questions
Ellis (1994: 700) defines the display question as
“one designed to test whether the addressee has
knowledge of a particular fact or can use a
particular linguistic item correctly”. Lightbown &
Spada (1999) note that teachers ask display
questions not because they are interested in the
answer, but because they want to get their learners
to display their knowledge of the language.

8. Kinds of Question

Referential Questions
Nunan & Lamb (1996: 88) define referential questions as
“those to which the asked does not know the answer”. Ellis
(1994: 721) also explains that these are questions which are
“genuinely information-seeking”.
Lynch (1996) argues that teachers should ask referential
questions because
(a) learners tend to give longer answers than they do to
display questions
b) learners will be less willing to answer questions if their
purpose is always to test knowledge.

9. Kinds of Question
Open vs. Closed Questions
Nunan & Lamb (1996: 84) describe open questions as
“those that encourage extended student responses”.
Ellis (1994: 695) suggests that in open questions the
teacher does not have a particular answer in mind and
different responses are possible. He also mentions that
some questions seem to be open, but in fact they are
closed (these can be called „pseudo-questions‟).
In contrast, a closed question is “one that is framed
with only one acceptable answer in mind” (Ellis 1994:
695).


10. Other kinds of Questions:
 Convergent
Questions vs. Divergent
Questions
Convergent Questions
restricts the responses to predetermined
answers.
Examples:
According to the author, what
are the possible reasons that…?
What are the steps in writing?

11. Other kinds of Questions:
 The
Divergent question
allows a multitude of correct responses. This style
is an excellent choice for situations where
learners are being required to be creative or look
for alternatives beyond their experience.
Examples:
 What other
factors should the analysis have considered?
 What are the possible
responses to her complaint?

12. Other kinds of Questions:
 Simple
vs. Difficult
The simple question requires simple
recall or restatement of given
information.
 Examples:
What are the kinds of Sentences according to
purpose?
State the rule in pronoun-antecedent
agreement.

13. Other kinds of Questions:

The difficult question is used at the application level
of learning, which is usually where college level courses
are aimed.

Examples:

What are the ideologies that function in the narrative? How
do these ideologies affect the character in nature?

How does the short story “Storm” by Merlinda Bobis appeal
to you?

14. Other kinds of Questions:

Hypothetical
 Hypothetical
questions are useful for forcing
learners to move beyond what has been dealt with
into the anticipated, and even unanticipated, area
of “what ifs.”
 Examples:
 Given
what we know about what happened, what
do you predict would have happened if the
characters became static and passive?

15. Other kinds of Questions:
 Reflective
 Reflective
questions require learners to look back with a future
perspective. They can be used to focus on both the application
of the content and the process used to learn or solve problems.
Examples:
 Based
on what you learned in the short story, what caution
would you keep in mind the next time you approach a
similar situation?
 If
you had the problem to encounter over again, what
would you do differently?
 What would you have liked to have known
before starting
on the project?

16. Other kinds of Questions:
 Predicative
 Predicative
questions ask learners to declare what they
feel will happen. The technique can be made stronger
by asking learners to commit to their answers by
writing them down or by saying them aloud, to a
partner, a group, or the whole class.
 Example:
 Based
on what youknow now, what do you think is
likely to happen when…?

17. Other kinds of Questions:
 Organization
 1.
and valuing
Contrast (How are dependent and independent clause
different?)
 2.
Compare (What are the similarities and differences
between Classification and Division?)
 3.
Order (What is the appropriate sequence of
operations thatshould be used in situation?)
 4.
Prioritize (Which of
do first?)
these two
steps is important to

18. Other kinds of Questions:
 5.
Cluster (Which of these belong together?)
 6.
Label (What would be an appropriate name for
this group of activities?)
 7.
Hypothesize (Based on what happened, what
would you infer about…?)
 8.Predict
(If the process runs for another X months,
what do you anticipate will occur?)
 9.Value
(What is important about…?
…are important aspects of
…?)

19. Bloom‟s Taxonomy (Cognitive Domain)
 Knowledge
(Remembering)
 Comprehension
 Application
 Analysis
(Understanding)
(Applying)
(Analyzing)
 Evaluation
 Synthesis
(Judging)
(Creating)

20. Classroom Questions for objectives in the
Cognitive Domain
Category
Type of thinking expected
Knowledge (Remembering)
Recalling or organizing information as
learned
Comprehension (Understanding)
Demonstrating understanding of the
materials; transforming, reorganizing
or interpreting
Application (Applying)
Using information to solve a problem
with a single correct answer
Analysis (Analyzing)
Critical thinking; identifying reasons
and motives; making inferences based
on specific data; analyze conclusions to
see if supported by evidence
Evaluation (Judging)
Judging the merits of ideas; opinions,
applying standards
Synthesis (Creating)
Divergent, original thinking; original
plan, proposal, design or story

21. Sources:

Brown, G. and Wragg, E.C. (1993) Questioning. London: Routledge.

Cotton, Kathleen (2009). Classroom Questioning. Retrieved November 27, 2013 from
http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session6/6.ClassroomQuestioning
.pdf

Ellis, R. (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University
Press.

Nunan, D. and Lamb, C. (1996) The Self-Directed Teacher. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

Tsui, A.B.M. (1995) Introducing Classroom Interaction. London: Penguin.

Nawal Mohammed Al-Farsi , Teachers‟ Questions in the Basic Education Classroom.
Retrieved November 27, 2013 from
http://www.moe.gov.om/portal/sitebuilder/sites/eps/English/MOE/baproject/Ch%205
%20Questioning%20in%20the%20basic%20education%20classroom.pdf