Objectives

• To develop teachers’ self-awareness and analysis of their own questioning techniques

• To identify key features of good questioning• To enhance the planning for and use of questions• To identify relevant skills and plans for professional

development which teachers can then pursue

Asking questions

TEACHER

• What is the flower called?

PUPIL

• I think it is called Betty

Some functions of questions

Questions

Make children think Test recall of knowledge

Rouse curiosity and interestElicit views, feelings

Focus attentionStimulate interest

Reflect on learningImprove confidence

Check understandingRevise learning

Diagnose difficultiesLead on to new learning

The importance of questioning

• The most common form of interaction between teacher and pupil

• An element of virtually every lesson• An important influence on the extent of the progress

made – to identify misconceptions, – to determine what students understand now, – to determine that what learning has taken place and – what the next steps will be

• Asking pupils to ask questions• Logic• Sequencing• Justification• Develops enquiry skills• Encourages curiosity

What can you do ?

Questioning strategies for teachers and pupils

What can we do make effective use of the questioning process?

Some ideas……

Bloom’s Taxonomy

• Knowledge• Comprehension• Application• Analysis• Synthesis• Evaluation

1 or 2 possible

answers

Think inwardsWhat is the solution to x + 4= 10?

Closed question

A thin answer

Just one thoughtHow many chambers are in the heart?

..

Skinny questions

many possibilities

Think outwardsHowcould this picture

be interpreted?

Open question

A fat answer

Lots of thinkingWhat is the purpose of a shot

reverse shot?

FAT QUESTIONS

Questions are for learning

Be aware that the wrong question can inhibit and prevent learning

Confidence and questioning

• Closed?• Open?• Extended?

Asking a question

Or knowing an answer

Why we stop asking questions

We associate intelligence with knowing the answer not

asking the question

An answer is what you have left on the road behind you

A question points to a new an exciting destination

Einstein's Mum used to say ….

What questions have you asked today?

Scaffolds to questions

• Provide children with a checklist of things to consider before giving their answer to a question.

• Enlarge it, laminate it and display it on the classroom wall

Do I understand the question?Have I thought about the question?Have I talked about the question?Have I come up with more than one possible answer and selected the best?Do I have evidence to justify my answer or an example to illustrate it? Have I said my answer aloud or in my head to see if it ‘sounded right’?Have I tested my answer – asked myself what’s wrong with it?Does my response answer the question?

Effective questioning

• Reinforces, revisits• Staging• Involves all• Engages• Challenges• Atmosphere of trust• Connections• Encourages speculation

• Hypothesising• Ask as well as receive• Develops listening skills• As a sanction for off

task behaviour• Informs planning• Identifies

misconceptions

Thinking about what you do and sharing good practice

• Collate some examples of good questioning techniques that are used in your Faculty to contribute to a School portfolio

• To do this you can – complete the questioning worksheet– Record key discussion points that have arisen from completing

the worksheet– Using your differentiated objectives for a lesson, write a starter

question, then adapt and refine to differentiate the question for blooms taxonomy

• Feedback your responses to help produce a school portfolio of good practise

What next?• Tape record a question and answer session and

analyse the sorts of questions you asked.

• Build key questions into your planning

• Make questioning a focus for your lesson observations/CPD

• Discuss planning a sequence of questions

• Involve pupils in the questioning process

Decide as an individual teacher which new strategy you are prepared to try next term