Questioning
Quality Classroom Questioning
This will be a continuing series of ideas for building strong classroom questioning strategies.
If you analyze Visible Thinking routines, they are filled with layered questions intended to drive thinking below the surface of learning. For instance, in the See-Think-Wonder routine, asking a student "What do you think about what you are seeing?' is more complex then just asking "What do you see?" Similarly, being able to formulate a question or wondering about what is seen, takes thinking even deeper. So, within the context of Visible Thinking, here is some information to consider about questioning in your classroom:
What are some things to consider about the role of questioning in the classroom?
There are four main reasons to ask questions in the classroom:
Each of these types of questions has its place in the classroom. When it comes to thinking there is a hierarchy in this list with recalling correct answers requiring the least amount of thinking and engaging in meaningful dialogue the most. In high engagement classrooms, a large percentage of time is spent asking students questions that will help them build their own understanding and reveal their thinking, The teaching goal of questioning is to shift out of the role of telling students information to asking students to reveal their thinking and formulate questions about the learning. Here is an example:
Science Lesson Objective: Develop understanding about the characteristics of liquids and solids?
Possibility 1: Teacher reviews the characteristics of liquids and solids then tells the class that sometimes a substance can be both a solid and a liquid. The teacher passes out samples of Jello and poses the question, "Why do you think Jello is a solid and a liquid?" Who is in charge of the learning and who is doing most of the talking in this lesson? Since the teacher already told the class that Jello is an example of a substance that is a solid and a liquid, do students need to do any thinking?
Possibility 2: The teacher reviews the characteristics of solids and liquids and passes out Jello samples. The teacher asks, "Is this a solid or a liquid? What do you see? What do you think about it? and What new questions might come up for you?" As the group responds, she strategically asks additional guiding questions (what about this tells you it might be a liquid? What might puzzle you about that?) revealing to the teacher the level of understanding of the concepts being taught, engaging everyone in the group and enabling them to build new understanding together about solids and liquids.
Who is doing most of the talking and thinking in this lesson?
When routines are ongoing structures of classroom learning, the language of inquiry starts to become automatic to both teacher and students and allows students to be active participants in their learning.
If you analyze Visible Thinking routines, they are filled with layered questions intended to drive thinking below the surface of learning. For instance, in the See-Think-Wonder routine, asking a student "What do you think about what you are seeing?' is more complex then just asking "What do you see?" Similarly, being able to formulate a question or wondering about what is seen, takes thinking even deeper. So, within the context of Visible Thinking, here is some information to consider about questioning in your classroom:
What are some things to consider about the role of questioning in the classroom?
There are four main reasons to ask questions in the classroom:
- To recall correct answers
- To access prior knowledge
- To construct meaning from text or activity
- To engage in meaningful dialogue
Each of these types of questions has its place in the classroom. When it comes to thinking there is a hierarchy in this list with recalling correct answers requiring the least amount of thinking and engaging in meaningful dialogue the most. In high engagement classrooms, a large percentage of time is spent asking students questions that will help them build their own understanding and reveal their thinking, The teaching goal of questioning is to shift out of the role of telling students information to asking students to reveal their thinking and formulate questions about the learning. Here is an example:
Science Lesson Objective: Develop understanding about the characteristics of liquids and solids?
Possibility 1: Teacher reviews the characteristics of liquids and solids then tells the class that sometimes a substance can be both a solid and a liquid. The teacher passes out samples of Jello and poses the question, "Why do you think Jello is a solid and a liquid?" Who is in charge of the learning and who is doing most of the talking in this lesson? Since the teacher already told the class that Jello is an example of a substance that is a solid and a liquid, do students need to do any thinking?
Possibility 2: The teacher reviews the characteristics of solids and liquids and passes out Jello samples. The teacher asks, "Is this a solid or a liquid? What do you see? What do you think about it? and What new questions might come up for you?" As the group responds, she strategically asks additional guiding questions (what about this tells you it might be a liquid? What might puzzle you about that?) revealing to the teacher the level of understanding of the concepts being taught, engaging everyone in the group and enabling them to build new understanding together about solids and liquids.
Who is doing most of the talking and thinking in this lesson?
When routines are ongoing structures of classroom learning, the language of inquiry starts to become automatic to both teacher and students and allows students to be active participants in their learning.
Question Starts Routine (also called Creative Questions)
Questioning is one of the eight "thinking moves" identified by Ron Ritchhart as being integral to understanding (see the "Thinking" section of this website for more information on the eight thinking moves).
As teachers have been trying routines in their classrooms, they have noticed that questioning, puzzling and wondering are a piece of many of them. Ron Ritchhart believes that curiosity not only motivates learning but also is an indication that students can contemplate possibilities beyond what has been taught. So it is by developing questions before, during and after learning and then searching for answers, that student thinking is propelled beyond the surface toward a deeper and more complex level of understanding.
We all know that the easy questions for students to generate are the ones that can be answered in just one and two words. Sometimes we call these "thin" or "right there" questions. Then there are questions that require students to look at the complexity of the learning and engage in deeper thinking. These are often called "thick" or "generative" questions. When both teachers and students develop strategies for engaging in deeper and more complex questioning, both thinking and understanding become even stronger. There is a routine calls Question Starts that is not in the Making Thinking Visible book but can be found on the Visible Thinking website under "New Routines." Here is a link:
http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/07_Whats_New/07_NewRoutines.html
With just a little practice, you will be amazed how quickly student questions are elevated to higher and higher levels!
As teachers have been trying routines in their classrooms, they have noticed that questioning, puzzling and wondering are a piece of many of them. Ron Ritchhart believes that curiosity not only motivates learning but also is an indication that students can contemplate possibilities beyond what has been taught. So it is by developing questions before, during and after learning and then searching for answers, that student thinking is propelled beyond the surface toward a deeper and more complex level of understanding.
We all know that the easy questions for students to generate are the ones that can be answered in just one and two words. Sometimes we call these "thin" or "right there" questions. Then there are questions that require students to look at the complexity of the learning and engage in deeper thinking. These are often called "thick" or "generative" questions. When both teachers and students develop strategies for engaging in deeper and more complex questioning, both thinking and understanding become even stronger. There is a routine calls Question Starts that is not in the Making Thinking Visible book but can be found on the Visible Thinking website under "New Routines." Here is a link:
http://pzweb.harvard.edu/vt/VisibleThinking_html_files/07_Whats_New/07_NewRoutines.html
With just a little practice, you will be amazed how quickly student questions are elevated to higher and higher levels!
Taking Student Questioning to New Levels:
A Picture of How Practice Makes for Meatier Questions
Questioning has the capacity to open new learning paths and lead us to relevant information that is truly meaningful. Last year, a third grade teacher and I worked together to find strategies to grow student capacity for asking substantial questions that would guide inquiry and deepen understanding. Using the Questions Starts routine throughout this year, this teacher focused on developing her students' questioning skills. Here is a comparison of the questions her students asked last year and the ones being asked this year in Social Studies:
Questions from last years' 3rd grade students.
Questions developed after a year of Questions Starts..
50 Questions To Help Students Think About What They Think
from [email protected]
Reflection & Collaboration
1. What do you think about what was said?
2. How would you agree or disagree with this?
3. Are there any other similar answers you can think of with alternative routes?
4. Does anyone in this class want to add something to the solution?
5. How might you convince us that your way is the best way?
Self-Reflection
6. How did you determine this to be true?
7. Why didn’t you consider a different route to the problem?
8. Why does that answer make sense to you?
9. (in response to an answer):…what if I said that’s not true?
10. Is there any way to show exactly what you mean by that?
Reasoning
11. Why do you think this works? Does it always? why?
12. How do you think this is true?
13. Show how you might prove that?
14. Why assume this?
15. How might you argue against this?
Analysis
16. How might you show the differences and similarities?
17. What patterns might lead you to an alternative answer?
18. How many possibilities can you think of and why?
19. Predict any number of results?
Connections
20. How does this relate daily occurrences?
21. Which ideas make the most sense and why?
22. Which problems feel familiar? Why?
23. How does this relate to current events?
24. What kinds of examples make this problem workable?
25. What other problems fit this style or example?
Literary Questions
26. How did any of the characters or events remind you of yourself? Why?
27. How did the character’s actions affect you? Explain.
28. If you were this character, how would the story change?
29. What surprised or confused you about the characters or events? Explain.
30. Why do you think the author wrote from this character’s view?
31. What do you think the author is trying to accomplish?
32. How is the author thinking about the world?
33. How would the story change from another character’s view?
34. Why do you think this story could actually happen, or not?
35. How can this story teach us something about our lives?
36. How do you think the characters resolved the major conflict in the story?
37. How would you have resolved it?
38. How would you change the end of the story and why?
Science and Social Questions
39. What’s the purpose for this experiment or argument?
40. Would you elaborate on the purpose of this?
41. What issues or problems do you see here?
42. What evidence or data are given that help make this worthwhile?
43. What are some of the complexities we should consider?
44. What concepts help organize this data, these experiences?
45. How can you justify this information?
46. How can we verify or test that data?
47. What details can you add to make this information feel more complete?
48. Which set of data or information is most relevant or important?
49. How is all of this consistent or inconsistent?
50. How am I seeing or viewing this information? Objectively or subjectively? Should I then change my view?
1. What do you think about what was said?
2. How would you agree or disagree with this?
3. Are there any other similar answers you can think of with alternative routes?
4. Does anyone in this class want to add something to the solution?
5. How might you convince us that your way is the best way?
Self-Reflection
6. How did you determine this to be true?
7. Why didn’t you consider a different route to the problem?
8. Why does that answer make sense to you?
9. (in response to an answer):…what if I said that’s not true?
10. Is there any way to show exactly what you mean by that?
Reasoning
11. Why do you think this works? Does it always? why?
12. How do you think this is true?
13. Show how you might prove that?
14. Why assume this?
15. How might you argue against this?
Analysis
16. How might you show the differences and similarities?
17. What patterns might lead you to an alternative answer?
18. How many possibilities can you think of and why?
19. Predict any number of results?
Connections
20. How does this relate daily occurrences?
21. Which ideas make the most sense and why?
22. Which problems feel familiar? Why?
23. How does this relate to current events?
24. What kinds of examples make this problem workable?
25. What other problems fit this style or example?
Literary Questions
26. How did any of the characters or events remind you of yourself? Why?
27. How did the character’s actions affect you? Explain.
28. If you were this character, how would the story change?
29. What surprised or confused you about the characters or events? Explain.
30. Why do you think the author wrote from this character’s view?
31. What do you think the author is trying to accomplish?
32. How is the author thinking about the world?
33. How would the story change from another character’s view?
34. Why do you think this story could actually happen, or not?
35. How can this story teach us something about our lives?
36. How do you think the characters resolved the major conflict in the story?
37. How would you have resolved it?
38. How would you change the end of the story and why?
Science and Social Questions
39. What’s the purpose for this experiment or argument?
40. Would you elaborate on the purpose of this?
41. What issues or problems do you see here?
42. What evidence or data are given that help make this worthwhile?
43. What are some of the complexities we should consider?
44. What concepts help organize this data, these experiences?
45. How can you justify this information?
46. How can we verify or test that data?
47. What details can you add to make this information feel more complete?
48. Which set of data or information is most relevant or important?
49. How is all of this consistent or inconsistent?
50. How am I seeing or viewing this information? Objectively or subjectively? Should I then change my view?
