The Art of Questioning Creating Reflective, Thought-Full Learners

By: Lori Bryden Curriculum Consultant Catholic District School Board of Eastern Ontario August 2004 (Research Project, Masters of Education, Acadia University)

The Art of Questioning Creating Reflective, Thought-Full Learners



Questions, not answers are at the heart of education (Dennis Duncan, teacher). I have no answers, only questions (Socrates c. 300 BC). An unanswered question is a fine travelling companion. It sharpens your eye for the road (Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.).

How Do You Use Questioning?

As An Instructional Tool?

As an Assessment Tool?

Why Teach Questioning?

Questioning is the cornerstone of creativity.

Why Teach Questioning?

Research states that effective questioning strategies have a positive impact on overall student achievement. Knowing how to think to extend the mind beyond the obvious and develop creative solutions to problems should be the outcome of a good education. Our thinking skills affect how well we can receive and process new information.
To question well is to teach well (Wilen, 1991)

North American children fall short in this critical skill. Studies show that teachers ask students limiting questions. From a study at the University of Nebraska, it is noted that based on questions teachers ask, 60% require only recall of facts, 20% require students to think and 20% are procedural in nature. Researcher John Goodlad (1983) of the University of Washington reports that only 1% of classroom questions invite students to give their own opinions.

One can rephrase the Chinese proverb: Ask a man a question and he inquires for a day. Teach a man how to question and he inquires for a lifetime.

Teachers say that they teach by asking questions but they cant describe the types of questions that they ask. Teachers frequently say that all questions have merit but thats not the case with teacher questions. The content of the question and the manner in which teachers ask them determines whether or not they are effective.

What is a Good Question?

For a question to be effective, it must be clear, concise; relevant to both the subject material and the student and most importantly it should inspire creative thinking.

Good Questions:


Good questions recognize the wide possibilities of thought and are built around varying forms of thinking. Good questions are directed toward learning and evaluative thinking rather than determining what has been learned in a narrow sense.

A Good Question
A Good Question: Contributes to learning  Sparks further questions and interest in seeking answers  Involves critical and creative thinking  Goes beyond recall of basic information  Provides challenge but is not too threatening  Is appropriate to the learning situation and the student  Builds on prior knowledge and makes connections  Involves students in reflection and/or planning


Asking Good Questions

If only I could ask the right question (Albert Einstein)


Ever since Socrates asked questions to provoke his students into thinking and analyzing their thoughts about 2200 years ago, educators have recognized the value of good questioning strategies. Researchers estimate that up to 90 percent of questions asked in elementary and secondary school ask students to regurgitate information. The art of asking questions is one of the basic skills of good teaching. Socrates believed that knowledge and awareness were an intrinsic part of each learner. Thus, in exercising the craft of good teaching an educator must reach into the learners hidden levels of knowing and awareness in order to help the learner reach new levels of thinking. Questions serve many purposes, including assessing what students already know, setting the stage for a new lesson by piquing students curiousity, determining what factual information students have absorbed, and stimulating higher-order thinking so students can apply what theyve learned to new situations.

Questioning and Critical Thinking



Critical thinking has become a hot topic in education today. The concept of critical thinking is applied in all subject areas. Education is nothing more, nor less, than learning to think! The common feeling in education today is that students must become critical thinkers in order to assimilate and accommodate information, thus becoming a true learner.

Can Thinking Skills Be Taught? Yes!



The purpose of critical thinking is to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate or resolve. Critical thinkers: distinguish between fact and opinion; ask questions; make detailed observations; uncover assumptions and define their terms; and make assertions based on sound logic and solid evidence. Maybe the question should be Can children be taught to think more effectively?

The Griney Grollers Thinking Skills Test



The griney grollers  grangled in the  granchy gak.

     

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

What kind of grollers were they? What did the grollers do? Where did they do it? In what kind of gak did they grangle? In one sentence, explain why-the grollers were grangling in the granchy gak. If you had to grangle in a granchy gak, what one item would you choose to have with you and why?

The Moral of the Griney Grollers Story



Students can answer low-level questions without thinking. Students enter/exit classrooms with no more understanding of what theyve learned than The Griney Groller taught you!

Thinking is what happens when your mouth stops and your brain keeps working.
(Dennis the Menace)

Resnick (1987) argues that a new challenge to develop educational programs that assume that all individuals, not just the elite, can become competent thinkers because these competencies are now required of all. The cognitive approach suggests that learners must develop an awareness of themselves as thinkers and learners and practise the approaches and strategies for effective thinking.

Blooms Taxonomy and Critical Thinking

Thirty years ago, Benjamin Bloom (1956) suggested that the same information can be handled in more and less demanding ways. Students can be asked to recall facts, to analyze those facts, to synthesize or discover new information based on the facts or to evaluate knowledge.

Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation



Bloom proposed a theoretical ranking of the levels of thinking that people use. At the simple and basic level, Bloom suggested that people operate at a very concrete level of knowledge. Moving beyond that, people are able to comprehend what the facts are about and to some extent, they are able to manipulate those ideas by comparing or contrasting or even retelling events in their own words. At the next level, people are able to apply what they have learned from facts and comprehension. This level of thinking permits them to demonstrate knowledge, solve or apply what they know to new and related situations. Moving beyond application, the next level of thinking allows people to analyze what they know. At this level, typically they can classify, categorize, discriminate or detect information.

All our knowledge results from questions, which is another way of saying that question-asking is our most important intellectual tool (Postman, 1979)

The two highest levels of cognitive thought according to Bloom are synthesis and evaluation. In synthesis the individual is able to put ideas together, propose plans, form solutions, and create new information. In the evaluation stage, the thinker is able to make choices, select evaluate and make judgements about information and situations.

How Blooms Relates To Our View of the Student

Blooms Taxonomy divides the way people learn into three domains. It is concerned with the development of the whole student and the whole student can be said to be divided into three parts: 1. What the student thinks and knows (The Cognitive Domain). 2. What the student feels about what he/she thinks and knows (The Affective Domain). 3. What the student does as a result of his or her knowledge, thoughts and feelings (The Psychomotor Domain).

Blooms Taxonomy and Assessment


 

Blooms Taxonomy
Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation




Achievement Chart
Knowledge/Understanding

Application Thinking/Inquiry/Problem Solving

  

Attributes of a Critical Thinker

(Ferrett in Peak Performance, 1997)
            

Asks pertinent questions Assesses statements and arguments Is able to admit a lack of understanding or information Has a sense of curiousity Is interested in finding new solutions Is able to clearly define a set of criteria for analyzing ideas Is willing to examine beliefs, assumptions, and opinions and weigh them against facts Listens carefully to others and is able to give feedback Sees that critical thinking is a life-long process of self-assessment Suspends judgement until all facts have been gathered and considered Is able to adjust opinions when new facts are found Looks for proof Examines problems closely

Elements of a Skilled Questioner



The crucial elements of a skilled questioner are that they are brief and concise, are prepared to rephrase questions, are prepared to draw further responses from participants, use a variety of techniques, redirect questions/responses, provide feedback and reinforcement without repeating answers and spread questions around the class. The ability to ask questions is an art form and one, which takes commitment and perseverance. For many instructors, it is necessary to pre-plan questions. Planned questions can provide a framework for a lesson plan and keep the instructor and the students on topic.

Types of Questions
The quality of the students thinking, and subsequent responses, will be influenced by the questioning techniques used by the teacher.


Closed Questions: typically begin with do, is, can, could, will, would, shall or should. Closed questions usually have only one response. These are usually used to recall information and assess the prior and post activity knowledge of the students. When this type of question is necessary, follow with an open-ended question. Open Ended Questions: usually begin with who, what, when, where, or how. Open ended questions are useful to stimulate group discussion. In open ended questions there may be many different responses. Higher level questions are questions that require students to work out answers rather than memorize them. The goal of higher level questions is to give the student a license to explore the possibilities. Bloom categorizes higher level questions into three categories: analysis, synthesis and evaluation. Higher level questions encourage students to think more deeply and critically, to problem solve, inspire discussions and stimulate students to seek information on their own.

Transforming Closed Questions into Open Questions

Look at the type of question. Is it a closed question? (Only one possible answer) Use different language to change it into an open question (with more than one answer or no possible answer).

Beginning to Ask Questions:

A skilfully orchestrated question and answer session causes a chain effect, in which, the instructor and students can journey from simple factual inquiries to an insightful exchange of information, ideas and realizations. As an instructors ability to engage the learner, and incorporate questioning techniques into the classroom increases, so will the opportunity of teachable moments.

Applying Blooms
Blooms Taxonomy gives a six-fold model to comprehension.

Here is an example of questions used with a simple source, the nursery rhyme Little Boy Blue, during a Primary environmental study. Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn, The sheeps in the meadow, the cows in the corn, Where is the boy who looks after the sheep? Hes under the haystack, fast asleep.

Questioning with Little Boy Blue

    

Knowledge (Remembering): In this picture, what is the colour of the boys coat? Comprehension (Understanding): Can you describe his coat in your own words? Application (Solving): Do you know someone like Little Boy Blue? Analysis (Reasoning): Why might he have fallen asleep? Synthesis (Creating): I wonder how he will explain to the farmer how the cow got into the corn? Evaluation (Judging): Does it matter if he falls asleep if no one ever finds out?

The Mysteries of Harris Burdick

By: Chris Van Allsburg
The House on Maple Street:
Knowledge: What is happening in the picture? Comprehension: How did you determine what is happening? Application: What questions would you ask if you could interview the owner of the house? Analysis: What evidence can you find that this is an unusual event? Synthesis: What would happen if your house started to rise? Evaluation: Based on what you know, how would you explain this occurrence?

QUILT Technique
QUILT questioning and understanding to improve learning and thinking. This program was developed to enhance student learning by improving teachers classroom questioning techniques.


During 1991-92, the QUILT program was classroom tested in 13 school districts with more than 1,200 teachers. The QUILT program claims to show an increase in teacher understanding of effective classroom questioning and a corresponding use of effective questioning practices along with an increase in student thinking.

5 Stages of QUILT
Stage 1: Preparing the question:  Identify the instructional purpose  Pause after asking question  Determine content focus  Select cognitive level Stage 2: Presenting the question:  Indicate response format  Ask the question  Select respondent

Stage 3: Prompt student responses:  Pause after asking question  Assist non respondent  Pause following student response Stage 4: Responding to student responses:  Provide appropriate feedback  Expand and use correct responses  Elicit student reactions and questions Stage 5: Critiquing the questioning period:  Analyze the questions  Map respondent selection  Evaluate student response patterns  Examine teacher and student reactions

Questioning Dos and Donts

1. Pose the question first, before asking the student to respond. 2. Allow plenty of think time by waiting at least 5 seconds. 3. Make sure you give all students the opportunity to respond rather than relying on volunteers. Create a system to help you keep track of who you call on. 4. Hold students accountable by expecting and facilitating their participation and contributions. 5. Never answer your own questions. Do not accept I Dont Know. 6. Establish a safe environment for risk taking by guiding students in the process of learning from their mistakes. Always dignify incorrect responses by saying something positive. 7. After asking the question, the instructor would remove himself from the center of attention. It is extremely important to pause after a question. This silence allows the students the opportunity to compose their thoughts,. There is a direct correlation between the pause time and the quality of the response. Higher level questions require considerable time for students to formulate answers. A longer response time will foster a climate for students to become critical thinkers. 8. When a student asks the instructor a question the instructor should redirect the question to the class.

Asking Questions That Foster Student Achievement

ask questions of primarily an academic nature  allow three to five seconds of wait time  encourage students to respond in some way to each question asked  balance responses from volunteering and nonvolunteering students  elicit a high percentage of correct responses from students and assist with incorrect responses  acknowledge correct responses from students and use praise specifically and discriminately


Build a Questioning Toolkit

Question finding is the ability to go to a poem, a painting, a piece of music a mathematical description and find a novel direction for investigation. This ability is difficult to teach directly, but it may be one of the most authentic and humanely posed.

Beginning a new unit: Start a new unit by asking students to think of questions that could be asked about the topic. Students will model higher level questions if teachers expose them to this process. Teachers can categorize questions. Teach students that questions are like tools in a toolbox. They are used for different purposes. Thinking requires a choice of questions. Primary students may categorize questions according to Fact Questions; Why Questions; Imagine Questions.

Critical Thinking and the Brain-Compatible Classroom

I think, therefore I am. (Descartes)

Critical thinking ties in with the brain-compatible classroom. The brain-compatible classroom relies on a four corner framework:
   

Teach FOR Thinking: Creating a rich, safe learning environment Teach Skills OF Thinking: Teaching life skills from novice level to expert level Teach WITH Thinking: Constructing meaning with intense, active involvement Teach ABOUT Thinking: Fostering application and transfer with metacognitive reflection When the brain is challenged, it becomes engaged in intense activity (Sylwester, 1995; Wolfe, 1996; Caine and Caine, 1991)

Questioning The Strategy That Propels Readers Forward

Reasons for students to develop their own questions: Increases motivation to learn  Improves comprehension and retention  Encourages creativity and innovation  Teaches how to think and learn  Provides a basis for problem solving and decision making. I wonder?


Coding the Text

Sticky Note Reading
Teachers model how to use post-it notes when reading both fiction and nonfiction text to understand the text. The students write predetermined symbols on the note and post it on the page. To differentiate between fiction and non-fiction text, the codes can be altered.
     

Example: Question ? Interesting Observation ! Important Fact * Learned Something New Confusing

Asking Questions While Reading

Creating and Strengthening a Readers Dialogue


He came with his little girl. She wore her best frock. You noticed what good care she took of it. Others noticed too-idly noticed that, last year, it had been, the best frock on another girl. In the morning sunshine it had been festive. Now most people had gone home. The balloon sellers were counting the days takings. Even the sun had followed their example, and retired to rest behind a cloud. So the place looked rather bleak and deserted when he came with his little girl to taste the joy of Spring and warm himself in the freshly polished Easter sun. But she was happy. They both were. They had learned a humility of which you still have no conception. A humility which never makes comparisons, never rejects what there is for the sake of something else or something more. -MARKINGS, DAG HAMMARSKJOLD

The 3Rs Framework for Developing Critical Thinking

The 3Rs: Retell, Relate, Reflect by Susan Schwartz and Maxine Bone


The 3Rs framework is a useful tool to help students learn to respond in meaningful ways. Students share their knowledge by retelling a story; relating parts of the story to their own experiences and knowledge and reflecting by thinking, questioning and wondering. Teachers model and demonstrate the 3Rs using the think-aloud strategy and/or the mini-lesson format.

The 3Rs and Critical Thinking The 3 Scoops of Reading

Retell (Knowledge/Comprehension) Relate (Application, Analysis) Reflect (Synthesis, Evaluation)
(Susan Schwartz and Maxine Bone)

Beyond Critical Thinking: Critical Literacy

Enhancing Students Comprehension of Text


Students today experience a constant stream of ideas and information-online, in print, and through electronic games and mass media. They need to be taught how to approach all texts with a critical eye. Critical literacy provides a way for students to think more deeply about the texts they meet and the text they create. It provides a way to challenge the learner to look beyond the literal message, to read between the lines, to observe what is present and what is missing, and to reflect on the content and way the author constructed the text to influence the reader. Critical literacy goes beyond conventional critical thinking because it often includes questions about fairness, equity and social justice. Critical literacy is a lens or overlay for viewing texts that becomes a regular part of classroom practice.
Critical literacies involve people using language to exercise power, to enhance everyday life in schools and communities, and to question practices of privilege and injustice (Comber, 2001)

Four Roles of The Literate Learner

(Luke and Freebody, 1999)


Meaning Maker:
Uses prior knowledge and experience to construct and communicate meaning when reading, writing and speaking.

Code Breaker:
Recognizes and uses the features and structures of written, visual and spoken texts, including the alphabet, sounds in words, spelling, conventions, sentence structure, text organization, graphics, other visuals.

Text User:
Understands that the purpose and audience help to determine the way a text is structured, the tone, the degree of formality, and the sequence of components-and uses this knowledge to read, write and speak.

Text Analyst:
Understands that texts are not neutral, that texts represent particular views and perspectives, and that other views and perspectives may be missing. The design and messages of texts can be critiqued and redesigned.

Creating Reflective and Thought-Full Learners

How do I know I know? Reflective thinking is linked to critical thinking because questioning and assessing involve organizing, reasoning, hypothesizing and predicting.

What Do Reflective/Metacognitive Students Do?

   

Question Link ideas to previous/predicted/current experiences Think critically Think creatively

Using Thought-Full Language in the Classroom:

 

Use specific thinking terms rather than vague abstract terms Posing questions that cause students to examine their own behaviour

Explicitly teach the language of critical thinking-the verbs!

Lets compare these two pictures. (instead of look)  What do you predict will happen when? (instead of think)  How can you classify? (instead of group)  Lets analyze this problem. (instead of work this problem)  What conclusions can you draw? (instead of what did you think)


How we Know Students Are Getting Better At Thinking:

We are interested in assessing not what students know in so much as how students behave when they dont know

Indicators that Instructional Methods Are Paying Off:

 

Persistence: When the solution to a problem is not immediately apparent. Decreasing Impulsivity: Students will think longer before answering, make sure they understand before beginning a task, listening to alternative points of view; planning strategies to solve problems more effectively. Listening to Others with Understanding and Empathy: Some psychologists believe that the ability to listen to another person, to empathize with and to understand their point of view, is one of the highest forms of intelligent behaviour. Flexibility in Thinking: They begin to see several ways to solve problems and that their answers arent the only one to consider.

You may be a critical thinking teacher if:

You may be a critical thinking teacher if:
            

Learners are active and in continuous dialogue with teacher Learning is constructing, not feeding Truth is discovered, not delivered Teacher leads from behind Teacher functions as facilitator/mentor instead of lecturer Questions are answered with explanations or questions, not simply yes or no Questions rarely have one right answer Pertinent discussions on related issues often break out Debate is common Peers exchange ideas Learner and teacher satisfaction increases Teachers often face questions for which there are no answers Social interaction and acceptance in the class is generally high

The Reflective Classroom: A Model to Improve Teacher Questioning

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

Teacher Questioning Questionnaire Classroom Questioning Tracking Sheet Questioning Strategies Observation Tool Classroom Questioning Tally Designing Questions

All The Best In Your Planning!

References
Beers, Kylene, (2003) When Kids Cant Read: What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann Publishers.

Brualdi, Amy, (1998) Classroom Questions. ERIC Clearinghouse on Assessment and Catholic University of America, Shriver Laboratory, College Park, MD. www.ericfacility.net/ericdigests/ed422407.html

Evaluation, The

Cotton, Kathleen, (2001). Classroom Questioning. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. www.nwrel.org/scpd.sirs/3/cu5/html

Cotton, Kathleen, (2001). Teaching Questioning Skills: Franklin Elementary School. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/4/snap13.html

Harvey, S., and Goudvis, A. (2000). Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding. York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.

Heffernan, Lee, (2004). Critical Literacy and Writers Workshop. Bloomington, INDIANA: International Reading Association.

References

McLaughlin, M., and DeVoogd, G., (2004) Critical Literacy: Enhancing Students Comprehension of Text. New York, NY: Scholastic.

Mittelstaedt, M. (1991) A Research Proposal for a Study to Support That an Early Childhood Teachers Perception of the Importance of Higher Cognitive Questioning Techniques Impacts the Implementation of the Questioning Techniques Done in the Classroom. Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.

Morgan, N., and Saxton, J., ((1994). Asking Better Questions. Markham, ON: Pembroke Publishers.

Muth, Jon, ((2002). The Three Questions. New York, NY: Scholastic Press.

Schwartz, S., and Bone, M. (1995). Retelling, Relating, Reflecting: Beyond the 3Rs. Toronto, ON: Irwin Publishing. Urbanoski, Janice, (2000). The Role of Questioning Techniques in the Classroom. www.instructordiploma.com/core/102%20B/jan.htm

Van Allsburg, Chris, ((1984). The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Publishing.

Wolf, Dennis Palmer, (1987). The Art of Questioning. Academic Connections, 1-7, www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/artofquestioning.html