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Questioning: What Makes Questions Effective?

The document provides guidance on creating effective questions to use in classroom instruction. It recommends: 1) sequencing questions from basic to more challenging to meet learning objectives; 2) using more open-ended, higher-order questions; 3) making closed questions low-risk for students; and 4) giving students opportunities to ask their own questions and receive feedback. Additionally, it suggests waiting time after asking questions, allowing students to discuss answers before responding, and using different response methods like writing answers. The goal is to plan increasingly challenging questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy and make sure all students are engaged through questioning strategies.

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25 views2 pages

Questioning: What Makes Questions Effective?

The document provides guidance on creating effective questions to use in classroom instruction. It recommends: 1) sequencing questions from basic to more challenging to meet learning objectives; 2) using more open-ended, higher-order questions; 3) making closed questions low-risk for students; and 4) giving students opportunities to ask their own questions and receive feedback. Additionally, it suggests waiting time after asking questions, allowing students to discuss answers before responding, and using different response methods like writing answers. The goal is to plan increasingly challenging questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy and make sure all students are engaged through questioning strategies.

Uploaded by

3alliumcourt
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Questioning

What makes questions effective?


 Put two or three key questions in your plan. Sequence the questions to get
increasingly challenging
 Link questions to the learning objectives (you could put them in the scheme of work)
 Teach basic skills through questions that break the skill down into small steps
 Have more open, higher order questions than anything else
 Phrase closed questions so that they are low risk (eg instead of saying “What is the
answer?” say “What do you think the answer might be?”)
 Give pupils opportunities to ask their own questions
 Give pupils the opportunity to feedback to each other
 Make sure that risks are acceptable in your classroom

Some good questions …


 How did you work that out?
 Why do you think that?
 What makes this a good …?
 What could we do to improve this …?
 What do you think …?
 What do you think would happen if …?
 What are you expecting?
 How do we know that?
 What is he really saying?
 How else would you …?
 Which is more important?
 What do you notice?

Tactics for creating a good climate for questioning

No Hands Collaboration time How did you get that


no-one puts their hands up, pupils discuss their answer question an apparently
the teacher picks a pupil to with another pupil before incorrect answer, it may come
answer. They are allowed to replying from some very good thinking,
say they don’t want to answer may even be correct!

Wait Time Write/Draw and Show Left hand/right hand


if there is no answer don’t pupils have mini whiteboards, give pupils two or more
answer it yourself or rephrase coloured cards or any relevant different gestures as
it. Wait a few seconds instead. cards/objects which they select responses (e.g. to express
and show to answer the like or dislike, agree,
question disagree, true or false)
How to plan a sequence of increasingly challenging questions
(based on Bloom’s Taxonomy)

Knowledge Define, recall, describe, label, identify, match

Comprehension Explain, translate, illustrate, extend

Application Demonstrate, predict, solve, use, employ

Analysis Analyse, relate, break down, explore

Synthesis Design, create, compose, reorganise, combine

Evaluation Assess, evaluate, appraise, defend, justify

Vocab:
Open questions: There are a variety of acceptable answers. Thinking skills.
Closed Questions: There is only one correct answer. Factual recall.
Lower order questions: Factual, descriptive, easy questions.
Higher order questions: Sophisticated thinking, harder questions.

Top Tips:

Always think … why am I Do I always plan Do I give pupils time to


asking this? sequences of questions answer?
to get increasingly
challenging?

Have I got strategies to Is the answer obvious (or If a pupil’s response seems
make sure that every pupil is it a “guess what’s in my wrong or odd do you ask
feels included (no one head” type question)? further questions to
pupil dominates)? understand the pupils
thinking?
Andy Brumby Secondary National Strategy teaching and learning consultant 07968 992462

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