To:
Students in R of CR
From: Dr. Comeaux
Re:
You MUST create open-ended (not leading) questions for your discussion handouts.
Kinds of Questions (in terms of what they elicit):
• Description or Explanation
• Opinions, Values or Attitudes
• Agreements or Disagreements; Advantages or Disadvantages
• Interpretation (What does this mean? What did you understand by the essay?)
• Significance (how important and why)
• Application or Examples
• Open-ended questions that ask one to describe, to explain how or why, to provide
examples, opinions, experience, and agreement or disagreement.
• What else???
Sample Questions to Provoke and Ensure Discussion:
• Which works best? And Why?
• Why is it important to….
• Explain what you think Jones is arguing in her essay?
• Do you agree with Jones? Why or why not?
• What are the essential ideas in Jones’ essay?
• Which of Jones’ ideas are most valuable to you? Why?
• How can we apply these ideas to a career in environmental education?
• What do you think the general public knows about global warming?
• Is it a pressing issue or concern? How can we bring this issue to the public’s attention?
• Others?
More Specific Examples:
Leading question: What does this say about the commitment, courage, and cooperation of the
black community in Albany?
More open-ended: What does this say about the black community in Albany?
Leading question: By the end of the demonstrations 2,500 people had been jailed and 2,000
of them were children.
• What effect did the media’s coverage of this situation say to the world about what was
going on in the USA and the dedication of the protestors in Birmingham?
Open-ended questions: By the end of the demonstrations 2,500 people had been jailed and
2,000 of them were children.
•
Do you agree with the strategy of using HS and Elementary School children in the
marches? Why or Why not?
•
What effect did it have with the media coverage? With the world?