Thinking Like a Teacher:
Let’s Design Effective Questions
Adapted from:
Prof. Lynn Julien-Shultz
Nipissing University
Bloom’s taxonomy
• 1956 - Benjamin Bloom and others developed a
classification system of levels of intellectual
behaviour that were important in learning
• The lowest level is recall – what percentage of
teacher questioning do you think they discovered
was at this level?
• 2001- the taxonomy was revised by Anderson &
Krathwohl; creativity replaces synthesis and is
found at the highest level
• Key verbs and examples of typical questions for
each level help us remember to aim to include
higher levels, work from simple to complex
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Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Application
Comprehension
Bloom’s
Original six
levels in the
cognitive
domain
Knowledge
w/o Oct /2009
Lynn Julien-SchultzJ/I Methods
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Original Terms
New Terms
• Evaluation
•Creating
• Synthesis
•Evaluating
• Analysis
•Analysing
• Application
•Applying
• Comprehension
•Understanding
• Knowledge
•Remembering
(Based on Pohl, 2000, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 8)
Revised Bloom’s
Create
Evaluate
Analysis
six levels in the
cognitive domainfrom remembering
to creating
Apply
Understand
Remember
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Thinking skills in Bloom
Photo:© 2007 Tom Dunn
• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Retrieve relevant
knowledge from long-term
memory
• Construct meaning from
instructional messages,
including oral, written, and
graphic communication
• Carry out a procedure to
perform exercises or to
solve problems
Lower Order Thinking Skills
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Thinking skills in Bloom
• Analysis
• Evaluate
• Create
• Break down an idea into its
constituent parts and
determine how the parts are
related to one another and
to an overall structure
• Judge the value of ideas,
materials, or products
• Combine elements to form a
coherent or functional
whole; reorganize elements
into a new pattern or
structure
Higher Order Thinking Skills
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Review the classic story: http://viewpure.com/63w9aPO-W_E
Applying Bloom’s
Using the story Goldilocks and the Three Bears
as the basis:
Create a question for each category
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Remembering –
Understanding –
Applying –
Analyzing –
Evaluating –
Creating –
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Questions for Remembering
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What happened after...?
How many...?
What is...?
Who was it that...?
Can you name ...?
Find the definition of…
Describe what happened after…
Who spoke to...?
Which is true or false...?
(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 12)
Questions for Understanding
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Can you explain why…?
Can you write in your own words?
How would you explain…?
Can you write a brief outline...?
Who do you think...?
What was the main idea...?
Can you clarify…?
Can you illustrate…?
Does everyone act in the way that …….. does?
(Pohl, Learning to
Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 12)
• Do you know of another instance
where…?
• Can you group by characteristics such
as…?
• Which factors would you change if…?
• What questions would you ask of…?
• From the information given, can you
develop a set of instructions about…?
(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 13)
Questions for Applying
Questions for Analyzing
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Which events could not have happened?
If. ..happened, what might the ending have been?
How is...similar to...?
What do you see as other possible outcomes?
Why did...changes occur?
Can you explain what must have happened when...?
What are some or the problems of...?
Can you distinguish between...?
What were some of the motives behind..?
What was the turning point?
What was the problem with...?
(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 13)
Questions for Evaluating
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Is there a better solution to...?
Judge the value of... What do you think about...?
Can you defend your position about...?
Do you think...is a good or bad thing?
How would you have handled...?
What changes to.. would you recommend?
Do you believe...? How would you feel if. ..?
How effective are. ..?
What are the consequences..?
What influence will....have on our lives?
What are the pros and cons of....?
Why is ....of value?
What are the alternatives?
Who will gain & who will loose?
(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 14)
Questions for Creating
• Can you design a...to...?
• Can you see a possible solution to...?
• If you had access to all resources, how would
you deal with...?
• Why don't you devise your own way to...?
• What would happen if ...?
• How many ways can you...?
• Can you create new and unusual uses for...?
• Can you develop a proposal which would...?
(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 14)
Q Matrix
a user-friendly adaptation of Bloom’s
Taxonomy
allows you to construct questions based on
the word pairs within a matrix
arranged in a hierarchy that considers
Bloom’s Taxonomy
Q Matrix
To use Q-Matrix:
1. Identify the level of thinking you wish your
question to elicit and select word pairs to match
your instructional focus
• “knowledge” word pairs – upper left portion of
matrix
• “evaluation” word pairs – lower right
• As you move in any direction from the “What
is?” – you are moving toward questions which
require more in-depth thinking
Q Matrix
2. Choose any word pair
– use this word pair as the first two
words in your question followed by the
appropriate content.
• Example: Which might?
Which might be the best way
to solve this problem?
-Or embedded words i.e., “Of all the
solutions we’ve discussed, which do you
do feel might provide the best solution to
this problem?”
3. The horizontal items represent the
subject of the question (event, situation,
choice, person, reason, means)
4. The vertical items represent the process
(present, past, possibility, probability,
prediction, imagination)
Q Matrix
Some ideas for
use
 Post as a
reference chart
in the classroom
 Use it to create
test questions
 Use it to develop
centre activities
 Have students
use it to prompt
their own
questions when
reading
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Q Matrix
Quadrants:
“A” Asks for facts
“B” Asks for
comparisons,
explanations,
examples
“C” Asks for predictions
and possibilities
“D” Asks for speculations,
probabilities and
evaluation
• Everyday Questions
– questions that are asked without
planning
– usually require a yes/no answer or a
one word answer
– usually don’t require much thought
Questioning: 2 main types
• Educative Questions
– questions that are planned in
advance
– usually at a higher level of thinking
– purposeful
– clearly focused
– carefully conceived
– well formulated
(J.T.Dillon)
Questioning: 2 Main Types
The educative questioncreated BEFORE the lesson
• Identify the purpose: what do you hope
students will learn from the question?
• Determine the content focus: what specifically
is your question going to be about?
• Select the cognitive level: study Bloom’s
Taxonomy to help you write a question that will
move students to a higher level of thinking.
• Consider wording and syntax: your question
must be clear, specific and precise- not double
barrelled or wishy washy.
Write it out, say it out loud, think like a student
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Questioning considerations
For recitation or discussion?
Convergent or divergent?
Lower order or higher order thinking?
Related to curriculum expectations?
Related to real world, student
experience?
• Planned or spontaneous?
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What kinds of question are
you asking your students?
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Classroom Questions
• Closed: Limited number of
acceptable responses
• Open: Large number of acceptable
responses
• Used to gather specific information.
• Questions such as “what is the name of
this river? What shape is this? “
• These questions typically have one
answer.
• Questions that begin with who, what,
when and where are typically closed
questions.
Closed questions
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• When posing questions, it is best to try
to phrase these in such a way that
invites many responses. For example,
asking “what did you notice about the
guinea pigs?” is different from “Did you
notice the guinea pig’s legs?”
• Examples of Open ended questions:
• What do you think might happen next
in the story?
Open-ended questions
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