1. Mechanics
2. Generating
Questions
3. Curiosity
culture
4. Reflection
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‘Hands up’ classroom culture
Why do it?
Perceived time
constraints.
Don’t want to
embarrass pupils
who don’t know
the answer.
Helps teacher
feel successful.
(Subconscious)
avoidance of
need to address
wrong answers
and slow the
pace.
Why not?
 Too many pupils
will choose not to
volunteer.
 Allowing pupils to
choose increases
the achievement
gap between the
highest and the
lowest achieving
pupils.
 The intelligence
of pupils is
actually increased
by actively taking
part in discussion.
‘No hands up’ classroom culture except to ASK a question!
Advantages:
 Increases pupil
engagement dramatically:
they must listen!
 Teachers can ensure the
participation of all pupils
in every lesson.
 Teachers can better
assess the understanding
and progress of all pupils.
 Pupils learn better when
they vocalise answers
and ideas for themselves.
Disadvantages:
 Eye contact clues:
develop strategies to
avoid this.
 Teachers subconsciously
choose the strongest
pupils who will give the
correct answer.
 Teachers tend to ask
low-level questions
which do little to move
learning forward or
promote thinking.
‘Randomising’ questions
Ideas:
 Numbered lollypop
sticks (numbers either
on desks or books).
 Throw an object (e.g.
dice) and whoever
catches, answers.
 Pass the bomb –
different lengths of time
– if it ‘explodes’, they
answer.
What if they can’t answer?
 Lollypop stick goes back
in the bag so they can
answer another question
 ‘Tag’ or ‘Phone’ a friend.
 Ask the audience.
High quality questions promote thinking.
Thinking takes time: ‘wait time’.
 When teachers pause
after asking a question,
more pupils participate in
class discussion, answers
are longer and of higher
quality.
 Wait time 1: the teacher
asks a question and
pauses before hearing an
answer.
 Wait time 2: the teacher
hears the answer and
pauses again.
 Wait time: a minimum of
3 to 5 seconds.
Wait time is not wasted time,
so why doesn’t it happen?
 Quick-fire question/answer sessions make us feel like
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we’re achieving great pace.
Silence can be uncomfortable.
Impatience (teacher and some pupils)
The teacher may not realise he/she isn’t giving wait
time.
‘Wait time 2’ may not happen because many teachers
immediately provide the answer themselves if the
first answer given is incomplete or incorrect, rather
than probing further or inviting other pupils to
contribute more information or comment on the
answer already given.
What do you do if the pupil you ask
gives an answer which is incomplete
or incorrect?
When you ask a question, do you have
the ‘right answer’ ready in your head?
Good questions are hard to
generate.
• Teachers
plan the
content of
their
lessons.
• Could a
lesson plan
instead
consist of
a sequence
of wellplanned
questions?
Different types of questions:
 Abstract or concrete (i.e. is there a ‘right’ answer?)
 Leading or open to interpretation
 Open or closed
 Questions for clarification
 Challenging questions (evaluative, creative,
comparison)
 Serial questions (that get progressively more
challenging and/or encourage a variety of thinking
skills)
Matching Blooms to
the English Bands
4
3
5
6-9
5-6
6-9
6-9
6-9
5-6
5
4
3
Resources to choose from
Planning Questions – ideas:
 Bookmarks for teacher’s planners
 Fan (for use with planning or in lessons)
 Pack of cards
Planning methods of response – for planning/student use:
 Spinner
We’ve created a pack for
 Cards
Sandra to use for each
resource – if you would
like one, place your order.
Establishing curiosity as the norm –
THIS WILL HELP BUILD EFFECTIVE SIXTH FORMERS!
 Questioner of the day/week – house-point/reward card
 Cash for questions – whole class – list questions and then they
can ‘buy’ questions from other students if it will help them get
the answer.
 ‘Bounce’ the question/response around the class to improve
the question/explain/offer the alternative
 Response cards – agree/disagree/it’s a poor question
 Question tokens – each student has two question tokens/cards
that they MUST use by the end of the lesson. (Extension?)
 Guess the marks – given five exam/test questions and rank the
questions according to Bloom’s taxonomy or higher vs lower
order questions.
 PARENT-LED – ‘What questions did you ask today?’