QUESTIONING AS A
STRATEGY IN THE
SOCIAL STUDIES
CLASSROOM
Judge a man by his
questions rather than
by his answers
.
-
Voltaire
• To prepare for the future, we must move from
the teaching of facts to the teaching of
thinking.
• Unless we make that transition, we will
produce a generation of students ill-prepared
to cope with their world.
THE TRADITIONAL CLASS
DON’T DO
ANYTHING FOR
YOUR STUDENTS
THEY CAN DO FOR
THEMSELVES!
RESEARCH SAYS. . . .
• 75-80% of questions posed in both
elementary and secondary classrooms are at
the recall or memory level.
• In your opinion, what are the 3-4 most
important factors contributing to this
situation?
RESEARCH SAYS. . . .
• Most teachers call on students perceived as
high achievers more frequently than they call
on low achievers.
• What do you believe to be 2-3 overriding
reasons for this teacher behavior?
RESEARCH SAYS. . . .
• When teachers ask questions, they typically
wait one second or less for students to begin
their responses.
• Why do you think teachers allow students so
little time to begin their responses?
RESEARCH SAYS. . . .
• Teachers frequently give a student the answer
to a question that the student does not
answer correctly or immediately.
• Suggest 2-3 reasons why many teachers
provide the answer rather than attempting to
elicit a correct response from the student.
RESEARCH SAYS. . . .
• Students ask less than 5% of the questions in
both elementary and secondary classrooms.
• Why do students initiate so few questions?
MISSUSES OF QUESTIONING
EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING TECHNIQUES
PREPARE THE QUESTION
PREPARE THE QUESTION
-
EDIT
• Where else in the world would you predict a
wall similar to the Berlin Wall might be built
today?
• Where might a wall similar to the Berlin Wall
be built today?
• Predict where another Berlin Wall might be
built today.
EDIT
• Create a dialogue between two cousins, who
were separated by the Civil War, that
describes their situation during the war and
the early years of Reconstruction.
EDIT
• Consider this hypothetical situation: Two
cousins were chose to support opposite sides
during the Civil War. What might these two
discuss on the occasion of their reunion
following the end of Reconstruction? Create a
dialogue.
EDIT
• Judge the moral issues represented by each
leader.
• Judge the moral position upheld by each of
the two leaders.
• Defend the position of both world leaders as
to its morality.
• Identify the inconsistencies in the moral
position held by each of the two world
leaders.
POSING THE QUESTION
POSE IT WITH CARE
• Ask with interest in the STUDENT’S ANSWER
• Ask the questions slowly and easily –
PUNCTUATE them
• Anticipate student responses
• Ask and stop
WHO WILL RESPOND
PROMPT STUDENT RESPONSES
-
RESEARCH SHOWS. . .
• Teachers ask boys more difficult questions and
provide longer wait time
• Children from poverty and minorities are
asked lower level questions
• More vocal students dominate the class
PROCESS STUDENT RESPONSES
REFLECT ON QUESTIONING PRACTICE
- Analyze questions
- Map respondent selection
- Evaluate student response patterns
- Examine teacher and student reactions
HELP STUDENTS WHO RESPOND
INCORRECTLY
DEVELOP AUTHENTIC QUESTIONS
• Make sure the questions engage students in
deeper thinking and not merely prompt them
to recall information they have read or been
told.
I had six honest serving men
- They taught me all I knew:
- Their names were Where and
What and When
- and Why and How and Who
-
- Rudyard
Kipling
DEVELOP AUTHENTIC QUESTIONS
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEVEL
DEFINITION WHAT THE
STUDENT DOES
WHAT THE
TEACHER DOES
WORDS TO HELP
YOU ASK
QUESTIONS
REMEMBER
Recall or
location of
specific bits
of
information
Directs
Tells
Shows
Examines
Who, What,
When, Where,
How, How much,
Describe, Define,
Match, Select,
Choose, Omit
Responds
Absorbs
Remembers
Recognizes
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEVEL
DEFINITION
UNDER Understanding
-STAND communicated
material or
information
WHAT THE
WHAT THE
STUDENT DOES TEACHER DOES
WORDS TO HELP
YOU ASK
QUESTIONS
Explains
Translates
Demonstrates
Interprets
Classify, Judge,
Infer, Show,
Indicate, Tell,
Translate, Outline,
Summarize,
Select, Match,
Explain,
Represent,
Demonstrate
Demonstrates
Listens
Questions
Compares
Contrasts
Examines
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEVEL
DEFINITION
WHAT THE
STUDENT DOES
WHAT THE
TEACHER DOES
WORDS TO HELP
YOU ASK
QUESTIONS
APPLY
Use of rules,
concepts,
principles, and
theories in
new situations
Solves novel
problems
Demonstrates
Uses knowledge
Constructs
Shows
Facilitates
Observes
Criticizes
Predict, Choose,
Select, Judge the
effects, Explain,
Identify , Why
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEVEL
DEFINITION
WHAT THE
STUDENT DOES
WHAT THE
TEACHER DOES
WORDS TO HELP
YOU ASK
QUESTIONS
ANALYSIS
Breaking down
information into
its parts
Discusses
Uncovers
Lists
Dissects
Probes
Guides
Observes
Acts as
resource
Distinguish
Identify
What is..
What does..
What
conclusions..
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEVEL
DEFINITION
EVALUATE Judging the
value of
materials or
ideas on the
basis of set
standards or
criteria
WHAT THE
STUDENT DOES
WHAT THE
TEACHER DOES
WORDS TO HELP
YOU ASK
QUESTIONS
Judges
Disputes
Forms pinions
Accepts
Lays bare the
criteria
Harmonizes
Appraise
Judge
Criticize
Defend
Compare
BLOOM’S TAXONOMY
LEVEL
DEFINITION
WHAT THE
STUDENT DOES
WHAT THE
TEACHER DOES
WORDS TO HELP
YOU ASK
QUESTIONS
CREATE
Putting
together ideas
into a new or
unique product
or plan
Discusses
Generalizes
Relates
Contrasts
Abstracts
Reflects
Extends
Evaluates
Create, Make,
Plan, Design,
Compose,
Formulate,
Develop,
Speculate, Invent
USING QUESTIONS
• Response cards
• Hand signals
• Audience response systems
• ReQuest
• Socratic seminar
REQUEST: RECIPROCAL QUESTIONING
• Teaches students to ask and answer
questions as they read
• Simply thinking about questions
while they read improves
comprehension (Christenbury, 2006)
SOCRATIC SEMINAR
• Both narrative and informational texts may be
used
• Must be rich enough to engage students in
discussion
• Begin with a question posed by the teacher or
leader
• Questions should have no right answer
THE TIME FACTOR
• It is important that teachers ask good
questions
• It models what students are expected to know
• BUT, do teachers have to be the only ones
asking questions?
THE STUDENT CENTERED
CLASSROOM
• What are the benefits to allowing students to
ask the questions?
THE STUDENT CENTERED
CLASSROOM
• What are the pitfalls to allowing students to
ask the questions?
GET CREATIVE!
• Use Manipulatives to play or invent games
• Keep it fresh!
HOW?
• Manipulatives to stimulate student question
generation
• Can be as open or as focused as the teacher
wants them to be
– Spinner
– Dice
– Question Cards
– Question Strips
MATRIX TOSS
• TOPIC: SOMETHING IN THE ROOM AROUND
YOU
• Roll the dice. You have 2 words to use to
develop a question.
• Focus on something in the room
• Write your question
MATRIX TOSS
• TOPIC: SOMETHING IN THE ROOM AROUND
YOU
• Refocus your thoughts
• Roll the dice again. You have 2 words to use
to generate a second question.
• Focus on the same thing that was your earlier
focus
• Write your new question
METACOGNITION
• How are the two questions alike?
• How are they different?
• Exploring the same subject with questions at
different levels or from different perspectives
provides more ideas and better insights
HOW?
• Use cooperative learning strategies to allow
students to develop and answer questions
HOW?
• Use graphic organizers to help students
categorize their questions
– Easy-hard
– Low consensus-high consensus
– Levels on a taxonomy
– Types of information necessary to respond to
various questions
THINK TIME
• Basic, but vital
• The more complex the question, the more
think time is needed
• Don’t allow students to blurt out answers –
make them take the time to think about their
answers
METACOGNITION
• Force students to think about their own
thinking
• Ask them to walk you through their thought
process
– What was going through your mind when …?
– What connections were you making when you
decided to …?
– Has your thinking about the question or the
answer changed since you wrote it? Why?
METACOGNITION
• Have students share their thinking processes
with a partner
• A powerful exercise to provide poor problem
solvers with insights into the thinking of good
problem solvers
• Can make good problem solvers better as they
focus on their problem solving strategies
STUDENTS NEED TO
DO HISTORY
• So design a “product” for students
– Individual assignments
– Group assignments (more complicated, shared
brain)
– Modern connection (relevancy)
• Products can be anything
– Graphic Organizer
– Technology (Web 2.0 activities)
– Traditional projects
EXAMPLES
• What factors led to the colonists thinking of
themselves as “Americans” rather than
“Englishmen”?
• What factors led to the rise of the first
civilizations?
• What were the accomplishments of the early
river valley civilizations?
SPIRAL
• 1. What do you know?
• 2. What can you infer?
• 3. What conclusion can you
draw?
STAAR & EOC
•TEA says consistently:
•Know your TEKS inside
out
•TEACH your TEKS as they
are stated
Danna Beck
806.677.5184
Danna.beck@esc16.net