Welcome to today’s training on the
Hope you brought your folder from last time; please
take a seat near a stapled set of handouts.
“The Question Focus, or QFocus, is
a prompt that can be presented in
the form of a statement or a visual
or aural aid to focus and attract
student attention and quickly
stimulate the formation of
questions.”
From Harvard
Education
Newsletter
January 10, 2013
Today’s Learning Goals
To understand what a QFocus is and what role it
plays in the Question Formulation Technique (QFT)
process
To experience a suggested process for developing
an effective QFocus
To explore resources for developing QFocus
prompts and for reporting on initial experimentation
with a QFocus and an associated QFT process
January 10, 2013
Today’s Agenda
1.
Welcome and Basic Definitions
1.
Exploring the Relative Quality of Several Potential
QFocus Prompts
Context
QFocus Criteria
Rank Ordering Potential QFocus Prompts
2.
Testing Your “Favorite” QFocus, Followed by
Reflection
3.
Beginning to Design QFocus Prompts (if time permits)
4.
Resources and a Way to Share Your QFT
Experimentation Next Time
“The QFocus is different from many traditional
prompts because it is not a teacher’s question.
It serves, instead, as the focus for student
questions so students can, on their own,
identify and explore a wide range of themes
and ideas. For example, after studying the
causes of the 1804 Haitian revolution, one
teacher presented this QFocus: “Once we were
slaves. Now we are free.” The students began
asking questions about what changed and
what stayed the same after the revolution.”
The Question Formulation
Technique is one tool.
“Use every tool that you have.”
--
Mr. Baker
Central High School
Mobile, Alabama
(Archy LaSalle’s Teacher)
The purpose behind my/Joan’s QFocus:
I am hoping that CRLS faculty will consider
making QFT another questioning knife in their
pedagogical drawers. When they begin to
experiment with QFT, I want them to do so with
real openness to the possibility of its usefulness
at particular instructional points. So I would like
them to generate questions that will help them
think about their teaching beliefs and needs –
and help them understand their preexperimentation feelings about the QFT.
From http://prezi.com/5vqwas_17wbm/questioning-module-part-2/ -- a really great Prezi by Jay
Corrigan called “Questioning Module Part 2: Students asking questions”
QFocus Prompts for Analysis

Question Levels Matter

Questions vs. “Better” Questions

Some types of student questions will
lead to deeper engagement and
learning.

To model or not to model how to ask
high-level questions, that is the teacher
question.
More QFocus Prompts for Analysis

How We Learn

Questions and Answers

The Relative Importance of Questions
and Answers for Learning

Better Questions = Better Answers
Suggested Reflection Prompts for
QFT “First Time”

What did you learn?

What did you like?

What did you not like?
RESOURCES
The Right Question Institute Educator Resource
Area: <http://rightquestion.org/educators/resources/>
You’ve been to the first workshop –
So maybe you’d like to read the book!!!
And in the district
Joan Soble
X6777
CRLS/Room 2613
jsoble@cpsd.us