Improving Learning
Through Questioning
GACIS
MDC Training
Christa Burch
Rhonda Carlisle
Kim Conley
Kami Wyse
Classroom Questioning
Research Findings
• Posing questions during lessons is more effective
than instruction carried out without questioning
students.
• Students perform better on test items previously
asked during instruction
• Oral questions posed during classroom instruction
are more effective than written questions.
• Questions which focus students on pertinent
elements in the lesson result in better
comprehension than questions which do not.
Classroom Questioning
Research Findings
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There is a relationship between academic
ability and question asking.
Low-achieving students become less likely to
seek help and less academically engaged
over the course of their school careers.
Students who feel more connected to their
teachers at a personal level are more likely
to ask questions.
Building Rapport with
Students
Relationships Matter!
Should you disclose basic facts
about yourself?
Yes, your students are curious about you.
Sharing some basic information about
yourself can go a long way to set your
students at ease and make you more
approachable.
Why is tone important?
• Your attitude toward your students
matter! They are perceptive.
• Each interaction you have with a
student is an opportunity to build a
relationship.
• Make sure every conversation sets a
positive tone.
You can build rapport with
your students by having
clear expectations for
your students so that they
know how to be successful
in your class.
Don’t forget…
• You are a role model and mentor for your
students.
• Building rapport does not mean you are
their friend.
• You should create meaningful
relationships that foster an environment
where students feel comfortable taking
risks and are willing to learn.
Create a
classroom
culture that
is open to
dialogue.
Collaborative Pairs
• Organization tool for a classroom
where two students are grouped
together for the purpose of actively
engaging their thinking about the new
learning.
• Used extensively in FALs
Creating Collaborative Pairs
Alternate method for creating pairs when not using
pre-assessment data
Grouping Methods
Alternate method for creating pairs/groups when not using preassessment data
• Peas(1) /Pairs(2) /Pods(3-4)
– Practice getting into groups
• Random ways to group
– Color sticks
– Numbering
– Review cards/matching
(matching vocabulary word with definition or matching problem with answer)
While Students Work
• Circulate around the room
• Listen carefully and value diversity in
thinking
• Provide additional direction to those in
need using focused questioning, if
possible
• Manage conflict constructively
(Balance learning & working effectively)
Teaching Students to Think by
Teaching Teachers to Question
Why Ask Questions?
• Encourage learners to talk
constructively and on-task
• Signal an interest in hearing what
learners feel and think
• Stimulate interest and awaken curiosity
• Encourage a problem-solving approach
to thinking and learning
Why Ask Questions?
• Help learners externalize and verbalize
knowledge learning
• Encourage thinking aloud and
exploratory approaches to tasks
• Help learners learn from each other
• Monitor learning
• Deepen learners’ thinking level and
increase their ability to conceptualize
Types of Questions
Data Recall
• Requires the learner to remember facts, information
without putting the information to use.
Naming Question
• Asks the learner simply to name an event or process
without showing insight into how the event is linked
to other factors.
Observation Question
• Asks learners to describe what they see without
attempting to explain it.
Control Question
Involves the use of questions to modify learners’
behavior rather than their learning.
Types of Questions
Hypothesis Question
• Asks learners to speculate about the outcome of a
hypothetical situation.
Analysis Question
• Ask learners to give reason(s) why certain things do
or do not happen.
Evaluation Question
• Is one that makes a learner weigh out the pros and
cons of a situation or argument.
Problem Solving Question
• Asks learners to construct ways of finding out
answers to questions.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
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Knowledge
Comprehension
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
Higher Level Questioning
• Allows students to think more critically and not just
repeat information
• Encourages students to see themselves as
producers of knowledge
• Cause students to find connects to their own
background knowledge and experiences
• Video: How To Question
Effective Classroom
Questioning
Develop good habits that will impact the teaching and
learning process by using…
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Direct and Simple Language
Definite and Clear Meaning
Logical Sequence
Questions Keyed to Class Ability
Stimulate Effort
Create Student Interest
Variety of Questions
Avoid Repetition
Avoid Trick Questions
Avoid Yes/No Questions
Appropriate Wait Time
Questioning Procedure
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Ask the Question
Pause
Call on Learner by Name
Listen to the Answer
Emphasize the Correct Answer
ask probing questions to clarify answers, support a point, or extend
their thinking
Wait Time Patterns
Teacher
Question
Wait
Time 1
Student
Answer
Wait
Time 2
Talk by
students
P
A
U
S
E
Teacher
Reaction
Students
respond
Wait
Time
1
The length of time
a teacher waits
after asking a
question before
naming a student
to respond
Wait
Time
2
The length of time
a teacher waits
after a student
stops talking in
response to a
question before
giving feedback
or calling on
another student
Research Patterns
When teachers increase Wait Time 1
and Wait Time 2 to three seconds or
more, there are pronounced
improvements in student use of
language and logic and in teacher and
student expectations.
Increasing wait time…
• Improves student achievement
• Improves student retention
• Increases the number of higher cognitive
responses
• Increases the length and number of responses
• Decreases in students’ failure to respond
• Decreases student interruptions
• Increases in the number of questions posed by
the students
WIN…
I am Wondering
I am Interested in
I am Noticing
Tell me…
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How did you arrive at that answer?
Can you describe the process you used?
What do you know about the problem?
What do you need to figure out?
What materials might help you figure this out?
Are there other parts of the problem you can do
first?
• How does this relate to…?
• What would happen if…?
Closure questions…
• What was something you learned from this
problem/activity?
• What were the mathematical concepts ?
• What do you still have questions about?
• What did you do to contribute to your group’s
work?
“Give a student a question to answer
and she will learn the passage she has
just read. Teach her how to ask
questions, and she will learn how to
learn for the rest of her life.”—James R.
Gavelek & Taffy E. Raphael (1985, p. 103)
References
Cotton, Kathleen. (1998). Classroom Questioning. Retrieved from
http://www.learner.org/workshops/socialstudies/pdf/session6/6.Classro
omQuestioning.pdf
Posamentier, A. and Stepelman, J. (1990). Teaching Secondary School
Mathematics (3rd ed.)
Sattes,B. & Walsh, J., (2005). Quality questioning research-based
practice to engage every learner.
Shell Center for Mathematical Education and Mathematics Assessment
Project (MAP) www.map.mathshell.org
Sutton, J.S. & Krueger, A. (2002). EDThoughts: What we know about
mathematics teaching and learning.