Cues, Questions &
Advance Organizers
Created by The School District of Lee County, CSDC
in conjunction with
Cindy Harrison, Adams 12 Five Star Schools
Average
Effect
Percentile
Size (ES)
Gain
Identifying similarities and differences
1.61
45
31
Summarizing and note taking
1.00
34
179
Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
0.80
29
21
Homework and practice
0.77
28
134
Nonlinguistic representations
0.75
27
246
Cooperative learning
0.73
27
122
Setting objectives and providing feedback
0.61
23
408
Generating and testing hypotheses
0.61
23
63
Questions-cues-advance organizers
0.59
22
1,251
Category
No. of
ESs
Participant Outcomes
Participants will:
 Understand the purpose and importance
of cues, questions, and advance
organizers
 Identify ways to implement cues,
questions, and advance organizers in the
classroom
 Review examples of cues, questions, and
advance organizers
Questions and Cues
Discussion questions:
What makes a good question?
How do you currently use cues in your
classroom?
Cues and Questions
 Heart of classroom practice
 Account for 80% of what occurs in a classroom on a
given day
 Involve explicit reminders/hints about what students are
about to experience
 Activate background knowledge
 Aid students in process of filling in missing information
Research and Theory about
Questions and Cues
Generalizations based on research:
1.
Should focus on what is important not unusual.
2.
Higher level questions produce deeper learning.
3.
Increasing wait time increases depth of answers.
4.
Questions are an effective tool even before a
learning experience.
Research and Theory about
Questions and Cues
Generalization #1:
Should focus on what is important, not unusual.
•
Unusual may be interesting but can distract from
what is important
Generalization #2:
Higher level questions produce deeper learning.
•
Causes students to restructure info
Sample Lower Level Questioning
Based on Bloom's Taxonomy, Developed and Expanded by John
Maynard
 I. KNOWLEDGE (drawing out factual answers, testing recall
and recognition)
ex. Rules of a game volleyball.
 II. COMPREHENSION (translating, interpreting and
extrapolating)
ex. Explain the difference between Volleyball and Tennis
 III. APPLICATION (to situations that are new, unfamiliar or
have a new slant for students)
ex. Explain the ball touching the net on a serve for each sport.
Sample Higher Level Questioning
 IV. ANALYSIS (breaking down into parts,
forms) ex. Describe the serve in tennis.
 V. SYNTHESIS (combining elements into a pattern
not clearly there before)
ex. List the components of tennis serve and the overhand serve in Volleyball.
 VI. EVALUATION (according to some set of
criteria, and state why)
ex. Choose favorite sport and defend your choice.
Now You Practice…
 Think about a topic you teach.
 Write a question you could ask students
that would engage the students in each of
the 6 levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
Webb’s Depth of Model Knowledge
 Sept 2004 DOE memo regarding Cognitive
Classification of Test Items
 Dr. Norman Webb is a professor at the University of
Wisconsin’s Center for Educational Research
 3 levels of cognitive complexity – low, moderate, and
high
 http://facstaff.wcer.wisc.edu/normw/
Research and Theory about
Questions and Cues
Generalization #3:
Increasing wait time increases depth of answers.
•
•
•
Should be several seconds
Gives students more time to think
Increases discussion and interaction
Generalization #4:
Questions are an effective tool even before a learning
experience.
•
Develops framework
Recommendations for Classroom Practice on
Questions and Cues
a.
Use Explicit Cues
b.
Ask Questions that Elicit Inferences
c.
Use Analytic Questions
Recommendations for Classroom Practice on
Questions and Cues
a. Use Explicit Cues



Preview of what about to learn
Activates prior knowledge
Should be straightforward
Examples:


Tell what lesson is about
Tell what standards/benchmarks will be covered
Recommendations for Classroom Practice on
Questions and Cues
b. Ask Questions that Elicit Inferences
c. Use Analytic Questions
Two Categories of Questions
 Inferential
Help students fill in
gaps from a lesson,
activity, reading
 Analytic
Often require students
to use prior
knowledge in addition
to new knowledge to
analyze, critique
information
Inferential Questions
 Answer is implied
 Read between the lines
 Student fills in gaps
 Use prior knowledge
 Use new knowledge
Inferential Questions
Four categories:
Things and people
2. Actions
3. Events
4. States
1.
1. Things and People
 What effect does the
location of the server
have on the serve?
2. Actions
 How did you feel after
serving the ball?
3. Events
 What are the
tournaments that
comprise the grand
slam in tennis?
4. States
 If you won the grand
slam in tennis, how
would you feel?
Activity
With a partner, write 2 questions about
one of the below topics that could be
used to help students make inferences
about the topic (can probe about things &
people, actions, events, or state of being).
Design a game
Flexibility
Hypoglycemia
Target Heart Rate
Two Categories of Questions
 Inferential
Help students fill in
gaps from a lesson,
activity, reading
 Analytic
Often require students
to use prior
knowledge in addition
to new knowledge to
analyze, critique
information
Analytic Questions
 Require students to analyze and critique the
information
 Require them to use prior knowledge
 Require them to use new knowledge
 Designed around highly analytic thinking and
reasoning skills
 Have more than one answer
Analytic Questions
Three Skills:
1. Analyzing Errors
2. Constructing Support
3. Analyzing Perspectives
1. Analyzing Errors
 If you assume “no pain no gain” is a sound
training philosophy, how might this reasoning
be misleading? Use your knowledge to guide
your thinking.
2. Constructing Support
 You are sport professional. What is your
argument that the “no pain no gain”
philosophy is a sound training method?
3. Analyzing Perspectives
 Why would someone consider the “no pain no
gain” philosophy to be good? What is your
reasoning to support your answer?
Check Your Understanding
Create a Venn diagram with your table partners
that shows similarities and differences
between inferential and analytic questions.
Advance Organizers
An Advance Organizer is an organizational
framework teachers present to students
prior to teaching new content to prepare
them for what they are about to learn.
Discussion question:
When have you used advance organizers in
your classroom?
When to use Advance Organizers







Group projects
Interactive lessons
Lectures
Homework assignments
Class work assignments
Other content area instructional activities
Almost every activity in the general education
and special education classroom
Research and Theory about
Advance Organizers
Generalizations based on research:
1.
Should focus on what is important not unusual.
2.
Higher level advance organizers produce deeper
learning.
3.
Most useful with information that is not well
organized.
4.
Different types produce different results.
Research and Theory about
Advance Organizers
Generalization #1:
Should focus on what is important not unusual.
•
Unusual may be interesting but can distract
from what is important
Generalization #2:
Higher level advance organizers produce deeper learning.
•
Causes students to restructure info
Research and Theory about
Advance Organizers
Generalization #3:
Most useful with information that is not well
organized.
•
Organizes information within a learning structure
Generalization #4:
Different types produce different results.
•
4 Types
Recommendations for Classroom Practice on
Advance Organizers
Use all 4 types of advance organizers
1.
2.
3.
4.


Expository
Narrative
Skimming
Graphic
Not the only types
Advance organizers come in many formats
Expository




Describes content
Written or oral
Can include text and/or pictures
Helps see patterns
Example:
Neurons are nerve cells that transmit nerve signals to
and from the brain at up to 200 mph. The neuron
consists of a cell body (or soma) with branching
dendrites (signal receivers) and a projection called an
axon, which conduct the nerve signal.
The axon, a long extension of a nerve cell, and take
information away from the cell body.
Myelin coats and insulates the axon increasing
transmission speed along the axon.
The cell body (soma) contains the neuron's nucleus
(with DNA and typical nuclear organelles). Dendrites
branch from the cell body and receive messages.
Narrative
 Story format
 Makes personal connections
 Makes seem familiar
Example: “Brian’s Song”
Skimming
 Preview important information quickly by
noting what stands out in headings and
highlighted information
 Pre-reading questions or SQ3R (survey, question,
read, recite, review) can be helpful before
skimming
Example:
If you recall, we had you preview these packets
before we began. This was an example of
skimming that you can use in your class.
Graphic Organizers
 Type of nonlinguistic representation which
visually represents what the students will
learn
Examples:
Graphic Organizers-More Examples
Find words that rhyme:
Inverted Triangle (going
from general to specific):
Graphic Organizer Activity
 As a group complete a web for the fitness
component, flexibility.
Flexibility
Partner Activity
 Count off by 3’s
 In your group discuss:





Teachers say they don’t have time to develop cues,
questions, and advance organizers. What would you say to
them?
Person #3 rotate to a new group and summarize your group’s
discussion. Then discuss:.
How could you model the use of these 3 strategies?
Person #2 rotate and summarize. Discuss question:
What are “look fors” in the classroom for effective use of
these strategies?