August 12 - 13, 2014
Dr. Lisa Benson
Ms. Justine Chasmar
CES GTA Training Workshop
College of Engineering and Science
Graduate TA Training Workshop
Day 2: Questioning and Discussion Techniques
When assessing learning:
• Learning is more important than grades
• Tests and other assessments should be learning experiences
as well as evaluation devices
• Providing feedback is more important than assigning a grade
• Avoid evaluation devices that increase anxiety and
competition
From McKeachie and Svinicki, 2005 (pg. 84-85)
Formative assessments give ongoing
feedback on students’ understanding,
for both teacher and student.
• Guided inquiry questions
• What’s the next step?
• How could you do this problem differently?
• Why is this model important?
• Feedback on drafts
• Minute papers – top 3 concepts, ”muddiest
point”, etc.
• Idea: Ask what they feel they’d need to study if there
was a test tomorrow
Not so effective formative feedback
• “Any questions?”
• Waiting until the end of the semester
• Assuming all students understand what’s going on in the
class
• Assuming all students know how to study
CES GTA Training Workshop
August 12 - 13, 2014
Ask questions that move students beyond basic memorization
of definitions
Designing questions based on the
“Rigor/Relevance Framework”*
How are these similar/different?
How is this like ___?
What’s another way we could
explain this?
What are some reasons that ___?
Why did ___ changes occur?
What is a better solution to ___?
How would you defend your
position about that?
How would you design a ___
to ___?
Can you see a possible solution to
___?
How could you teach this to
others?
If you had access to all resources,
how would you deal with ___?
What innovative uses can you
think of for ___?
What is/are ___?
How many ___?
How do/does ___?
What did you observe ___?
What else can you say about ___?
What does it mean ___?
Where will you use this
knowledge?
How does this relate to your
experiences?
What observations relate to ___?
*Adapted from the International Center for Leadership in Education (http://www.leadered.com/)
Asking questions that generate discussions
Prepare questions—Develop thought-provoking questions as you prepare the content for class
Play with the questions— Post questions on a slide or the board; open class with a question and
revisit/answer it at the end of class; ask a question repeatedly across several sessions with multiple
possible answers discussed before a “good” or “right” answer is identified.
Preserve good questions—Save questions that generate interest, thoughtful responses, and good
discussion along with the course materials for that day.
Ask questions that you don’t know the answer to—This lets students know that you still have things
to learn and can possibly learn them from your students; it may motivate them to ask better
questions!
Ask questions you can’t answer—Unanswered questions currently being confronted within your
field are inherently more interesting than those that have been answered.
Don’t ask open-ended questions when you know the answer you’re looking for—Don’t play the “try
to guess the answer I have in mind” game; it reinforces the idea that questions have only one right
answer.
From Faculty Focus, May 28, 2014, The Art of Asking Questions by Maryellen Weimer
CES GTA Training Workshop
• When a student asks a question, instead of giving the answer,
give the information needed to find the answer, then ask the
class.
• When students answer a question, always get them to include
the “because” clause, telling why their answer is correct and
how they know it is true. This will let you see misconceptions
in even “correct” answers.
• Leading questions are needed to a certain extent, but be
careful of leading students directly to an answer and then
thinking that they’ve “got it.” Have students rephrase the
answer to make sure they are not just repeating information
back to you.
August 12 - 13, 2014
More tips on asking good questions
Other ways to get formative
feedback
• Conduct a “Student Interest Inventory” early on, to learn
about students’ subject-specific knowledge and how
they like to learn
• Survey students after the first exam to see how they
prepared for it and to find out whether their grades
matched expectations
• Share feedback with students when you’re ready to
implement changes based on their input
• Nilson, Linda (2010). “Outcomes-Centered Course Design”, Ch. 2 in
Teaching at Its Best, Third Edition, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA.
Also check out Linda Nilson’s workshops and other resources through
the Office of Teaching Effectiveness and Innovation:
http://www.clemson.edu/OTEI/
• More tips and resources on questioning and discussion points
are available on the Clemson University College of Engineering
and Science Graduate TA Training website:
http://www.clemson.edu/ces/research/graduatestudies/current-students/gta-training/index.html
CES GTA Training Workshop
• McKeachie, W. J. and Svinicki, M. Teaching Tips: Strategies, research,
and theory for college and university teachers, Houghton Mifflin,
2005.
August 12 - 13, 2014
Further reading: