Inquiry Based Learning
“GOOD LEARNING STARTS WITH QUESTIONS,
NOT ANSWERS.”
Using Inquiry Based Learning:
 Takes focus off of teacher lecturing
 Gives students more control of learning
 Allows students to do more thinking
 Teaches students to be inquisitive learners
 Makes students responsible for learning
 Teaches students to take charge of their learning
 Develops higher order thinking skills
Questions Can…
Activate Prior Knowledge
Clarify Misconceptions
Promote Critical Thinking
Inspire Further Investigation
Check for Understanding
Importance of Questioning
Questioning is a critical skill for teachers because it is:
 The most common form of interaction between teacher
and pupil;
 An element of virtually every type and model of lesson;
 A key method of providing appropriate challenge for all
pupils;
 An important influence on the extent of progress made;
 The most immediate and accessible way for a teacher to
assess learning.
(http://teachertools.londongt.org/en-GB/resources/Ks3_module_questioning.pdf)
Purposes of Questioning
 To interest, engage and challenge pupils
 To check on prior knowledge
 To stimulate recall and use of existing knowledge
and experience in order to create new understanding
and meaning.
 To focus thinking on key concepts and issues.
(http://teachertools.londongt.org/en-GB/resources/Ks3_module_questioning.pdf)
Purposes of Questioning
 To extend pupils’ thinking from the concrete and
factual to the analytical and evaluative.
 To lead pupils through a planned sequence which
progressively establishes key understandings.
 To promote reasoning, problem solving, evaluation
and the formulation of hypotheses.
 To promote pupils’ thinking about the way they have
learned.
(http://teachertools.londongt.org/en-GB/resources/Ks3_module_questioning.pdf)
‘We learn by asking questions. We learn better by
asking better questions. We learn more by having
opportunities to ask more questions.’
-Morgan and Saxton (1991)
Purpose of Questioning
 If we as instructors can ask better questions, then
our students will learn more.
 Students will learn to ask good questions through
our modeling.
 Once we begin to use effective questioning, we can
then work to have students use this skill in lessons
and develop their own questions.
A Model for Questioning: Bloom’s Taxonomy
 Hierarchy of question difficulty.
 Lower level questions build a foundation.
 Move toward more complex, higher order thinking
questions.
 The idea is that once students have the lower level
thinking skills, they should be moving toward the
higher order thinking skills.
Assignment
 Five sections: use links to videos and PDFs as well as
the documents provided in the email that will be sent
after training call.
 Complete all five sections and then submit.
 The last section allows you to formulate actual
questions to use in a lesson plan based on the tiers in
Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Section 5: Creating Questions
 Are based on the standards chosen for that lesson.
 Can be incorporated in with the objectives section as
a planned way to assess their learning.
 Start at most basic and move toward higher level.
Creating Questions
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Choose a standard.
Determine what is being asked of the student.
Review the tiers of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Choose which tier it would fall under.
Use key words and question starters to formulate a
question.
Try it out!
Rephrase if necessary.
Creating Questions
Standard:
GLE 0007.9.1
Describe an object by its
observable properties.
Knowledge: What are the
observable properties of
the plant for your
terrarium?
Comprehension: How is
it the same/different than
plants outside your house?
(compare/contrast)
Creating Questions
Standard:
7.3.2
Design a model of a habitat
for an organism in which
all of its needs would be
met.
Application:
What would happen if you
didn’t water your
terrarium?
Analysis:
What is the relationship
between transpiration and
the plant in your
terrarium?
Creating Questions
Standard:
7. T/E.5 Develop an
adaptive design and test its
effectiveness.
Synthesis:
How would you improve
your terrarium?
Why did you choose to do
that?
Did it work like you
thought it would?
Creating Questions
Standard:
GLE 7.9.3
Investigate factors that
affect the rate at which
various materials freeze,
melt, or evaporate.
Evaluation:
How could you determine
the best place to put your
terrarium in your home?
How would you prove it
was the best place?
(This is a great one to have
them actually do.)
Assignment
 Five sections: use links to videos and PDFs as well as




the documents provided in the email that will be sent
after training call.
Complete all five sections and then submit.
2.5 hours to review the materials and complete the
assignment sheet.
.5 added on to lesson planning time to create
questions to use during the lesson.
Send feedback of your experience using the
questions.