A Beginning Question

1
A Beginning Question

• Have you Ever
• Wanted to get your students to talk in class?
• Wanted to know what your students think?
• Wanted to do something other than lecturing?
• If you answered Yes to any of these
• questions, click HERE to learn more.

2
An Introduction to LeadingDiscussions Through
Questioning

• By the end of this module, you will
• Know reasons to use questions in class
• Be able to set learning goals
• Be able to set learning objectives
• Understand and use Blooms Taxonomy

3
Why Ask Questions in Class?

• Write down at least 5 goals that you can
• accomplish by asking questions in class?
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• Ready to see some goals? Click here ?

4
Goals for Asking Questions in Class

• Here are some goals for asking questions
• 1 Promotes active listening
• and thinking.
• 2 Helps with better recall of
• class material.
• 3 Gets the groups shared
• perspectives on issues.

5
More Goals for Asking Questions

• 4 Provides different views
• of old topics.
• 5 Aids in problem-solving
• 6 Gets students involved in their
• learning process.
• 7 Gives profs feedback on
• understanding.

6
Preparation The Key to Effective Questioning

• Once you have goals for questions, youll
• want to prepare carefully.
• Did you know that when leading a
• discussion, you make content decisions
• every two minutes?
• This means that planning is crucial.

7
Plan Your Questioning Strategy

• Most faculty plan for the content
• BUT
• Both content and questioning
• strategy should be planned.
• How? Click here.

8
Planning Goals are Key

• The basis of planning is setting
• objectives, not just having general
• goals.
• Find out more about objectives.

9
Goals and Objectives are Crucial !

• Most people set general goals
• Students should know about
• civil war.
• What exactly will you teach based
• on this goal? It is too general.
• How can you make it more specific?

10
Example of a Specific Objective

• General Goal
• Students should know about
• civil war.
• Specific Learning Objective
• Students should explain the
• reason each cause of the
• Civil War was important.

11
How Can You Write Specific Learning Objectives?

• Firstthink about different levels
• of learning. Objectives can be
• set at different levels of students
• thinking.
• One way to understand these levels
• is with Blooms Taxonomy.
• (Note, when you click to the document, be sure to
  close it to come back to this slide.)

12
Teaching with Discussion Focuses on Higher Levels
of Learning

• Note that the taxonomy is hierarchical.
• Knowledge is the lowest level of learning
• evaluation the highest. Unlike the lecture
• method of teaching, the discussion method
• focuses on higher levels of learning. It
  provides
• the students the opportunity to analyze,
• synthesize, and evaluate ideas and course
• material.

13
Set Objectives for Class Discussions Based on
Testing

• It is best to set objectives for each
• discussion at the appropriate level of
• Blooms Taxonomy based on how you
• will test the students.
• For example, if you want students to be able to
• derive hypotheses about the Civil War,
• ask questions in class that are at the
• synthesis level.

14
Higher Level Objectives Take Time

• In a typical 50-minute class discussion,
• there can be 2-3 higher level learning
• objectives accomplished.
• Objectives at the higher levels will take
• longer to reach than those at lower
• levels. You could accomplish 3 lower-
• level objectives and only 1 higher-level
• objective.

15
Discussion Preparation Form

• One effective way to lead a discussion
• is to use a form to plan your questions
• and guide your use of questions during
• class. The two slides that follow show
• a form for this kind of planning.

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Discussion Preparation Form Part 1

• Here is a sample format for preparing a
  discussion
• Date
• Topic
• Readings
• Main Goal 1
• Objective 1A
• Questions
• Objective 1B
• Questions
• Discussion Preparation Form Continued

17
Discussion Preparation Form Part 2

• Questions to ask in class (Blooms level)
• 1)
• 2)
• 3)
• Anticipated student questions
• Summary statement
• Assignments/Announcements

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Characteristics of Effective Questions

• Strive to make your questions
• Purposeful
• Clear
• Briefavoid two-part questions
• Naturalin conversational English
• Thought-provoking
• Adapted to students competence level

19
Pitfalls in Questioning

• When asking students questions, avoid
• Asking yes/no questions
• Vague Questions
• Tugging (Come on, you know the answer)
• Encouraging students to guess
• LeadingSo, dont you think that

20
Motivating and Engaging Students

• Your students will be most involved in
  discussions if you
• Tell them the topic ahead of time
• Avoid answering your own questions
• Involve (call on) all students
• Use the board, overheads, slides

21
Motivating and Engaging Students 2

• Here are other things you can do to keep your
  students engaged
• Probe incorrect answers
• Maintain an open atmosphere
• Know students names
• Give positive feedback
• Summarize main points at the end

22
Meeting Your ObjectivesHow WillYou Know?

• There are many ways to find out whether students
  have met your learning objectives
• Give an informal quiz
• Ask students to write down questions they still
  have after the discussion
• Look at students notes
• Ask groups to provide summaries

23
Summary

• There are many good reasons to use
• questions in class. If you set both
• learning goals and learning objectives
• using Blooms Taxonomy, you will be
• able to lead effective discussions and
• test your students learning outcomes.
• To test yourself, click Here

24
The difference between learning goals and
objectives is that

• Learning goals are something the students make up
  themselves and objectives are what the teacher
  does.
• Learning goals are more general learning
  objectives are specific.
• Learning goals are used on tests.
• Learning objectives are good for essay exams but
  goals are not.
• Check your answer.

25
The difference between learning goals and
objectives is that

• Learning goals are something the students make up
  themselves and objectives are what the teacher
  does.
• Learning goals are more general learning
  objectives are specific.
• Learning goals are used on tests.
• Learning objectives are good for essay exams but
  goals are not.

26
Which of the following is TRUE about Blooms
Taxonomy and questions? (Choose all that apply.)

• The taxonomy allows you to target your questions
  to match your learning goals/objectives.
• Discussion is good for students at the knowledge
  level.
• Discussion allows you to reach students at the
  higher levels of the taxonomy.
• Using a discussion preparation form is good for
  Blooms lower levels only.
• Check your answer.

27
Which of the following is TRUE about Blooms
Taxonomy and questions? (Choose all that apply.)

• The taxonomy allows you to target your questions
  to match your learning goals/objectives.
• Discussion is good for students at the knowledge
  level.
• Discussion allows you to reach students at the
  higher levels of the taxonomy.
• Using a discussion preparation form is good for
  Blooms lower levels only.
• Now that you have completed this module,
• please press ltEscgt to exit.