Highly Effective Questioning

1
Highly Effective Questioning
When phrasing questions, consider Scope start
with a broad scope then narroweach subsequent
question is dependent upon the student
response. lead them w/o their knowledge of being
led Ask What do you see? instead of Did you
see X? Intentionality each question should be
asked with a goal or purpose in
mind ____________________________________ Phrase
questions so student responses arespecific,
justified and complete.
The Mechanics of Highly Effective
Questioning HEQ considers the type of question,
the order the questions are asked, and the manner
each question phrased. Types of questions asked
ensure that the student does as much mental work
as possible open-ended questions HEQ is not
random questioning, is done to get students to be
problem solvers, normally requires the teacher to
ask about connections that exist in the lesson
itself not create artificial bridges between
different lessons, and is used primarily as a
re-teaching tool.
recall is not a critical thinking skill because
it is hard to teach someone to memorize, it is
difficult to memorize endless lists of data, and
is not generalizable to other content
areas. labeling is an example of a critical
thinking skill. Ask students toLabel the parts
of a graph.Identify the main character of a
story.Students need to notice key elements
first RELEVANT FACTS FIRST Ask, Was the dog
important to the story? instead of What color
was the dog?
Implications for Our School
Critical thinking skills are a specific set of
mental acts to find generalized rules that help
students make sense of a variety of
content. Critical Thinking Skills are teachable,
tangible, useful Students must see how a rule
applies to a specific set of factsConcepts are
tied to their content.
By definition, a critical thinking skill must
Why do we ask questions?
Teacher questioning helps the student bridge the
gap between the content and the concepts that
organize the content. When presented content,
people employ critical thinking skills in an
attempt tomake sense of it.
It may help better define the culture in the
School for Scientific Studies as one that
encourages/demands student participation,
exhibits high expectations, provides an
environment conducive to questioning and
demonstrates specific, consistent classroom
practices that engage all students in every
classroom.

• Developing theSeven Steps of Critical Thinking

Be a mental act
If all teachers employ the strategy of asking
effective questions and require critical
thinking,students no longer wonder, Why do I
have to answer in this classif Im allowed to
just watch in others?
Make an assessment
shows the student is thinking and is not the
actual product produced
Be a critical act
A standardized questioning framework may also
encourage Staff to identify employ a common
vocabulary in concepts that are cross-discipline.
Keep students engaged
have a purpose other than recite from memory
Be something that can be taught or developed
through instruction
Query for comprehension/provide feedback
not a collection of personal experiences
Be useful in more than one area of content
Keep teachers focused
Lead to genuine understanding
Lead the learner to understanding