Questioning Strategies to Improve Skill and Concept Development K-12

D. Brown & K. KoppAugust 5, 2009

CCSB Motto 2009-2010: “Leading and Teaching with Intentionality”

These strategies can be used throughout instruction.

These strategies are best for practice or reinforcement of instruction.

HEQ should be used about 10 to 25 minutes daily.

These strategies help students learn to think critically about what they read.

The questioning strategy is systematic.

Engaging students in questioning:◦ Assesses students’ current understanding of

subject matter◦ Creates new learning moments◦ Improves teacher understanding of how students

think◦ Engages reluctant learners

1. A critical thinking skill is a mental act. Critical thinkers are active and not passive.

2. A critical thinking skill is a critical or important mental act.

3. Critical thinking skills can be taught, and instruction that builds and reinforces critical thinking is imperative.

4. Critical thinking skills are able to be generalized across all content areas.

Write out these three numbers on a sheet of paper:◦ One thousand eight hundred sixty-one◦ One thousand seven hundred seventy-six◦ One thousand nine hundred forty-one

Answer these questions.◦What do you notice about the numbers?◦Are the numbers just quantities or

something else?◦How are they the same or different?◦What do they all have in common?◦Are they in any particular order?◦What is the theme of this content?

We use our critical thinking skills to construct concepts that tie together pieces of content. The more developed the level of critical thinking skills, the greater the understanding of the content of school instruction.

Critical Thinking

Skills

Concepts

Wars

American Wars

History

Dates

1776

Content

1861 1941

Triangle of the “Three C’s”

Example: For the figure below, a good broadly-scoped question would simply be:

“What do you see here?”

Scope The question should be phrased in such a way as to allow for the broadest set of possible answers.

Maintain broad scope in your initial questions.

Narrow your scope as the questioning continues.

Intentionality The answers you intend to hear back from students should have

the characteristics of being (1) specific; (2) justified; and

(3) complete.

A D

CB

You should continue questioning until students match your intentionality and

can label all 5 triangles.

Triangle ABE

Triangle CDE

Triangle BCE

Triangle ABC

Triangle BCD

E

1. Students come to school with the need to learn, and when they are in school, they do not have the right not to learn. Ensure involuntary questioning of each and every

student

2. Students are undertrained not under-brained; they are dormant but not dead! Try to ask each student an equal range of questions

(quantity) and, initially, questions of similar difficulty (quality). Remember to “choose your question, then choose your student.”

1.

2.

3. We must learn to use intensive questioning, not just occasional questioning. Ask only questions during the session and refrain

from explaining, telling, hinting, and using other non-questioning strategies. Question, question, question – ask only questions.

4. We must follow a question-response-question (Q-R-Q) pattern in our questioning of students Have students justify all responses.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5. We must try to keep our questions positive but not pushy. Never ask negative questions. Be positive or neutral.

6. We do not ask questions that promote random trial and error behavior. Do not ask questions that encourage guessing.

7. We must act to discourage the use of “I don’t know” as a way for students to avoid classroom participation. If a student says “I don’t know,” follow up immediately with

one to three additional questions to the same student.

http://www.workshopsinquestioning.com/ (Refer to “The Most Intelligent Person”)

Read the information related to your HEQ Step.

Define the Step and explain why it is important to the HEQ process.

Give examples of verb stems. Review the sample questions from the

Power Point and book. Include any additional questions you thought of.

Include any other information everyone should know.

Step 1: Label, Identify, Find◦ What facts do you observe?◦ What can you tell me as you look at the page?◦ What are the most relevant facts? How do you

know?◦ What is the key information?◦ What do you see?

Step 2: Connect, Compare, Contrast, Infer◦ What is connected?◦ What is implied?◦ What should connect but doesn’t?◦ What is disconnected?◦ How is A alike/different from B?◦ How are A and B like C and D?◦ What is the relationship?◦ What do you know about A?◦ What is the moral of this story?◦ How do you know what the graph will look like from

the given information?◦ Where in everyday life might you use this type of

graph?

Step 3: Sequence, Classify, Integrate, Pre-summarize◦ What is this paragraph about, overall?◦ What are the main points?◦ Put the information given in order.◦ What is the sequence of events?◦ What is the trend?◦ How would you classify this information?◦ Give a brief summary of the information.◦ Outline the process so far.◦ What do all the separate points have in common?

Step 4: Decode, Interpret (questions)◦ What is the question asking, and why?◦ How can we use the information given to solve

the problem?◦ What does the author want us to do, in your own

words?◦ What are we solving?◦ Where do you see that in the question?◦ Tell me more.

Step 5: Encode, Answer (questions)◦ What is your answer, and why?◦ What did you come up with, and how?◦ What evidence supports your answer?◦ How did you get that?◦ Which answer best answers the question?◦ How do you know A is not the answer?

Step 6: Apply, Predict◦ How would you apply this?◦ If we were to change A, how would this affect B?◦ What if A never happened?◦ How does the solution to this problem relate to

another problem?◦ Where do we see this in our own lives?

Step 7: Summarize, Conclude◦ What did you learn today?◦ Summarize today’s lesson.◦ What do you remember from this lesson?◦ Walk us through the entire process from

beginning to end.◦ How did we meet our goals today?

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7

Where do the questions generated at the beginning of the workshop fall with regard to the HEQ strategy?

Use your own content area text. Write a series of HEQ’s for an up-coming selection.