Developing the art of questioning can be as simple as practicing.

It is with practice thatwe gain competence and “pattern” the

process.

In pairs or 3s – Look at Appendix 1

Choose one question, ask it and then give twofollow up questions.The art of questioning students is the foundation of all good
teaching practice.It provides for both assessment and student growth (learning) and is the coreof the scientific method and how we
learn.Yet, teachers spend comparably little time, learning how to ask questions or make questions which lead to good teaching. Moreover,
many teachers spendlittle time developing this fundamental skill in their students. You can’t have“real” communication without questions
yet so many students gain Englishcompetence in this – too far along their learning curve to benefit.This workshop will address both
aspects of questioning.

Part 1

– How to deliver questions as a teacher?Assessing students through questions.

Part 2

- Activities to promote question making skills in our students.

Recalling -Who, what, when,where, how _______?

Identifying Errors -What is wrong with_______?

Comparing -How is similarto/different from_______?

Inferring -What might we infer from _______? What conclusions mightbe drawn from _______?

Identifying Attributesand Components - What are thecharacteristics/parts of _______?

Predicting - What might happen if _______?

Classifying -How might we organizeinto categories_______?

Elaborating -What ideas/details canyou add to ____?Give an example of _____

Ordering -Arrange into sequenceaccording to _______?

Summarizing -Can you summarize_______?

Establishing Criteria -What criteria would youuse to judge/evaluate_______?

IdentifyingRelationships andPatterns -Develop anoutline/diagram/web of _______?

Identifying Main Ideas -What is wrong with_______?

What conclusions mightbe drawn from_______?

Verifying -What evidence supports _______? How might we

Representing -In what other ways mightwe show/illustrate _______? prove/confirm _______?

Techniques of Effective Questioning

1. Establish an appropriate environment. Only certain questions shouldbe posed in front of students; “bedside” (beginning)
questions shouldfocus principally on knowledge and recall and to a lesser extent oncomprehension.

2. Create a climate conducive to learning. A happy facial expression, nod,or verbal acknowledgement of a correct response
encourages other students to participate in the discussion. Pose questions in a non-threatening way and receive answers in a supportive
fashion. A harshtone, especially when used to interrupt a response from the student, canbe devastating for both the student and his or
her peers.

3. Prepare the students for the questioning session anddiscussion.Explain to students the format, expectations, and how this
knowledge will help them.

4. Use both pre-planned and emerging questions. Pre-planned questionsare those incorporated into the teaching plan that are asked
during theteaching session to introduce new concepts, focus the discussion oncertain items, steer the discussion in specific directions,
or identify studentknowledge / level on the topic. Emerging questions derive from thediscussion itself and the specific answers given to
previous questions.Think quickly and act decisively to phrase these questions accurately andpose them at appropriate times in the
discussion.

5. Use an appropriate variety and mix of questions. One good strategy isto start with convergent questions and then continue with
divergentquestions, perhaps asking questions in hierarchical sequence and buildingfrom the recall of facts to higher levels of thinking
and problem-solving. If aquestion requiring a higher level thinking skill blocks the student, go downto a question requiring lower-level
thinking skills and then work up thehierarchy.

6. Avoid trick questions and those that require only a YESor NO response. Trick questions should be avoided, as they frustrate
studentsand tend to encourage frivolous responses. YES or NO questionsencourage students to respond without fully understanding or
thinkingthrough the issue. When used, such questions should be followed by other questions to determine the thinking process of the
student.

7. Phrase the questions carefully, concisely, and clearly. Improper phrasing and the use of multiple questions related to the same
topic mayresult in unintentional cueing (guessing) and inability to accurately assessstudent understanding.

8. Address questions to the group, versus the individual. Pose thequestion to the entire group and wait before identifying a student
torespond. The wait time encourages all students to think about theresponse, as they do not know who is going to be called upon to
answer the question. Select students at random to answer questions, as it tendsto keep everyone attentive and involved.

9. Select both volunteers and non-volunteers to answer questions.

10. Adapt questions to the needs of the learners. Assess the students’needs and tailor questions to maximize the number of correct
answerswhile moving toward more and more difficult questions. Remember, notwo groups of students will be alike or at the same level.

11. Use sufficient wait time. The teacher can significantly enhance theanalytic and problem-solving skills of students by allowing
sufficient waittimes before responding, both after posing a question and after theanswer is given. This allows everyone to think about not
only the questionbut also the response provided by the student. Three to five seconds inmost cases; longer in some, maybe up to 10
seconds for higher-order questions.

12.Respond to answers given by students. Listen carefully to the answersgiven by students; do not interrupt students while they are
responding toquestions unless they are straying far off course, are totally unfocused, or are being disruptive. Acknowledge correct
answers and provide positivereinforcement. Do not use sarcasm, reprimands, accusations, andpersonal attacks. Repeat answers only
when the other students have notheard the answers; other repeats waste time. Keep questioning until thelearning objectives for the
session have been achieved; this may be thebest opportunity to teach a particular concept. Handle incomplete answersby reinforcing
what is correct and then asking probing questions.

13.Use questions to identify learning objectives forfollow-up self-study.Pose questions towards the end of the teaching session to
identify specificareas for additional learning opportunities that students can pursue ontheir own time.

Adapted from: The office of curriculum development, University of Albertahttp://www.uab.edu/uasomume/cdm/