Improving the way we ask questions - leading to increased learning and progress

1. “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. The important thing is to not stop questioning.” Albert Einstein Improving the way we ask questions - leading to increased learning and progress “Questions are the creative acts of intelligence”

2. Why do we ask questions ?Discuss their purpose in the classroom

3. The teacher …

4. We ask questions to … actively involve children in the learning increase motivation /interest develop critical thinking review previous learning check for understanding assess achievement stimulate independent learning

5. “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”Naguib Mahfouz  The purpose and types of questions - why we ask them can be categorised C - Clarifying A - Assessing G - Gauging E - Engaging D - Developing

6. Bloom's Taxonomy is a classification of learning objectives within education proposed in 1956 by a committee of educators chaired byBenjamin Bloom

8. Using Blooms purposely…when/how should we use it ?

9. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce, state. • Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate. • Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write. • Analysis: analyse, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test. • Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write. • Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.

10. Effective questioning Planning questions asked so that a variety of questions openers are used and higher order thinking is encouraged. Reinforces and revisits the L.O/S.C Involves all pupils - differentiated /paired/group etc Creates an atmosphere of trust where pupils ideas and opinions are valued. Able to take risks. Engages pupils to think for themselves Promotes justification and reasoning Shows connections between previous and new learning Encourages speculation and the creation of hypotheses Encourage pupils to ask as well as receive questions Encourages listening skills - to listen to each other Allows opportunity to develop key concept understanding – increasing the level of challenge as the lesson proceeds

11. A well designed set of questions leads pupils from unsorted knowledge to organised understanding . It models how learning evolves. Simply asking higher order questions does not always lead to higher order thinking - the process needs to be modelled

12. The pitfalls… • Asking too many questions • Asking too many closed questions • Asking too many recall of knowledge questions • Asking “what am I thinking ?” questions • Starting questions with the same stem • Dealing ineffectively with misconceptions • Asking the same children • Not giving enough thinking time when questions are asked • Not allowing children to formulate the questions • Asking questions when another strategy may be appropriate - lets imagine that …

13. The children … A child who is fully equipped with a good range of questioning skills is a more rounded citizen; more self-confident, more ambitious and more involved in the world around them Questions are an important element of any conversation. If we are to develop a learning environment and approach where questions come readily to children then we need to use questions in a conversation rather than simply to start a conversation.

14. Awe and wonder - using it alongside Blooms to develop questioning skills and to encourage higher order thinking

15. When using questions in lessons do you use a balance between closed (factual seeking) and open (enquiry based) type questions? • After you have asked a question, do you give the pupils time for reflection before requiring an answer? • When pupils have answered questions, do you give further prompts to elicit extended answers? • Within the questioning phase of your lesson, are pupils given opportunities to explain why they have offered that response? • Are pupils ever encouraged to confer, perhaps in pairs or small groups, before deciding on an appropriate answer? • Do you form a clear structure for questioning – e.g. teacher initiates, pupils respond & teacher provides feedback? • Is time ever given for pupils to initiate their own questions to test the learning objectives of the lesson? • Do you prepare key questions in advance of the lesson that demand more than recall of knowledge (Blooms Taxonomy)?