Effective Questioning Drakes Creek Middle School Betsy Madison betsy.madison@grrec.ky.gov betsymadison.com

Effective QuestioningDrakes Creek Middle School

Betsy Madisonbetsy.madison@grrec.ky.govbetsymadison.com

Have teachers complete PLC discussion for questioning as anticipatory set

"Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." Josef Albers1"Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers." Josef Albers

Warm-up: The Best Question EverTake a good look at the each photo If you could ask this person/people only one question, what would it be?The goal is to learn as much as you possibly can about who this person really is. Your question should not be too broad, nor too limiting.Write your question.

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6.Habits Are Hard to BreakA teacher with 20 years of experience will have asked something like a half a million questions in her career. And when youve done something the same way, half a million times, its quite difficult to start doing it another way.

Wiliam (2003)QuestionsYou can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions. Naguib Mahfouz

10QuestioningOn Average, a teacher asks 400 questions a day (one third of their time)Most of the questions are answered in less than one second (Hastings, 2003)60% recall facts and 20% are procedural (Hattie, 2012)IRE structure is dominate (Initiate respond evaluate)Most answers are right or wrongCazen, 2001: Brighter students are given longer to respond, students who need more wait time are given less wait timeRuby Payne: Children of Poverty need more time to process, to take the question/information translate into their language or ? , then process then think about how to answer2nd most used Teaching strategy observed in Hattie - Visible LearningShirley Clark says, The kinds of questions teachers ask determine how far the discussion will go in deepening and furthering childrens learning and understanding.

IRE: Teacher initiated, students speak when spoken to, teacher decides what knowledge is important and pace of lessonWhy do we ask questions?To guide students toward understanding when we introduce materialTo push students to do a greater share of the thinking in the classroom To remediate an errorTo stretch studentsTo check for understandingQuestioning and the Acronyms

CHETLKCASFAPGES13Questioning in KCAS

80-90% of the Reading Standards require Text-Dependent analysis.Text Dependent questions can only be answered by close reading of the text.Text Dependent questions are not recall questions. They require inference.

Text Dependent QuestionsText Dependent Non Text DependentHow did Frederick Douglass ability to read contribute to his emotional struggle for freedom? Cite examples from the text to support your answers.In what ways does America represent the hope for freedom that lived in the heart of Frederick Douglas?Betsy15Text Dependent QuestionsSequenced questions guide students focus through the text.

Sequence= focus on words and details, logic of authors argument, central ideas and themes of the text.

Questions guide students to look for patterns within and among text(s).

Sequence of Text Dependent Questions General UnderstandingsWhy would the author title the chapter Go Away?

Key DetailsFind two places in the text where something could have been done to prevent this tragedy?

Vocabulary and Text StructureHow does the chronological structure help you understand the events?17A Night to Remember Ch. 10Authors PurposeWhose story is most represented and whose story is under-represented?

InferencesWhy would Mrs. Brown run lifeboat number 6 with a revolver?

Opinions, arguments, intertextual conectionsCompare this book with Ken Marschalls Inside the Titanic. Give two similarities and two differences.18Questioning in CHETL

Questioning in Formative Assessment 5 Keys to Formative Assessment

Clarifying, sharing, understanding goals for learning and criteria for success with learners.

Engineering effective classroom discussions, questions, activities, and tasks that elicit evidence of students learning.Providing feedback that moves learning forward.

Activating students as learners for their own learning.Activating students as learning resources for one another.21Questioning inPGESP (ProfessionalG (Growth) andE (Effectiveness)S (System)

PGES Domain 3B... Questioning and Discussion Techniques Although the teacher may use some low-level questions, he/she asks students questions designed to promote thinking and understandingTeacher uses open-ended questions, inviting students to think and/or offer multiple possible answers.Teacher makes effective use of wait time.Teacher effectively builds on student responses to questions.Teacher calls on most students, even those who dont initially volunteer.

Statements taken from Accomplished column of DanielsonsFramework for Teaching 2011. Open & Closed Questions

Start Video @ 9:00Note the scaffolding technique of repeat, rephrase, and reduce.When should you ask closed versus open questions?

24Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.Anthony RobbinsClosed QuestionsOpen QuestionsImply that teacher has a predetermined correct response in mindRecall of facts Simple comprehension where answer has been previously providedAllow for range of responsesEncourage students to think beyond literal answersHelp teacher to assess students understanding of contentStrategies for Redeeming Closed QuestionsA Range of AnswersA StatementRight and WrongStarting From the Answer/EndOpposing StandpointHandout & Activity26General Rules of Thumb For Effective Questioning

One at a TimeHave you ever done this?Sarah, how is the rats house different from Mrs. Frisbys and which one do you think she would rather live in?

Do you want Sarah to compare and contrast specific details OR infer a characters point of view on an event?

We are more tempted to do this when we are excited or in a hurry.Consequences:Students arent sure which question to answer.Students skip the hard question.Teacher cant plan follow-up questions.

Simple to ComplexSimple questions engage student thinking, and activate memory and opinions.

Simple questions build a fact base students can build on to argue more complex questions.

Correctly answering simple questions builds student confidence and increases the likelihood they will attempt harder questions.No Bait and SwitchIf you repeat a question, make sure to ask the same question.

Small changes can derail a studentWhy do you think the author wrote this article?What was the purpose of this article?

Students may have raised their hands because they felt confident in the first question, yet are not prepared for the second question.Clear and ConciseIs it a wrong answer or a wrong question?Start with a question wordLimit questions to two clausesWrite important questions in advanceAssume the answerStudents need to recognize that you are asking a questionRigorous and Demanding, but especially young students need to be clearAlso write a follow up for students who get the question correct and an alternate question if they get it wrong.Who can tell me rather than Can anyone tell me31 Specific Questioning Techniques

No Opt OutA sequence that begins with a student unable to answer a question and should end with the student answering that question1. Teacher provides the answer; the student repeats the answer.2. Another student provides the answer; the initial student repeats the answer.3. You provide a cue; the student uses it to find the answer.4. Another student provides the cue; the initial student uses it to find the answer.(Video Clip 1)Wait TimeThink Time--Write Time--Talk TimeWhen 3 or more seconds of Wait Time is giventhe length and correctness of student responses increases.the number of I dont know and no answer responses decreases.the number of volunteered, correct answers increases.

When 3 or more seconds of Wait Time is given.teacher questions are more varied and flexiblethe quantity of questions decreases and the quality increasesteachers ask add on questions requiring higher-level thinking and processing(Video Clip 11)

Think Time3 second minimum

Instruct students to take a thinking moment before you either open the floor for answers or, better yet, YOU choose a student to respond.

Write the question on the board, while students are thinking, for visual learners

Provides the students with a time of reflection and rehearsal

Show Stik Pik35Write TimeI dont know what I think until I write it down. (Norman Mailer)

Especially helpful for tactile/kinesthetic learners

Its not specifically the writing that helps the learningWriting is an active, rather than passive, taskWriting involves more of the whole body in the process of thinkingWriting clarifies perspectives

Talk TimeIf you have to talk, you have to think.

The importance of dialogic talk By the age of 4, the child of professional parents in the US will have had nearly twice as many words addressed to it as the working-class child, and over four times as many as a child on welfare. For the middle-class child, encouragement from parents vastly outweighs discouragement; but for the child on welfare the climate of adult reaction is an overwhelmingly discouraging one. While talk is essential for intellectual and social development, for some children, the talk which they engage in at school is nothing less than a lifeline. (Robin Alexander, 2004)Opportunity to hear a perhaps more correct answerRehearsal timeTurn & TalkShirley Clark--Talk Partner37Stretch ItA sequence of questioning that doesnt end with the right answer.

Right answers are rewarded with follow-up questions that extend the knowledge and test for reliability. Ask how or whyAsk for another way to answerAsk for a better wordAsk for evidenceAsk students to integrate a related skillAsk students to apply the same skill in a new setting

Ask students to narrate their thinking process.There are often multiple ways to answer a question, dont you want to know if they can solve it more than one way?3. Students begin framing their thinking in the simplest words they know, especially if they are operating in their zpd.

38Right is RightWhats the difference between pretty good and 100% correct?

How do you respond to almost right answers?

Turn and Talk39Right is RightMany teachers respond to almost-correct answers by rounding up. They affirm and repeat the answer, adding the details to make it fully correct.

Most students stop processing when they hear the word right.

What does this communicate about the standard of correctness in your classroom?

Whos doing the cognitive work?

(Video Clip 3)How do you handle incorrect answers?Say No to NoWhy does Ms. Bannon focus on improving her questioning rather than simply telling students that an answer is not correct?How does her approach build confidence?

My Favorite NoHow does this strategy allow for immediate re-teach or intervention?How does this approach of discussing what is correct and incorrect address both students' academic and psychosocial needs?

Students asking QuestionsTeachers take up to two-thirds of the classroom talk time. Students are talk-deprived (Alvermann et al., 1996)

Student discussion increases retention as much as 50%. (Sousa, 2001)

Students in classrooms around the world are answering questions they never asked.

Visible Classroom Training

Engaging Students in Effective QuestionsTeachers cannot teach (and students cannot learn) everything there is to know. (Brookhart, 2009)

Authentic QuestionsChange in thinking shift for teachers. If Luke wants to know how to create a specific movie clip, he goes to you tube for a how to We all use Wiki pedia, even though we seem to have issue about students using it. Knowledge of content is at our fingers tips. How do create situations or environments where students want to know something so much that they engineer questions and go find the answer.ResourcesTeach Like a Champion by Doug Lemov (Jossey-Bass Teacher)Active Learning Through formative Assessment by Shirley Clarke (Hodder Education)Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom by Moss and Brookhart