Dr. Stephen Levy
Effective questioning is the tool with which teachers develop logical thought, stimulate the imagination, bridge the gap between previous learning and new learning and give direction to the learning process. When skillfully phrased and strategically used, questions become one of the teacher’s most flexible instructional tools. On the other hand, poor questions and poor questioning technique interfere with learning by creating confusion, discouraging pupil involvement and inhibiting the sequential development of concepts.
Suggested Guide to Better Questions
1. Present one question at a time.
2. State the question clearly and concisely. Omit excessive words.
3. Pause after the question to give pupils time to think of the answer.
4. Direct the question to the class. Then call on a pupil to respond.
5. Ask questions of both volunteers and non-volunteers.
6. Check the value of your question by noting its power to provoke a sustained response, as well as how closely the responses are related to the topic under discussion.
7. Include pivotal questions (thought-provoking) ,which require pupils to judge, compare, explain, describe, evaluate, prove etc.
8. Arrange questions in a logical sequence to stimulate orderly discussions related to the objective of the lesson.
9. Train pupils to direct responses to classmates and to speak correctly and audibly.
10. Encourage several pupils to respond to a given question to achieve a diversity of answers.
11. Encourage socialized recitation by training pupils to add to, to agree with, to cite examples, to justify responses given by other pupils, etc.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE QUESTIONS:
-They are kept short.
-They are simply phrased and direct in language.
-They are logically sequenced, the response to one question leading into
the next, with each question calling for only one or two points in the chain of development.
-They are designed to require pupils to think, rather than respond instantly with an association. Whenever possible, they elicit a sustained response
rather than a one or two word answer.
-They are frequently personalized to grasp the pupils’ attention: “How would you explain to a classmate who was absent yesterday our method
for changing common fractions to decimal fractions?”
Teachers sometimes develop ineffective questioning habits that are difficult to break unless conscious examination in precisely what kinds of questions they have been asking takes place. Ineffective questions come in many varieties, and are ineffective for various reasons. We have all heard them, and have perhaps used some of them. Here is a brief compilation of some of them:
Example: What is the number above the fraction bar called, and what is the
number below the fraction called? How do we reduce fractions?
Criticism: By asking for more than one response, the teacher is limiting participation to only those pupils who know all of them.
Many more pupils might be able to respond if a single question were asked at a time.
Suggestion: Ask the three questions separately, waiting until one question is answered before going on to the next.
Example: How about rectangles?
Criticism: The question doesn’t direct pupil thinking in any particular
direction. A multitude of irrelevant responses can be made.
Suggestions: What kind of angles do the sides of a rectangle form?
Example: Were we right to multiply by 100?
(Y-e-e-e-e-s!)
Criticism: Pupils are not made to feel personally responsible for the
accuracy of their response. They are encouraged to hide
behind the anonymity provided by choral response. Different
responses to the same question are uttered together,
creating confusion for individual pupils who may not know
which one is being accepted as correct.
Suggestion: Do you think we were right to multiply by 100,---Joseph?
Example: There are 6 hours in 24, aren’t there?
Criticism: A pupil who is not sure will promptly agree with the teacher without thinking about his response. He has been invited merely to nod his head in acquiescence.
Suggestion: How many hours are there in 24,---Sherry?
Example: The area of a rectangle is found by multiplying the length by
the____W___w___,Come on now; it starts with”W.”
Criticism: The question reduces the discussion to a guessing game, often not even based on the subject matter but on the recall of words by virtue of their sounds.
Suggestion: How is the area of a rectangle found? OR: What two
Measures do we multiply to get the area of a
rectangle.
6. THE TEACHER-ORIENTED QUESTION:
Example: Who can tell me how many places to move the decimal point when multiplying by 1000?
Criticism: The question contributes to a feeling that the class is
organized around the teacher, and that what is most important is satisfying the teacher’s requirements.
It does not contribute to a group feeling of a class working together to learn.
Suggestions: Who can tell us how many places to move the decimal point
When multiplying by 1000?
7. THE WHIP-LASH QUESTION:
Example: The unit of measure that is equal to 1000 meters is called the what?
Criticism: The question is not perceived as a question by the pupils since it does not begin with an interrogative. It sounds as though the teacher is making a declarative statement. Only at the last word do pupils learn that they are being asked for a response, and thus have no time in which to think about it.
Suggestion: Include one of the words: how, what, why, when, etc. at the beginning of every question. “What is the name we give to the unit of measure that is equal to 1000 meters?”
8. THE YES-NO QUESTION:
Example: Is the radius of a circle twice the diameter?
Criticism: Every pupil has a 50% chance of answering correctly by merely guessing “yes” or “no.” The question does not ` encourage thought, nor does it encourage pupils to use the vocabulary that they have learned.
Suggestion: By what number would you multiply the measure of the radius to find the measure of the diameter?
9. THE ECHO QUESTION:
Example: There are four quarters in a dollar. How many quarters are there in a dollar?
Criticism: The question calls for only the most rudimentary form of response: parroting. It does not stimulate thought, and a pupil can answer it correctly without really understanding the concept.
Suggestion: Wait for some time to pass before asking pupils to recall a previously developed fact.
10. THE QUESTION ADDRESSED TO A SPECIFIC PUPIL:
Example: Robert, can you move the hands on this clock to make it read one-thirty?
Criticism: By starting with the name of a specific pupil, the teacher has turned the discussion into a one-to-one exchange.Other pupils are not encouraged to think about their responses, since the question appears to have been designed for only a particular pupil.
Suggestion: Ask the question, pause to give all pupils time to consider their responses, and then call on a particular pupil. Who can move the hands on this clock to make it read one-thirty?…Robert?
11. THE GUESSING QUESTION?
Example: Is 25% equal to one-half or one-quarter?
Criticism: Like the Yes-No question, this type of question limits thinking and creates a situation in which any pupil,
regardless of his
understanding of a concept, has a 50-50 chance of answering correctly.
Suggestion: What common fraction is 25% equal to? OR: is 25% equal to one-half or one-quarter, and explain why you made your choice.
12. THE RE-PHRASED QUESTION:
Example: What name do we give a half-circle? I mean, when you draw a diameter, it divides the circle into two parts. What do we call each part? When a circle is divided into two halves, what do we call each half?
Criticism: Pupils are still dealing with the first version of the question when they are presented with second and third versions. While listening to these re-phrasings of the original question, thought is diverted and clarity is inhibited.
Suggestion: Ask one good question clearly expressed and remain silent while pupils are considering their responses to it.
For example: If a diameter is drawn in a circle, it divides the the circle into two equal parts. What
name is given to
each half-circle?
Pupil Responses
Related to the art of effective questioning is the skill with which the teacher reacts to, or accepts pupil responses.
Pupils can be encouraged to formulate their responses in such a way as to make them of value to the entire class.
Teachers can further encourage pupil involvement and enthusiasm in the learning process by the ways in which they use pupil responses.
Encouraging pupils to comment on each other’s responses involves pupil in the
learning process to a greater extent than reserving the right to comment as an
exclusive right for the teacher. Do you agree with Mario’s explanation? How
would you correct Mary’s answer? What is another way of solving Renee’s problem?