Any Questions? How Asking the Right Questions Can Promote

Critical Thinking

Nancy Burkhalter, PhD Senior English Language Fellow

LIPETSK, RUSSIA APRIL 11-12

Effect of ‘dead’ questions

• Students’ thinking turns off.• They give up responsibility for thinking.• No more investigation is needed.• Questioning stops.• Curiosity dies.

Lower Order vs. Higher Order

At what temperature does water freeze at sea level?

What year did Mexico obtain its independence from Spain?

Why does water near bridges and in cities freeze later in the winter than water in lakes in rural areas?

How did Mexico’s movement for independence from Spain affect people in neighboring countries?

How do higher level questions help learning?

Students learn how to inquire, question, seek, and examine information.

Thinking is driven by questions, not answers. Richard Paul

Foundation for Critical Thinking

How do I make PINK?

Which do I satisfy?

My ego

My student’s brain

Definition of Critical Thinking

Using methods that employ

analyze evaluate create

Six kinds of questions

• Knowledge• Comprehension• Application• Analysis• Evaluation• Creation

Creation

Evaluation HIGH

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge

Cognitive Difficulty

LOW

Bloom’s Taxonomyof Levels of Abstraction of Questions

Goldilocks and the

Three Bears

• Now is the time

Remember Questions:Facts and details

• observe and recall information • know dates, events, places

Question Cues:list, define, tell, describe, identify, label, collect, examine, tabulate, quote, name

Examples of Remember Questions

1. Who was Goldilocks?

2. Where did she live?

3. What did her mother tell her not to do?

Comprehension Questions:Understanding

• understand information • grasp meaning • translate knowledge into new context

Question Cues: summarize, describe, contrast, associate, distinguish, differentiate, discuss, paraphrase, explain, demonstrate

Examples of Comprehension Questions

1. What is this story is about?

2. What is the main idea?

3. What did Goldilocks look like?

Application Questions:Use in new context

• use methods, concepts, theories in new situations

• solve problems using skills or knowledge

Question Cues: apply, demonstrate, calculate, show, solve, examine, relate, change, classify, experiment, assess, chart, construct

Examples of Application Questions

1.Draw a map showing Goldilock's house, the path in the forest, the bear's house, etc.

2. Show through action how Goldilocks sat in the chairs,

ate the porridge, etc.

3. How were the bears like real people?

Analysis Questions:Apply to other questions or areas

• see patterns • organize parts • identify components

Question Cues:analyze, order, explain, compare, infer, discriminate, illustrate, outline, distinguish, why

Examples of Analysis Questions

1. How did each bear react to what Goldilocks did?

2. How would you react?

3. Compare Goldilocks to any of your friends.

Evaluation Questions:Judge, measure, compare

• compare and discriminate between ideas • assess value of theories, presentations • predict, draw conclusions

Question Cues:assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, justify, explain, discriminate, support, conclude, compare

Examples of Evaluation Questions

1. Why were the bears angry with Goldilocks?

2. What do you think she learned by going into that house?

3. Would you have gone in the bear's house? Why/why not?

Create Questions:Generate new ideas or insights

• use old ideas to create new ones • generalize from given facts • relate knowledge from several areas Question Cues:

combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, plan, create, design, invent, what if?, compose, formulate, generalize, revise, synthesize

Examples of Creation Questions

1. Do all bears act like humans?

2. Do you know any other stories about little girls or boys who escaped from danger?

3. Make a puppet, then act out its part in the story.

A lesson using Bloom’s taxonomy of questions

“The Global Child” International adoption and parental

responsibility

Remember list, define, tell, describe, identify, show, label, collect, examine,

tabulate, quote, name

1. What country is Raquel from?

2. What does the word indigenous mean?

Comprehension summarize, describe, contrast, associate, distinguish,

differentiate, discuss, paraphrase, explain

1. Why did Raquel’s mother give her up for adoption?

2. Summarize the commentator's main idea.

Application apply, demonstrate, calculate, show, solve, examine, relate,

change, classify, experiment, assess, chart, construct

1. What would you ask Raquel’s birth mother about giving her daughter up for adoption?

2. Can you relate any of Raquel’s feelings to your own life?

Analysis analyze, order, explain, compare, explain, infer, discriminate, illustrate, outline, distinguish

1. Why do you think Raquel dropped her camera?

2. Why does Raquel spend so much time in bed when she gets home?

Evaluation assess, decide, rank, grade, test, measure, recommend, convince, select, judge, explain, discriminate, support,

conclude, compare

1. Do you think adopted children should visit their country of birth? Why or why not?

2. What problems do you think they might have as a result of being adopted?

Create combine, integrate, modify, rearrange, plan, create, design,

invent, what if?, compose, formulate, generalize, revise

1. Statistics show that Russians want Russian orphans to be adopted by Russians. If that is so, why are so few adopted by them?

2. Imagine you are Raquel. Write a diary entry from her perspective on the day she went to her old house.

Closed-ended questions…

Require short, limited-answers.

Open-ended questions…

Are about possibilities and reasons that require explanations.

Assessment of open-ended questions

1. Grade on originality, completeness, organization, logic, connection to task, etc.

2. Grade each other’s answers.3. Write questions they have about the issue.4. Research their questions and write an

essay/give a talk.5. Never grade higher level questions “right or

wrong.”

To summarize

• Foster critical thinking with questions requiring higher order skills: analyze, and evaluate, and create.

• Empower your students. Ask them to think for themselves.

Any questions?

ReferencesBartel, M. (2004). Encouraging creative thinking with

awareness and discovery questions. Retrieved Nov. 1, 2012, from http://www.bartelart.com/arted/questions.html#tests

Bloom's taxonomy. Retrieved Oct. 24, 2012, from http://www.coun.uvic.ca/learning/exams/blooms-taxonomy.html

Bloom’s taxonomy of six different levels. Retrieved Dec. 5, 2012, from http://courseweb.unt.edu/gmayes/documents/Blooms_Taxonomy.html

Dalton, J. & Smith, D. (1986). Extending children’s special abilities – Strategies for primary classrooms, pp 36-7. Retrieved Nov. 1, 2012, from http://www.aisa.or.ke/uploaded/downloads/aisa2010conference/

Judy_Wooster_Workshop_Handout_Applying_Blooms_Taxonomy.pdf

Numrich, C. (Ed.) (2010). The global child. Raise the issues (pp. 42-63). White Plains, NY: Pearson.