questioning for challenge - optimus education · ‘teacher-led’ with questioning there is a real...
TRANSCRIPT
Dr Marcella McCarthy
L e a d e r f o r A d v a n c e d E d u c a t i o n a l P r a c t i c e T h e C h e r w e l l S c h o o l , O x f o r d
Questioning for Challenge
EMBEDDING HIGHER ORDER QUESTIONING IN THE
CLASSROOM TO STRETCH ALL PUPILS AND
IMPROVE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
2 1 S T J U N E 2 0 1 2
Most teachers’ questions are answered in less than two seconds; just not by students...
Research shows...
Teachers typically use 300-400 questions every day. Most are lower order, functional requests
Increasing higher-order questions to around 50% of the total can raise attainment and improve pupil attitudes
Questions are a part of every teacher’s toolkit—but we need to consider why we use questions, and what we want to achieve by them if we are to use them effectively.
It is largely through talk that our social experience is constituted… talk is, as well, the basis of literacy, and literacy is developed out of peoples’ experience of interacting through oral language. It is not possible to attend to the children’s reading and writing (or their knowledge and understanding of, say, mathematics or history) without attending to their talk, and in attending to their talk we are able to cultivate their development as literate members of a society.
(Button, S. W. and Millward, P. (2005) 'Talking and literacy in the early years.', Forum., 47 (1). pp. 34-38)
Improving questioning was one of the keys to raising attainment identified by Black and Wiliam in Inside the Black Box
What do you think works? Give pupils
opportunities to
teach part of the
lesson and take
questions from
their peers
Operate a “No
hands” rule to
encourage wider
participation and to
avoid dominance of
talk by some pupils
Encourage pupils
to devise questions
of their own in
order to develop
their creative
thinking skills
Increase “wait time”
after asking a
question to allow
pupils to formulate a
more thoughtful
response
Tell pupils not to be
afraid to make
mistakes and
explain that wrong
answers can be
helpful for learning
Arrange the chairs
and tables in your
classroom to
facilitate paired and
group work, e.g.
Double horseshoe
Use open
questions as well
as closed to
promote higher
order thinking and
divergence. (More
than one answer)
Increase “wait time”
after taking a
response to allow
pupils to expand and
develop an initial
comment
Encourage
continuation of talk
by nodding
supportively and/or
saying: Tell me a
bit more about that
Eavesdrop on pupil
dialogue, noting
down key phrases
and comments to
share with the
group during the
plenary
Model active
listening skills, e.g.
eye-contact,
supportive nodding
and so on
Encourage pupils to
build on or challenge
one another’s
comments, keeping
your own comments
to a minimum
Bloom’s Taxonomy gives a structure...
Synthesis (using information to move forward in a creative way)
Evaluation (making judgements about information)
Analysis (investigating elements of the information)
Application (considering practical relevance of information)
Comprehension (understanding of information recalled)
Knowledge (recalling factual information)
That we can use for framing questions
Synthesis
Evaluation Higher order
Analysis
Application
Comprehension Lower order
Knowledge
Lower Higher Who
What
Where
When
Closed questions
Why
How
Which
Explain
Open questions
To generalise (shockingly)...
Lower Higher Who
What
Where
When
Closed questions
Why
How
Which
Explain
Open questions
Be Sherlock Holmes—not Dr Watson
Lower order questions ask learners to...
Higher order questions ask learners to...
Feedback information
Respond to simple queries
Answer comprehension questions
Give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer
Stick to the point
Recall facts and figures
Interpret ideas
Suggest solutions to problems
Explain why something is important
Give opinions
Make comparisons
Speculate
Imagine possibilities
Lower vs Higher order questioning
Lower vs Higher order questioning (II)
But not every ‘why’ question is a winner...
Why does Macbeth have blood on his hands in this picture?
Why does Macbeth react so strongly here to having blood on his hands?
Asking closed open questions
In the classroom, it is easy to become ‘teacher-led’ with questioning
There is a real danger of teachers asking for one specific answer with an apparently open question
This can mean they use unconscious cues that deny the validity of the alternative answers students give, and inhibit their higher questioning skills
Stepping back from this traditional model can be difficult, but rewarding
We need to start thinking about asking questions to which we may not ourselves know the answer—and listening to the responses.
Try framing questions on simple texts
You can model questioning for staff or for students, by using a model such as a familiar fairytale to demonstrate why higher-order question are more engaging
Goldilocks and the Three Bears What evidence is
there to suggest that
the bears were
domesticated?
Who was the
youngest bear?
What was it about
Daddy Bear’s
porridge that
Goldilocks did not
like?
At which point in the
story does tension
and suspense reach
its height?
Why did the bears
leave their house
and go off into the
woods?
In what ways is the
story of Goldilocks
similar and different
to the story of Snow
White?
Were any crimes
committed during
the course of the
story?
Which word best
describes
Goldilocks: curious,
bold, inquisitive,
unwise or lucky?
How might a
feminist interpret the
story of Goldilocks
and the Three
Bears?
What do you think
happened after
Goldilocks ran away
at the end of the
story?
How might
Goldilocks have
used a mobile
phone if she had
possessed one?
What can we learn
about the sleeping
arrangements of the
bears from the
story?
What do you think
Goldilocks may have
dreamt about as she
slept?
Do you think
Goldilocks deserved
to be punished or
rewarded for what
she did?
How could the bears
have prevented an
intruder from
entering their home?
What gives the story
of Goldilocks its
enduring appeal?
Golden rule... Use WAIT TIME
In the 1970s, Mary Budd Rowe videotaped hours of elementary science classes, and noticed how teachers generally waited only one second before answering or repeating a question.
After teachers were trained to allow 3-5 seconds of wait time the following effects were noticed...
DECREASED INCREASED
Students who failed to respond when called on
Unsolicited but appropriate responses
Length of student responses Reponses from less able
students Number of student questions Number of student
statements where evidence was used to make inferences
Student-to-student interactions
Increasing wait time to 3-5 seconds...
Journal of Research in Science Teaching 11 (1974), Mary Budd Rowe 81-94, 263-279
Some other golden rules
Phrase questions clearly, and give clear feedback.
Beware run-on questions—but don’t be afraid of ‘off-piste’ questioning
Don’t always use ‘hands-down’
questioning. Research suggests that active student response can be helpful in promoting participation amongst socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
The best way to cut down your questioning is to increase the questions students ask of you.
GOOD
QUESTIONS
provoke discussion
“Would it be better if…?
encourage speculation
“Can you predict the outcome
of…?
are challenging
“How would you
justify…?
“What is the
function of….?”
encourage diverse
responses
“What motives could
there have been
for…?
explore and expose
potential
misconceptions
“Can you think of an
alternative argument?”
encourage reflection
“What would happen if…”
promote reasoning and
problem-solving
“Do you have any
suggestions?”
focus thinking and
discussion
“What conclusions can
you draw?
offer opportunities to
express opinions
“What do you think?”
are linked to learning
objectives
are planned in advance
Stimulate creative
responses
“What could be the
consequences of…”
Try introducing the idea of Socratic
questioning
Does Class A drugs
absolutely guarantee
that they is better
quality?
Teach the language of questioning
Some groups are easily dominated by confident students
Try using question cards to make sure questioning is fair—give each student five cards they have to use during the lesson
This automatically avoids ‘hands up’ and gets students used to asking open questions of you and each other that require thinking time
This strategy can be useful in checking that you are not inadvertently biased, as well as introducing students to the language of higher-order questioning
Bring student talk into AFL
Assessment for learning should be driven by student and teacher questioning. Self-question— “why did I do that? What is the learning objective here? Why do you think I asked that question?”
Question viewpoints and perspectives: “why do you think he said that?” “Could you rephrase that differently?”
Consider consequences— “if that happens, how does it affect..?”
Ask for evidence— “how might this be refuted?”
Model higher-level discussion for students
Questioning needs to become discussion
Teacher-led questioning will always tend to be lower-order, because the very idea of a teacher asking questions imposes potentially negative stereotypes of authority and control.
Students will tend to respond in a lower-order way even to a higher-order question if the teacher/ student dynamic is not positive, or if the teacher is seen as intimidatingly knowledgeable.
To get students out of this mindset, try asking questions to which you do not have the answer—critical thinking questions
Try using snippets to start discussion
Try “Who could disapprove of this picture”?
Or ask... “Why are you not green?”
You are not a plant You are not decomposing You have benefitted from an
asteroidal impact that devastated the dinosaurs 70 million years ago
You are not entirely inexperienced
You are not ill
You envy no-one
Sorting and categorising tasks
Tasks designed to sort and categorise materials or ideas allow students to explore assumptions and investigate ideas without having to commit themselves to a single ‘solution’
Although these tasks are often thought of as being suitable for simple ideas, they can be usefully employed to encourage very complex thinking
For instance, the ‘odd one out’ starter activity is a fresh way to encourage students not to simply go for the ‘teacher-pleasing’ answer—because they do not know what that answer is.
Which is the odd one out? Try starting the lesson with a question
Use images to help with discussions
Pictures on cards can help students remember concepts, and also increase critical thinking skills
Using pictures reduces the awkwardness felt by less literate students, and can iron out the differences between ability ranges—a picture has no correct answer.
Once you have a set of picture cards, you will find that you can use them for a multitude of concepts
Try getting students to source your pictures for you
Use the power of the visual imagination
Discussion is consistently found in outstanding lessons
Allowing students to talk ideas through with each other can root them firmly in their minds much more than simple questioning
Try pair-share, jigsawing, hotseating to start things off.
If behaviour management is an issue, it really helps to build in space for legitimate discussion
In a class where discussion is built into the
structure of the class, students will tend to do more of the questioning work than the teacher
Set students up with ready-made arguments with which they can agree or disagree—it puts less pressure on them, and lets them focus on finding evidence or theorising.
Is it nobler in the mind to suffer the
slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by
opposing end them?
Thinking like a critic: scale down ideas to encourage discussion
Gertrude and Ophelia
There are many voices speaking through her, none of them her own...she becomes the mirror for a mad-inducing world
From her first entrance in the play, she must respond to commands which imply distrust, even as they compel obedience
She believes that quiet women best please men, and pleasing men is her main interest.
For most critics of Shakespeare, she has been an insignificant minor character in the play… chiefly interesting, of course, in what she tells us about Hamlet.”
We can imagine Hamlet’s story without her, but she literally has no story without Hamlet
Use Dialogue to investigate and debate
For subjects where questions require students to debate ideas, use cards with different opinions on them, and get students to do ‘quick-fire’ debates
Make sure that students switch around so that they have to argue both sides of a case, or find evidence from different sources
Try asking students to find evidence for an opinion from a source, then ask other students to evaluate the evidence and decide which opinion was being explored.
Use talk as your strongest tool—across departments
In Cherwell, the English and Geography departments worked on a joint project at the end of year 9
Students worked in role as scientists, activists, miners and so on to present ideas about Antarctica
They were evaluated by both subjects in a final presentation and debate
Subject engagement was maintained and
even increased..
Try visiting a student in another subject to evaluate their S&L skills for role play, group discussion or individual presentation
Try inverting questions
Inverting a question requires reasoning to be employed in the answer.
Instead of asking ‘Is Claudius a Good King?’ for instance, you can ask ‘what qualities would you expect to see in a good King?
Similarly, try using the YXY formula. ‘Why is X an example of Y?’ eg ‘Why is a human an example of a mammal?’
Invert the power structure—get students to ask questions so as to assess progress towards your learning objectives (try a question box).
Get students to tell YOU what they have learned, rather than telling them yourself
Questioning can be very useful for plenaries
Ask students ‘what do you think was the point of that exercise?’ or ‘what did you find out by doing it that way?’
It is well worth having evaluation cards which can help you see which strategies individual students like or dislike—also invaluable for parents’ evening.
Also get them to evaluate the processes of their own learning—making sure that students become more independent learners
Try Andy Brumby’s questions for reflection (Secondary AFL consultant—Cornwall Learning)
What are the
advantages/
disadvantages of
working in this way?
What advice could you
give to someone who
wants to understand
why/know how to…?
If I was to teach this
lesson to another
group, what would you
advise me to do
differently and/or keep
the same?
Who contributed most
to your group’s
outcome(s) and how do
you know?
Who or what has
helped you to make
progress in today’s
lesson?
What would a good
outcome for… look
like?
What made you decide
to include…in your
presentation/speech/
design?
What is it that makes
this analogy/story/
diagram so useful for
learning?
How did you manage to
overcome that
difficulty/setback/
obstacle?
Why did you prefer that
particular strategy/
approach/technique to
the others?
What criteria did you
use to decide
whether/if…?
If you had to
summarise your
learning down to three
essential points what
would they be…?
At what point did you
realise/agree that it
would be better if…?
What has been the
most thought-provoking
question anyone’s
asked today?
When did you first
become aware
that…and how did that
influence your thinking?
What feelings and
emotions have you
experienced during
today’s lesson? Which
were most/least helpful
for learning?
How has your thinking
about… changed since
the beginning of the
lesson?
What was your best
and/or worst
decision/choice and
how did it affect…?
What was it that best
helped you to
understand why/how
to…?
What do you predict will
be the outcome
of…and how do you
know?
At what stage did it
become clear that…?
What was
interesting/unusual/
unexpected about
today’s lesson and how
did this help you to
learn?
What different learning
styles have you tried
during today’s lesson?
Which were most/least
helpful for learning?
Which of these
resources is most
valuable for learning
about/how to…and
why?
How does what we’ve
learnt today link to…?
If you had the
opportunity to repeat
this activity, what would
you do differently?
What was the most
valuable piece of
feedback you gave
and/or received today?
Which of these thinking
tools/techniques would
you be most likely to
use independently?
What was the most
challenging/difficult
aspect of…?
Where else could you
use this skill and in
what circumstances?
Where have you made
improvements to your
work in response to
feedback?
How could someone
prove that they’ve got
better at…?
Whichever expert you choose, all
agree…
Who questions much, shall learn much, and retain much.
Francis Bacon (1561-1626) British statesman and philosopher.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749-1832) German poet, novelist and dramatist.
If you want a wise answer, ask a reasonable question.
Good learning
starts with
questions, not
answers.
Professor Guy Claxton Co-director of the centre for real world learning
Above all—don’t be afraid to try new things
Contact me for electronic copies of any of the resources discussed at this session at