Art of Questioning

1. THE ART OF
QUESTIONING
STRATEGIC ENHANCEMENT WORKSHOP
FOR SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHERS

2. “TO QUESTION WELL IS TO
TEACH WELL” (WILEN, 1991)

3. SESSION OBJECTIVES:
• ENHANCED KNOWLEDGE ON THE ART & THE
DIFFERENT LEVELS OF QUESTIONING
• WRITE SAMPLE GOOD QUESTIONS
ACCORDING TO THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF
QUESTIONS BY THE RBT
• APPRECIATE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ART
OF QUESTIONING AS AN IMPORTANT TOOL IN
THE TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS.

4. WHY TEACH QUESTIONING?
•RESEARCH STATES THAT
EFFECTIVE QUESTIONING
STRATEGIES HAVE A POSITIVE
IMPACT ON OVERALL
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT.

5. WHAT IS A GOOD QUESTION?
FOR A QUESTION TO BE EFFECTIVE…
 IT MUST BE CLEAR
 CONCISE
 RELEVANT TO BOTH THE
SUBJECT MATERIAL AND THE
STUDENT
 MOST IMPORTANTLY IT SHOULD
INSPIRE CREATIVE THINKING.

6.  IT RECOGNIZES THE WIDE
POSSIBILITIES OF THOUGHT AND IS
BUILT AROUND VARYING FORMS OF
THINKING.
IT IS DIRECTED TOWARD LEARNING
AND EVALUATIVE THINKING RATHER
THAN DETERMINING WHAT HAS BEEN
LEARNED IN A NARROW SENSE.

7. ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS
“IF ONLY I COULD ASK THE RIGHT
QUESTION” (ALBERT EINSTEIN)
•RESEARCHERS ESTIMATE THAT
UP TO 90 PERCENT OF
QUESTIONS ASKED IN
ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY
SCHOOL ASK STUDENTS TO
REGURGITATE INFORMATION.

8. THE ART OF ASKING QUESTIONS IS
ONE OF THE BASIC SKILLS OF GOOD
TEACHING. SOCRATES BELIEVED
THAT KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS
WERE AN INTRINSIC PART OF EACH
LEARNER. THUS, IN EXERCISING
THE CRAFT OF GOOD TEACHING AN
EDUCATOR MUST REACH INTO THE
LEARNER’S HIDDEN LEVELS OF
KNOWING AND AWARENESS IN
ORDER TO HELP THE LEARNER
REACH NEW LEVEL THINKING.

9. QUESTIONS SERVE MANY
PURPOSES
 ASSESSING WHAT STUDENTS
ALREADY KNOW
SETTING THE STAGE FOR A NEW
LESSON BY PIQUING STUDENTS’
CURIOSITY,
DETERMINING WHAT FACTUAL
INFORMATION STUDENTS HAVE
ABSORBED
 STIMULATING HIGHER-ORDER
THINKING SO STUDENTS CAN APPLY

10. QUESTIONING AND CRITICAL
THINKING
CRITICAL THINKING HAS BECOME
A HOT TOPIC IN EDUCATION
TODAY. THE CONCEPT OF
CRITICAL THINKING IS APPLIED IN
ALL SUBJECT AREAS. EDUCATION
IS NOTHING MORE, NOR LESS,
THAN LEARNING TO THINK!

11. •THE COMMON FEELING IN
EDUCATION TODAY IS THAT
STUDENTS MUST BECOME
CRITICAL THINKERS IN ORDER
TO ASSIMILATE AND
ACCOMMODATE INFORMATION,
THUS BECOMING A TRUE
LEARNER.

12. • THE QUALITY OF THE
STUDENTS’ THINKING,
AND SUBSEQUENT
RESPONSES, WILL BE
INFLUENCED BY THE
QUESTIONING
TECHNIQUES USED BY

13. TYPES OF QUESTIONS
1. CLOSED QUESTIONS: TYPICALLY
BEGIN WITH DO, IS, CAN, COULD,
WILL, WOULD, SHALL OR SHOULD.
CLOSED QUESTIONS USUALLY HAVE
ONLY ONE RESPONSE. THESE ARE
USUALLY USED TO RECALL
INFORMATION AND ASSESS THE
PRIOR AND POST ACTIVITY
KNOWLEDGE OF THE STUDENTS.
WHEN THIS TYPE OF QUESTION IS
NECESSARY, FOLLOW WITH AN OPEN-
ENDED QUESTION.

14. 2. OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS: USUALLY
BEGIN WITH WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE,
OR HOW. OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS ARE
USEFUL TO STIMULATE GROUP
DISCUSSION. IN OPEN ENDED QUESTIONS
THERE MAY BE MANY DIFFERENT
RESPONSES
3. HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS ARE
QUESTIONS THAT REQUIRE STUDENTS TO
WORK OUT ANSWERS RATHER THAN
MEMORIZE THEM. BLOOM CATEGORIZES
HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS INTO THREE
CATEGORIES: ANALYSIS, SYNTHESIS AND
EVALUATION. HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS
ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO THINK MORE
DEEPLY AND CRITICALLY, TO SOLVE
PROBLEM, INSPIRE DISCUSSIONS AND
STIMULATE STUDENTS TO SEEK
INFORMATION ON THEIR OWN.

15. THE REVISED BLOOMS
TAXONOMY
1. REMEMBERING
2. UNDERSTANDING
3. APPLYING
4. ANALYZING
5. EVALUATING
6. CREATING

16. REMEMBERING
THE LEARNER IS ABLE TO RECALL, RESTATE
AND REMEMBER LEARNED INFORMATION
• DESCRIBING
• FINDING
• IDENTIFYING
• LISTING
• RETRIEVING
• NAMING
• LOCATING
• RECOGNIZING
Can students recall information?

17. UNDERSTANDING
STUDENT GRASPS MEANING OF
INFORMATION
BY INTERPRETING AND TRANSLATING
WHAT HAS BEEN LEARNED
• CLASSIFYING
• COMPARING
• EXEMPLIFYING
• EXPLAINING
• INFERRING
• INTERPRETING
• PARAPHRASIN
G
• SUMMARIZING
Can students explain ideas or concepts?

18. APPLYING
STUDENT MAKES USE OF INFORMATION IN
A CONTEXT DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE IN
WHICH IT WAS LEARNED
• IMPLEMENTING
• CARRYING
OUT
• USING
• EXECUTING
Can students use the information in
another familiar situation?
c =

19. ANALYZING
STUDENT BREAKS LEARNED
INFORMATION INTO
ITS PARTS TO BEST UNDERSTAND THAT
INFORMATION
• ATTRIBUTING
• COMPARING
• DECONSTRUCTI
NG
• FINDING
• INTEGRATING
• ORGANIZING
• OUTLINING
• STRUCTURING
Can students break information into parts to
explore understandings and relationships?

20. EVALUATING
STUDENT MAKES DECISIONS BASED ON
IN-DEPTH REFLECTION, CRITICISM AND
ASSESSMENT
• CHECKING
• CRITIQUING
• DETECTING
• EXPERIMENTIN
G
• HYPOTHESISIN
G
• JUDGING
• MONITORING
• TESTING
Can students justify a decision or
a course of action?

21. CREATING
STUDENT CREATES NEW IDEAS AND
INFORMATION USING WHAT PREVIOUSLY
HAS BEEN LEARNED
• CONSTRUCTIN
G
• DESIGNING
• DEVISING
• INVENTING
• MAKING
• PLANNING
• PRODUCING
Can students generate new products,
ideas, or ways of viewing things?

22. QUESTIONING . . .
• LOWER LEVEL QUESTIONS—REMEMBERING, UNDERSTANDING &
LOWER LEVEL APPLYING LEVELS
• LOWER LEVEL QUESTIONS
• EVALUATE STUDENTS’ PREPARATION AND COMPREHENSION
• DIAGNOSE STUDENTS’ STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
• REVIEW AND/OR SUMMARIZING CONTENT
University of Illinois (2006)
Handout #

23. QUESTIONING . . .
• HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS REQUIRE COMPLEX APPLICATION,
ANALYSIS, EVALUATION OR CREATION SKILLS
• HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS
• ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO THINK MORE DEEPLY AND CRITICALLY
• FACILITATE PROBLEM SOLVING
• ENCOURAGE DISCUSSIONS
• STIMULATE STUDENTS TO SEEK INFORMATION ON THEIR OWN
University of Illinois (2006)
Handout #

24. “REMEMBERING” STEMS
WHAT HAPPENED AFTER...?
HOW MANY...?
WHAT IS...?
WHO WAS IT THAT...?
NAME ...
FIND THE DEFINITION OF…
DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENED AFTER…
WHO SPOKE TO...?
WHICH IS TRUE OR FALSE...?
(Pohl, 2000)

25. “UNDERSTANDING” STEMS
EXPLAIN WHY…
WRITE IN YOUR OWN WORDS…
HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN…?
WRITE A BRIEF OUTLINE...
WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD HAVE
HAPPENED NEXT...?
WHO DO YOU THINK...?
WHAT WAS THE MAIN IDEA...?
CLARIFY…
(Pohl, 2000)

26. “APPLYING” STEMS
EXPLAIN ANOTHER INSTANCE WHERE…
GROUP BY CHARACTERISTICS SUCH AS…
WHICH FACTORS WOULD YOU CHANGE IF…?
WHAT QUESTIONS WOULD YOU ASK OF…?
FROM THE INFORMATION GIVEN, DEVELOP A SET OF
INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT…
(Pohl, 2000)

27. “ANALYZING” STEMS
WHICH EVENTS COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED?
IF. ..HAPPENED, WHAT MIGHT THE ENDING HAVE
BEEN?
HOW IS...SIMILAR TO...?
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS OTHER POSSIBLE
OUTCOMES?
WHY DID...CHANGES OCCUR?
EXPLAIN WHAT MUST HAVE HAPPENED WHEN...
WHAT ARE SOME OR THE PROBLEMS OF...?
DISTINGUISH BETWEEN... (Pohl, 2000)

28. “EVALUATING” STEMS
JUDGE THE VALUE OF... WHAT DO YOU THINK
ABOUT...?
DEFEND YOUR POSITION ABOUT...
DO YOU THINK...IS A GOOD OR BAD THING?
HOW WOULD YOU HAVE HANDLED...?
WHAT CHANGES TO… WOULD YOU RECOMMEND?
DO YOU BELIEVE...? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF...?
HOW EFFECTIVE ARE...?
WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES...?
WHAT INFLUENCE WILL....HAVE ON OUR LIVES? (Pohl, 2000)

29. “CREATING” STEMS
DESIGN A...TO...
DEVISE A POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO...
IF YOU HAD ACCESS TO ALL RESOURCES,
HOW WOULD YOU DEAL WITH...?
DEVISE YOUR OWN WAY TO...
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ...?
HOW MANY WAYS CAN YOU...?
CREATE NEW AND UNUSUAL USES FOR...
DEVELOP A PROPOSAL WHICH WOULD...(Pohl, 2000)

30. QUESTIONING DO’S AND DON’TS &
GENERAL TIPS
1. POSE THE QUESTION FIRST, BEFORE ASKING THE STUDENT TO
RESPOND.
2. ALLOW PLENTY OF THINK TIME BY WAITING AT LEAST 5
SECONDS.
3. AVOID THE QUESTION “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?
REPLACE IT WITH “ GIVE ME AN EXAMPLE SO I KNOW YOU
UNDERSTAND.
4. OPEN ENDED AND CLOSED QUESTIONS ARE USEFUL.
5.INCLUDE CLARIFYING QUESTIONS, DEMANDS & STATEMENT
6.USE QUESTIONS FROM ALL LEVELS.

31. 7. MAKE SURE YOU GIVE ALL STUDENTS THE OPPORTUNITY TO
RESPOND RATHER THAN RELYING ON VOLUNTEERS.
CREATE A SYSTEM TO HELP YOU KEEP TRACK OF WHO
YOU CALL ON.
8. HOLD STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE BY EXPECTING AND
FACILITATING THEIR PARTICIPATION AND
CONTRIBUTIONS.
9. NEVER ANSWER YOUR OWN QUESTIONS. DO NOT ACCEPT
“I DON’T KNOW”.
10. ESTABLISH A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR RISK TAKING BY
GUIDING STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING
FROM THEIR MISTAKES. ALWAYS DIGNIFY INCORRECT
RESPONSES BY SAYING SOMETHING POSITIVE.

32. “A GOOD TEACHER
MAKES YOU THINK
EVEN WHEN YOU
DON’T WANT TO.”

34. THANK YOU!