Instructor initiated questions
enhance student learning by:
- developing critical
thinking skills
- reinforcing student
understanding
- correcting student misunderstanding
- providing feedback for
students
- enlivening class discussion
Questions serve as a teaching
tool by which instructors manage and direct learning, test student understanding,
and diagnose problem areas. The skillful use of the following question strategies
have been found to enhance the effectiveness of instructor initiated questions.
1)
USING A SKILL HIERARCHY: Asking questions that move from requiring
simple recall of information to more difficult levels of cognitive reasoning,
helps students develop cognitive abilities and critical thinking skills. (see
chart below.)
| LEVEL
|
STUDENT SKILLS
|
| KNOWLEDGE |
recalling
facts or observations;
supplying definitions |
| COMPREHENSION |
describing;
stating main ideas;
comparing & contrasting |
| APPLICATION |
applying techniques
& rules to
solve problems that have a
single correct answer |
| ANALYSIS |
identifying motives
or making
inferences; finding evidence to
support generalizations |
| SYNTHESIS |
developing
solutions problems and/or
making predictions |
| EVALUATION |
making value judgments
about
a controversial issue; judging
truth, validity, beauty,
worth etc. |
The below chart corresponds with the rows above.
| SAMPLE QUESTIONS |
l. Who?,
What?, Where?, When?,
2. How would you define the term...? |
l. Describe
(what will happen when...)
2. What is the main idea (of article)?
3. How are the theories alike/ different? |
1. If...,
then...
2. How does this rule apply to...
3. How would you interpret this graph/chart? |
1. What
can we conclude about...?
2. What does this tell us about...?
3. What evidence can you find to support...? |
l. How
can this dilemma be solved?
2. How can we improve this?
3. What might happen if...? |
l. What
is your opinion (on this matter)?
2. Would it be better done another way?
3. Why do you agree with...? |
2) EMPLOYING WAIT-TIME:
Wait-time is the amount of time an instructor waits for students to respond
before giving the answer or posing another question. At least 5 to l0 seconds
are needed for students to think about and respond to the questions. Of course,
questions at higher cognitive levels tend to require longer wait-time than questions
at the lower cognitive levels.
3) REDIRECTING QUESTIONS:
Question redirection occurs when an instructor turns a student-initiated question
or comment back to the student or to the class. This provides students with
further opportunities to develop thinking and communication skills. It also
helps to promote classroom discussion by taking the focus off the instructor
and encouraging student to student interaction.
4) USING PROBING QUESTIONS:
Probing questions are initiated by the instructor and requires the student
to think beyond the initial response. It directs, develops, or refocuses the
student's response.
BLOCKS TO EFFECTIVE
QUESTIONING: PHRASING PROBLEMS
Phrasing problems can mislead
or confuse your students. The four most common problems in phrasing questions
are:
"YES" OR "NO"
QUESTIONS: Yes/No questions demand only a yes or no response and do not
stimulate discussion. These questions usually begin with auxiliary verbs are,
is, could, would, does, do, can and was. Unfortunately, studies show this form
is used often in classroom settings. Example: Is social reform an issue here?
Change to: What specific social reforms are at issue here?
AMBIGUOUS QUESTIONS:
Ambiguous questions are unclear and unfair. It often turns into a guess what's
on the teacher's mind. Example: Phrasing is a problem in questioning? Change
to: Why could poor phrasing of a question be considered a problem?
Spoon-feeding QUESTIONS:
Spoon-feeding questions give too much guidance and does not require students
to develop analytic skills. Examples: Leading questions: "So we can say
that, no matter where we live, people need food and shelter. Isn't that right?"
Questions that include the answer or offer a choice: "Are the things necessary
or only desirable?" Inverted questions: "The kind of things that we
can discover from observing animals are what?" (These types of questions
tend to force a predetermined answer).
COMPOUND QUESTIONS:
Compound questions tend to include too many factors and or pose several
questions for students to consider at once. For example: "How did the revolution
begin, and what did the nobles have to do with it? Did tax reform have anything
to do with it?" The solution to avoiding this type of question is to make
sure your questions contain only one main idea.
A FINAL BUT IMPORTANT
NOTE:
ORIENTING STUDENTS TO
CHANGE: Since the classroom is a social system, it's very easy for TAs and
students to quickly learn to expect certain behaviors of one another. For example,
when students are not used to having an instructor ask them specific questions
or give them sufficient wait time, they may not immediately respond. Letting
students know the purpose of any changes you plan to make in the classroom or
in your teaching behavior helps orient students to change and increases the
likelihood of their full cooperation.
Written by Drs. Nancy Lorsch
and Shirley Ronkowski, 1982. Instructional Development, University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Reference:
"Condensed Version
of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives." In Bloom, Hastings, and Madaus
(eds). Handbook on Formative and Summative Evaluation of Student Learning
. 1971