ASKING BETTER QUESTIONS

Schema Activator

Think-Pair-Share:– Review the questions you have collected from

teacher observations. – Reflect: Which ones do you consider to be

“higher level”?– Pair & Share: Compare your questions with those

of a colleague.

Characteristics of Teachers Who Expect Students to

Learn at High Levels

High Expectations

Challenging Curriculum

Instruction: High-level Questioning

Instruction: Differentiation and Multiple Intelligences

4 Models of Questioning

New Bloom’s Taxonomy

Ciardello’s Four Types of Questions

Quality QUESTIONS

Wierderhold Question Matrix

New Bloom’s Taxonomy

OLD NEW

Ciardiello’s Four Types of Questions

Question Types Cognitive Operations

Memory Naming, defining, identifying

Convergent ThinkingExplaining, comparing,

contrasting

Divergent

ThinkingPredicting, hypothesizing,

inferring

Evaluative ThinkingValuing, judging, justifying,

choices

CIARDIELLO BLOOM

Question Types Cognitive Operations

Memory

Convergent Thinking

Divergent

Thinking

Evaluative Thinking

Characteristics of Good Questioning

Q - qualityU - understandingE - encourage multiple responsesS - spark new questionsT - thought-provoking I - individualizedO - ownership shifted to studentsN - narrow and broadS - success building

Question Matrix

Chuck Wiederhold designed the Question Matrix in 1991. As you proceed through the matrix, the questions become more complex and open-ended.

I II

III IV

LINKING CIARDIELLO / WIEDERHOLD

Question Types

Memory

Convergent Thinking

Divergent

Thinking

Evaluative Thinking

III

I

IV

II

WIEDERHOLD QUESTION MATRIX

  Event Situation Choice Person Reason Means

PresentWhat is? Where /

When is?

Which is? Who is? Why is? How is?

Past What did?Where /

When did?Which did? Who did? Why did? How did?

Possibility What can?Where /

When can?Which can? Who can? Why can? How can?

ProbabilityWhat

would?

Where / When

would?

Which would?

Who would? Why would? How would?

Prediction What will?Where /

When will?Which will? Who will? Why will? How will?

Imagination What might?Where / When might?

Which might?

Who might? Why might? How might?

Ask Questions That:

• Stimulate a wide range of student participation from both volunteering and non-volunteering students.

• Redirect initially asked questions to other students!

• Probe initial student answers. Encourage them to complete, clarify, expand, or support their answers

• Require students to generate questions of their own

Results in Student Behaviors When Wait Time is Increased

• Decrease in “I don’t know” responses

• Length & accuracy of answers increases

• Increase in volunteered, appropriate responses

• Increased achievement test scores

Results in Teacher Behaviors When Wait Time is Increased

Questioning strategies became more flexible and varied

Quantity of questions asked decreased, while the quality and variety of questions increased

Higher-order, divergent questions were asked more often

Classroom “Look fors”

• Encourage teachers to prepare questions in advance.• Questions should be scaffolded from

easy to hard.

• Look for an environment that is student- led. Students should be working collaboratively, raising questions, and responding to their peers.

Academy of Aerospace & Engineering Middle School

Math Classroom

English/Language Arts Classroom

Exit Slip

Review questions from Schema Activator.

Review ratings of these questions. Would you change these? Why?

What suggestions would you give to the teacher(s) who originally developed these questions to help them improve their techniques?