Learning and Teaching Toolkit Questioning

Questioning is a key aspect of the teaching and learning process. There is evidence that teachers can improve their use of questions, focusing on types of questions and strategies for using them. Questions should draw pupils into the learning process as well as checking on acquisition of knowledge.

Points Arising from Research

Improving the quality of questioning was one of the keys to raising attainment identified by Black and Wiliam in Inside the Black Box (see Formative Assessment)
Teachers ask 300-400 questions per day (though many of these are procedural
Pupils fear of being made to look silly can inhibit willingness to offer answers
The importance of pupils articulating ideas themselves means that it is important encourage them to ask questions
Low ability and younger children benefit from questions after looking at source material; high ability pupils benefit from being given questions before source material
When pupils ask questions this can generate further discussion, enhance and expand higher-level thinking and can lead to increased social benefits
There is evidence that effective questioning ca contribute substantially towards the development of pupils’ thinking

Key Elements of Questioning

Purpose of question:

They can help the teacher gauge how effectively pupils are learning
They can assist the teacher in forward planning
They can be used to involve pupils in on-going classwork
They can give pupils opportunities to articulate their understanding
They should give opportunities for successful answers, but should also provide challenge
Pupils’ communication skills can be improved
Social skills can also be improved
Pupils can be invited to ask questions themselves, which can generate more sophisticated discussions
Pupils can be led to question their own learning and enter the realms of metacognition (reflecting on the learning process), with wide-ranging benefits
Open-ended questions can stimulate and extend thinking
Questions can stimulate the imagination into creative thinking and investigation; they can foster curiosity, support problem-solving and generate enquiry
Questions give children the opportunity to connect what they know with what they needed to examine and reflect on their own thinking
A quality open-ended/higher order question will generate more questions

Types of questions:

Lower-order questions may simply call for a memorised fact; higher-order ones will invite the pupil to explore an idea and give a more expansive answer
Closed questions call for a simple factual response and may often be answered by “Yes” or “No”; open questions invite a more extensive response, often without “rightness” or “wrongness” being an issue
There are many different ways of categorising types of questions, with Socratic questioning being a specific example. This promotes the idea that pupils should be encouraged to explore, to consider reasons and evidence, to project forward to consider implications/consequences etc
One much-used system of analysing questions is through Bloom’s Taxonomy...

Bloom’s taxonomy:

This divides types of learning into what may be seen as an ascending hierarchy:

• Knowledge (recall of factual information)
• Comprehension (showing understanding of the information recalled)
• Application (consideration of practical relevance of information)
• Analysis (ability to investigate elements of the information)
• Synthesis (using information to move forward in a creative way)
• Evaluation (ability to make judgements about the nature of information)

Questions can be devised to cover these six areas in the teaching process

This process allows for consideration of differentiation in formulation of questions. Broadly, more able pupils should be encouraged to explore the higher levels

In the planning process, the teacher may consider different types of questions for the different types of learning

Teacher self-evaluation:

It is believed to be important that teachers take stock of their use of questions
How many questions do we ask?
How many lower-order ones do we ask?
How many higher-order?
What wait time do we give? (i.e. time allowed for a pupil to answer)
How do we respond to pupils’ responses?
To what extent do we encourage pupils to formulate their own questions?
Do we wait for full attention from the class before asking a question?
How often do we answer questions ourselves?
How many different pupils answer questions?
Are certain pupils invited to answer repeatedly? Do some seldom/never answer?
How else do we invite responses, apart from direct questions?

Practical strategies:

Invite pupils to make up questions about a topic before it has been taught, promoting a sense of enquiry
Use a “Question Wall” or “Question Box” where pupils can put questions which occur as a block of work is in progress
When a pupil answers, rather than commenting, invite another pupil to
Set up pairs or groups to answer more difficult questions
Don’t allow a “hands up” approach. Instead, nominate pupils to answer
Set homework of returning the next day with a question
Have pupils make up questions for their peers on work in hand
Give marks for good questions rather than good answers
When a question is proving difficult, ask a pupil to ask the question again
For a difficult question, have pupils write answers prior to class discussion of them
When you ask a pupil a question, don’t move towards the pupil, but move away so that the rest of the class feels involved
Use the plenary at the end of the lesson to exploit question types
Similarly in the review session at the beginning of the next lesson
Promote the idea of asking questions through internet search engines
Invite a pupil to teach part of a lesson, including appropriate questions
When a question is proving difficult, invite a pupil to ask the question again – this time rephrasing it
For a difficult question, have pupils write answers prior to class discussion of them
Invite a pupil to teach part of a lesson, including appropriate questions

Reflection and Discussion

Do you feel that your use of questioning is varied and effective?

Are there ways in which you could consider developing your use of questions?
Do you use questions which encourage pupils to think more deeply, and apply to their existing knowledge to further generate new understanding?

Some Activities Relating To the Issue of Approaches to Questioning

Key element	Objective	Action
Some examples and suggestions
Purpose of Questioning	Pupils can be invited to ask questions themselves	Have groups work on different, narrowly focused topics and make up questions for the rest of the class. Other groups then discuss the questions.
Types of Questions	Higher-order questions will invite the pupil to explore an idea and give a more expansive answer.	Ask pupils (groups?) to consider questions of an extremely "woolly" nature, to which you don't have an answer yourself. Make clear that you don't "know the answer" and then have the class consider different responses.
Bloom's Taxonomy	Differentiation in formulation of questions.	In planning a block of work, write down questions which would relate to each of the six areas , trying to ensure that there is a question appropriate for every level of ability in the class.
Teacher Self-Evaluation	It is believed to be important that teachers take stock of their use of questions.	Have a colleague observe a lesson with a checklist of things you wish to consider. Your colleague would record data relating to these things in an objective way. Reciprocate.
Practical Strategies	When a question is proving difficult, ask a pupil to ask the question again.	This may prove difficult, suggesting that the class has not understood the question, so invite discussion of where the problem lies.