Questioning to deepen understanding

Transcription

1 Questioning to deepen understanding Effective questioning WHY ask questions? Raising Questions The questioning environment Make mistakes! Climate control in class How? When? It ain t what you do

2 Why ask questions? Elicit - to summarise and review prior learning Engage -to draw pupils into the lesson Expect to demonstrate that you expect everyone to take an active part Focus to drill down into key ideas Diagnose to find out what the difficulties could be Aid memory / to help make connections Encourage discussion

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4 Effective questioning? Questioning can be highly effective when Reinforces learning objectives Maintains lesson flow Involves ALL pupils Requires that children will reflect and speculate on their learning Asks the children's views Connects previous and current learning

5 Hail Bloom! Benjamin Bloom s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, 1957 is still viewed as a KEY model for effective questioning

6 Creating the right climate No one wants to be wrong Easier questions don t make children feel safer they can simply increase the fear! Studies show that the older children get, the less likely they are to take risks How do you create the right classroom environment? Share your ideas All contributions valued!

7 DANGER! Pupil Passivity Picture the pupil in your class that answers I don t know or resists answering questions (with every bit of their being!). Why do you think they are passive? DANGER! It can be demotivating for the teacher and contagious amongst pupils.

8 All aboard! Picture the children in your class who put their hands up whenever you ask a question. How many are happy for the hand-wavers to answer? How can we overcome this? Increase the chance of everyone thinking Strategies to see who is thinking Lolly sticks No hands up Think, pair, share Random name pickers Mini whiteboards Number fans Thumbs up/down Multiple choice Yes/No cards

9 How can we question effectively? Some ideas for questioning Extend and lift What is a square number? Can you show me using three different pieces of maths equipment? Narrow to broad Narrow (low order) give a number less than 20 which is even and a multiple of 4 Broader (mid order) which numbers between 1-10 can be multiplied by an even number to give an even answer? Broad (higher order) can two even numbers ever be added together to make an odd number?

10 How can we question effectively? Open and closed Open no single correct answer Closed a single correct answer yes/no or a name Opening the doors Is could become could be Which could become give me one Why could become in what ways What could become can you think of different ways to

11 How can we question effectively? Hinge questions Tells you what pupils understand The outcome will determine the direction of the rest of the lesson / next lesson Important elements of hinge questions Know what everyone thinks Choose a response system where everyone takes part You need to be able to collect the responses HARD TO WRITE!

12 How can we question effectively? The same but different? Use a Venn Diagram to demonstrate the similarities and differences between a parallelogram and a square. If a circle was an animal what animal would it be and why?

13 How can we question effectively? Fermi Questions Enrico Fermi (Google this!) A Fermi question is posed with limited information given - How many water balloons would it take to fill the school gymnasium? A Fermi question requires that students ask many more questions. How big is a water balloon? What are the approximate dimensions of the gym? A Fermi question demands communication. A Fermi question uses estimation. A Fermi question emphasizes process rather than "the" answer. Can we generate a bank of Fermi questions for maths?

14 Ok, so got the killer questions? Now it s down to delivery! Beware! Adult speech rate = average 170 words per minute 5-7 year olds processing speed = 120 words per minute

15 Top tips for effective delivery Display the question Eye contact - establish climate control Wait time POSE PAUSE POUNCE (3-5 seconds is optimum) Thinking takes time be patient No hands up (but don t let selection system take over!) Class brainstorm

16 Top tips for effective delivery Thumbs up / down / middle Mini whiteboards / show me Multiple choice Thinking partners Random selection Alice, choose a number between 3 and 9. Tom (pose Q) Write on your mini whiteboards one strategy you might try this week

17 Avoid Asking too many questions at once can be confusing and distracting Answering your own question! Find the cause of any road blocks think about the question and the intention Asking then repeating children will stop listening the first time!

18 How are you getting on? Reflect Plan to teach a lesson, and ask a colleague to peer assess your questioning technique. You might consider: How many questions in first 10 mins of lesson How many were open / closed How many questions had wait time? Did you pose, pause, pounce? What was your body language like? Did you avoid responding to hands up? Did you choose the same pupils?

19 Reflection Do your questions move thinking on towards the learning objective? Do they increase challenge? What kinds of questions do you ask the most? Do you sometimes ask BIG questions? Do you vary the response types? How often? Do you use one response type more for one subject than another? Do the children listen to each others responses? How do you know?