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Highland Literacy Project

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.uk/hlp

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LS September 2009

The Highland Literacy Project

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QUESTIONING THE TEXT

Effective questioning is the one of the most crucial aspects in the teaching of literacy.

The types of questions a teacher uses during core and whole class reading lessons (primary) and learning in any secondary subject have a direct impact on the development of the pupils thinking skills and their ability to use language to explain meaning. Questioning can challenge and engage the pupils in their own learning; it can promote problem solving and help them understand the writer’s skills. Questioning can develop their reasoning, their analytical skills and their understanding.

However, questioning can also have limited effect as research has consistently shown that the large majority of questions asked by teachers relate to only to recall and comprehension.

This booklet is intended to show how to improve questioning to allow pupils, not only opportunities to extend their literacy skills, but also to show how questioning can engage pupils in the learning process.

Collaborative learning

HLP promotes the use of collaborative learning during the teacher’s questioning of

a text. Rather than ask individuals for an answer or expect ‘hands up’, pupils should be encouraged to discuss in pairs both their answer and their explanation behind their thinking. They should be encouraged to find the evidence in the text or note clues that point them towards their thinking.

By working collaboratively, pupils are given opportunities to hear other points of view and to widen their own knowledge and understanding. It allows for thinking time and time to articulate these thoughts.

The teacher will then have a pool of ideas to gather and discuss rather than a

single answer..

Points Arising from Research

The following section. Points arising from research, is taken from the Highland Learning & teaching toolkit at:

highlandschools-.uk/ltt/inclusive_enjoyable/questioning.htm

|[|Improving questioning was one of the keys to raising attainment identified by Black and William in Inside the Black Box (see Formative Assessment) |

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|[|Teachers ask 300-400 questions per day (though many of these are procedural |

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|[|Most teachers’ questions are lower-order. Increasing higher-order questions to around 50% of the total can raise attainment and improve pupil |

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|[|Most teachers’ questions are answered in less than a second, often by the teacher him- or herself. Increasing wait time to 3 seconds for lower order |

|p|questions and 10 seconds for higher order ones improves the number and quality of answers |

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|[|Pupils fear being made to look silly and this inhibits them in answering |

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|[|The importance of pupils articulating ideas themselves means that it is important to try to get them to ask questions |

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|[|Low ability and younger children benefit from questions after looking at source material; high ability pupils benefit from being given questions |

|p|before source material |

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|[|When pupils ask questions this can lead to more talk, higher-level thinking and can give social benefits |

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Types of questions:

|CLOSED |Closed questions call for a simple factual response and may often be answered by “Yes” or “No |

|OPEN |Open questions invite a more extensive response, often without “rightness” or “wrongness” being an issue |

|LOWER ORDER |Lower-order questions may simply call for a memorised fact and/or may invite a simple who, when, where? response to a piece|

| |of text. It may call for a simple description of a person, place or incident taken directly from the text. |

|HIGHER ORDER |Higher-order questions will invite the pupil to explore an idea and give a more expansive answer. They may be expected to |

| |justify, infer or analyse and to make comparisons and judgements. |

[pic]Effective Questioning…

✓ Requires an atmosphere where pupils know their contributions will be valued by pupils and teacher alike.

✓ Provides opportunities for pupils to ask their own questions and to provide feedback to each other

✓ Allows time for pupils to think and to share thoughts with others

✓ Engages pupils in thinking for themselves

✓ encourages pupils to speculate and hypothesis

✓ makes connections between prior learning and new learning

✓ reinforces and revisits learning objectives

✓ involves ALL pupils

✓ promotes justification and reasoning

✓ challenges pupils’ thinking and ideas

✓ encourages pupils to consider implications and consequences

✓ allows pupils to judge the value and reliability of the source

✓ gives time to articulate their thoughts and to expand and explain their thinking

✓ gives opportunities to relate the information to their own experiences

✓ encourages pupils to see both sides of an argument/view point

✓ allows them to see the strengths and weaknesses of their own and others’ opinions

✓ engages and challenges

✓ promotes pupils’ thinking about the way they have learned and leads to them taking responsibly for future learning

✓ allows the teacher to check understanding and learning

✓ promotes effective listening and talking skills

✓ include speculating- where pupils give reasons for ‘what if..’ questions

✓ request adding to or challenging answers provided by others

✓ is ACTIVE

[pic]Not so effective questioning…

x a period of interrogation takes place until the ‘right’ answer is reached.

x too many closed questions

x teachers retain total control over the process so that pupils do not have

opportunities to initiate questions or provide feedback

x teachers do not include collaborative learning

x is PASSIVE

Particular Issues for Secondary Pupils

It has often been argued that because of the content to be ‘delivered’ in secondary schools, in order to pass exams, teachers have fewer opportunities to ask Higher-order questions which require collaboration with others.

In many classes, pupils talk only in response to teachers’ questioning by putting up their hands and waiting to be chosen. This, however, can often result in:

~ the same pupils answering questions each time

~ pupils without hands up actually being asked more often, resulting in embarrassment

~ pupils becoming disengaged in their learning

~ pupils may become disruptive because of this

~ the teacher having a false idea about the understanding of the content

~shy pupils not speaking at all

~ at any given time, all the interaction being between one pupil and the teacher

~ the lesson being dominated by teacher talk

The time taken up with ‘hands- ups’ sessions could be devoted to paired/trio discussion. This will result in:

~ greater involvement by all

~ pupils more confident to respond

~ less time spent waiting

~ more focussed learning

~ inclusive

~ pupils taking responsibility for their learning

~ greater retention of knowledge

~ better understanding

~greater satisfaction

~ pupils learn from each other

~ pupils more likely to give extended answers

BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

There are different ways of categorising types of questions from lower order to higher order- one system of analysing questions is through BLOOM’S TAXONOMY

Findings from Bloom’s research

• The large majority of questions asked by teachers are lower order questions and come from the first two categories, which relate to factual recall and comprehension.

• Few questions come from the other key categories, which relate to higher-order thinking skills.

• Pupils’ levels of achievement can be increased by regular practice of higher-order thinking skills.

|Knowledge |Describe | |

| |Identify | |

|Recall of factual information |Who, Where, when? | |

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| | |Description |

|Comprehension |Translate | |

| |Predict | |

|Showing understanding of the information |Why? | |

|recalled | | |

|Higher Order Questioning |

|Application |Demonstrate how | |

| |Solve | |

|Consideration of practical relevance of |Try it in a new context | |

|information | | |

| | |Appreciation |

|Analysis |Explain | |

| |Infer | |

|Ability to investigate elements of the |Analyse | |

|information | | |

|Synthesis |Design | |

| |Create | |

|Using the information to move forward in a |Compose | |

|creative way | | |

| | |Interpretation |

|Evaluation |Assess | |

| |Compare/contrast | |

|Ability to make judgements about the nature |Judge | |

|of information | | |

ACTIVITIES FOR SELF and/or PEER REFLECTION

1) During a teacher led session, check the types of questions asked against Bloom’s Taxonomy. Are you asking questions in each category?

Where do you need to increase questioning?

Peer evaluation – ask a colleague to check what types of questions you use.

2) Use the Connect Publications [taken from Heacox (2002)] check list below during a teacher led session. These are all considered to be higher order questions. Ask a colleague to help. Alternatively, use the list when devising questions to use in your lesson.

50 templates for improving teaching and learning Section 9: Checklists for reflective teachers

© Connect Publications 2007

Do my questions encourage higher-order thinking?

|Do I use the following kinds of questions? |( |? |x |

|Clarification questions |

|What is meant by ........................................................................................ ? | | | |

|What are the big ideas in ............................................................................ ? | | | |

|How does................................relate to....................................................... ? | | | |

|What is the main problem with .................................................................... ? | | | |

|Can you explain .......................................................................................... | | | |

|Checking assumptions |

|What assumptions are being made? | | | |

|Describe some viewpoints on this | | | |

|Is this always the case? | | | |

|In what ways might these arguments be biased? | | | |

|To what extent can we rely on this information? | | | |

|Providing reasons and evidence |

|What evidence is there for........................................................................... ? | | | |

|Why do you agree/disagree? | | | |

|How could we find out? | | | |

|How much support is there for .................................................................... ? | | | |

|How strong is the evidence for .................................................................... ? | | | |

|What are the strengths and weaknesses of these arguments? | | | |

|Viewpoints |

|Why do some people think .......................................................................... ? | | | |

|What evidence do people use to argue that ................................................ ? | | | |

|Give a counterargument to the idea that ....................................................... | | | |

|Explain the opposite view to your own opinion | | | |

|What would you do if ..................................................................... and why? | | | |

|What would ........................................................... do in the circumstances | | | |

|Implications and consequences |

|What might have happened if...................................................................... ? | | | |

|What would have been the consequences of .............................................. ? | | | |

|Were there alternatives to ........................................................................... ? | | | |

|How could this outcome have been changed? | | | |

|What difference would it have made if......................................................... ? | | | |

|Predictions |

|What is likely to happen if ........................................................................... ? | | | |

|What are the possible outcomes of ............................................................. ? | | | |

|Evaluate the evidence to predict | | | |

CORE READING Suggestions

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Key point – HLP believes that all pupils, no matter their age and stage, should be asked higher order questions. The differentiation comes in the form of the text.

Key point – If the teacher uses higher order questions during teacher led core reading session; questions which require thinking and pair discussion, he/she will release some short periods of time to check that independent groups are engaged and understand the task.

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Key point – In core reading, the teacher does not always need to have pre-read the chapter to be questioned. By posing a Higher-order question, such as ‘What do you think was the big idea in that chapter?’, pupils are extending their thinking skills and the teacher is given a synopsis of the chapter from which to elicit more answers.

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Key point – In reading for information lessons [any subject], use techniques such as ‘What do you already know about…? What do you want to know?

What questions will help you find out? How will you find out?

Encourage pupils to ask their own questions.

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Key point – It is not possible, nor beneficial to hear what every group thinks. This can take too long, slow the pace and can be repetitive. Firstly, train the pupils not to repeat what has already been said. Secondly ask one pair to feedback, then simply ask another pair if they agree/disagree and why. Perhaps ask another pair to expand/explain further.

Thirdly, the teacher should NOT automatically repeat what the pupil has said.

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