Questioning
NI Curric
Ask fewer questions Avoid using questions to bridge transitions
Raise the quality of your questioning Consider the purpose of your questions. If you want to know what the pupils’ knowledge is, ask a closed question (a question with one right answer). However, if you want to probe their understanding,
Most educationists are aware of the potential of high quality questioning to deepen learners’ understanding of new concepts; we just need to find ways to tap into it.
Give pupils time to think
Avoid ‘shotgun’ questioning Ask questions one at a time,
Use ‘no hands up’
Encourage pupil questioning
Black et al
NO waiting time . questions calling
for memorized facts.
No hands
• Unless specifically asked
teachers do not plan and conduct classroom dialogue
in ways that might help students to learn
But many teachers find it hard to do this,
habit
Pupils are comfortable with giving a wrong answer.
click to edit
brainstorm ideas, perhaps in pairs, for two to
three minutes before the teacher asks for contributions.
planning ques
— were they just instant one-word answers — wh a t
were they testing — knowledge or understanding
— was I giving the class enough time to answer the
question, was I quickly accepting the correct answ e r
• Follow-up activities have to be rich, in that they create
opportunities to extend students’ understanding.