Asking Better Questions

Contents Page

Page
Setting the context / 3
Reading 1 / 4
Bloom’s taxonomy
Reading 2 / 6
Spot the difference
Reading 3 / 9
Some ideas for asking better questions
Reading 4 / 10
Using questions effectively
Four strategies for devising effective questions
Ideas for asking questions better activity
Questioning activity
Spot the difference answers / 19

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Cambridge Education1

Asking Better Questions

“The most successful teachers all engage in above average levels of interaction with the students. This appears to be an important determinant of student progress.”

Maurice Galton and Brian Simon

“Many teachers without intending it constrict the ways in which students are able to participate in lessons and then complain when children will not talk.”

Douglas Barnes

“A good question is an invitation to think, or to do. It stimulates because it is open-ended, with possibilities and problems. A good question will generate more questions.”

Robert Fisher

“Successful people ask better questions and as a result get better answers.”

Anthony Robbins

Cambridge Education1

Asking Better Questions

Page 1 of 22

Asking Better Questions Booklet

Asking Better Questions

Setting the context

Questioning is one of the four practical areas of assessment for learning:

Sharing learning intentions and success criteria with students
Asking better questions: using questions that cause thinking and giving students more support to answer them
Making feedback count: improving the quality of verbal and written feedback you give to students
Promoting assessment by students: developing peer and self assessment to help students to give each other feedback as they are learning

The diagram below shows the links between the four areas of assessment for learning. Questioning plays a crucial role in 3 and 4.

Reading 1 – Bloom’s Taxonomy

The “Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives” was first developed by Benjamin Bloom in the 1950’s. It was revised in the 1990’s by Lorin Anderson.

1.Remembering: can take various types of information and recall it when needed. / 3.Applying: can use a learned skill in a new situation. / 5.Creating: can combine existing elements to create something new.
prompts / prompts / prompts

What happened after...?
How many....?
Who was it that...?
Who spoke to....?
Find the meaning of...
Which is true...?

Do you know of an instance where....?
Can you apply this method to some experience of your own...?
What facts can change if....?
Would this information be useful to you if you had to...?
Could this have happened in....?

Is there a better solution...?
Judge the value of....
Defend your position about....
How would you feel if...?
What changes would you recommend and why?
What do you think about...?
Why do you think that?

2.Understanding: can give meaning to information at a basic level. / 4.Analyzing: Can break down information into parts and relate the parts to the whole. / 6.Evaluating: can make an objective judgement about the value of something based on a recognised standard.
prompts / prompts / prompts

Can you write in your own words...?
What do you think...?
What was the main idea of...?
Can you distinguish between...?
Can you provide an example of what you mean by...?

How is this similar to...?
Which event could not have happened if...?
How was this similar to...?
Why did...occur?
What are some of the problems of...?
What was the turning point in the story...?

Can you design a ...to...?
What is a possible solution to....?
What would happen if...?
Can you think of some new and unusual uses for...?
How would you devise a way to...?

Can you develop a proposal that would....?

/ Examples of different levels of questions
Goldilocks and the Three Bears / A topic on weather / The Second World War
remembering: / remembering: / remembering:
What happens in the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears? / What kinds of weather do we get? / What were evacuees and what happened to them?
understanding: / understanding: / understanding:
Why did Goldilocks like the little bear’s bed best? / Why we need to know about the weather? / Why were children evacuated from the cities?
applying: / applying: / applying:
What would you have done if you were Goldilocks? / How does the weather affect us? / What would it have been like to be an evacuee?
analyzing: / analyzing: / analyzing:
Was Goldilocks a good or a bad girl? / What problems are changes in the weather causing the world? / What were some of the problems that the people taking the evacuees might have had?
evaluating: / evaluating: / evaluating:
Which part of the story of Goldilocks did you like best? / What have you learned about the weather? / What more do you need to find out about the home front during the Second World War?
creating: / creating: / creating:
Can you make up a different end to the story? / Compose a poem about the weather. / How could the evacuation have been handled better?
Health Warning
Don’t get hung up on the categories. You will note that some of the questions above - especially the higher order ones – might belong equally well in more than one category. Also, don’t think that students need to be able to answer the lower order questions before they can tackle the higher order ones. Learning doesn’t always work that way.

Reading 2 – Spot the Difference

The first episode is an extract from a lesson about electricity:

Teacher: / Right. I want everyone to concentrate now, because you need some information before you start today’s experiment. OK today we are going to find out about these …
Holds up an ammeter.
Teacher: / Anyone know what we call these and where you might find one?
Starts to walk round and show groups the ammeter.
Two hands go up in the class.
Teacher: / Look carefully. Where have you seen something like this? You might have seen something like it before. What is it involved with? It’s got a special name …
Three more hands go up. The teacher selects one of these students.
Teacher: / Yes … Jay?
Jay: / In electricity, sir.
Teacher: / That’s right. You can use these in electric circuits. Anyone know what it is called? This word here helps. Can you read what it says? Carolyn?
Carolyn: / Amps.
Teacher: / And what is this instrument called that measures in amps?
Pause of 2 seconds. No hands go up.
Teacher: / No? No-one? Well, it’s an ammeter because it measures in amps? What’s it called, Jamie?
Jamie: / A clock, sir.
Teacher: / You weren’t listening Jamie. It might look like a clock but it is called an …?
The teacher pauses and looks round class. 6 hands shoot up.
Teacher: / Richard?
Richard: / An amp meter sir.
Teacher: / Nearly. Carolyn?
Carolyn: / An ammeter.
Teacher: / Thank you. What’s it called Jamie?
Jamie: / An ammeter.
Teacher: / That’s right. An ammeter. And where do we find these ammeters? Monica?
Monica shrugs her shoulders.
6 children have their hands raised.
Teacher: / No idea. Tell her Rebecca.
Rebecca: / In electric circuits.
Teacher: / Good. I am starting to spot which of you are sleeping today. Are we with it now Monica?
Monica nods.
Teacher: / Right. Now we are going to use these ammeters in our practical today and so gather round and I will show you how it works. Quietly please.

This second extract, from a lesson about photosynthesis, was taken some 7 months later:

Teacher: / We are going to look at the way plants feed today. I know you’ve done some work on this in your primary school and I am going to give you time to think that over and to tell your neighbour about what you know, or think you know already.
Students start looking at one another and a few whispers are heard.
Teacher: / Hang on. Not yet. I want to give you something to think about.
The teacher produces two geranium plants from behind his desk. One is healthy and large and the other is quite spindly.
Teacher: / Now when Mrs James potted these two plants last spring, they were about the same size but look at them now. I think they might have been growing in different places in her prep room. I also think it’s got something to do with the way that plants feed. So have a think, then talk to your partner. Why do you think these plants have grown differently?
The class erupts into loud discussion in pairs. The teacher goes over to a side bench and checks apparatus. After 4 minutes, the teacher returns to the front and stops the class discussion.
Teacher: / OK. Ideas?
About half the class put up their hands. Teacher waits for 3 seconds. A few more hands go up.
Teacher: / Monica – your group? Pair?
Monica: / That one’s grown bigger because it was on the window. (pointing)
Teacher: / On the window? Mmm. What do you think Jamie?
Jamie: / We thought that …
Teacher: / You thought …?
Jamie: / That the big ‘un had eaten up more light.
Teacher: / I think I know what Monica and Jamie are getting at, but can anyone put the ideas together? Window – light – plants?
Again about half the class put up their hands. The teacher chooses a child who has not put up his hand.
Teacher: / Richard.
Richard: / Err yes. We thought, me and Dean, that it had grown bigger because it was getting more food.
Some students stretch their hand up higher. The teacher points to Susan and nods.
Susan: / No it grows where there’s a lot of light and that’s near the window.
Teacher: / Mmm. Richard and Dean think the plant’s getting more food. Susan … and Stacey as well? Yes. Susan thinks it’s because this plant is getting more light. What do others think? Tariq?
Tariq: / It’s the light causes photosynthesis. Plants feed by photosynthesis.
The teacher writes photosynthesis on the board.
Teacher: / Who else has heard this word before?
The teacher points to the board.
Almost all hands go up.
Teacher: / OK. Well can anyone put Plant, Light, Window and Photosynthesis together and tell me why these two plants have grown differently?
The teacher waits 12 seconds. 10 hands went up immediately he stopped speaking. 5 more go up in the pause.
Teacher: / Okay. Carolyn?
Carolyn: / The plant … The big plant has been getting more light by the window and because plants make their own food by photosynthesis, it’s …
Jamie: / Bigger.
Teacher: / Thanks Jamie. What do others think about Carolyn’s idea?
Many students nod.
Teacher: / Yes it’s bigger because it has more light and can photosynthesise more. So Richard and Dean, how does your idea fit in with this?
Dean: / It was wrong sir.
Richard: / No it wasn’t. We meant that. Photosynthesis. Plant food.
Dean: / Yeah.
Teacher: / So. Can you tell us your idea again but use the word photosynthesis as well this time?
Richard: / Photosynthesis is what plants do when they feed and get bigger.
Teacher: / Not bad. Remember that when we come to look at explaining the experiment that we are going to do today.

Source of extracts:

Paul Black et al “Working Inside the Black Box.”

Reading 3 - Some ideas for asking better questions

Reflect on why you ask questions

It has been said that a classroom is the most complicated social system in the universe, and this is a claim that resonates with teachers. It follows that much of what teachers do on a daily basis is intuitive and instinctive. It has to be for us to cope, let alone do a good job. So questioning – as one of the basic tools of our trade – is intuitive. We are not often aware of how many questions we are asking let alone what kinds of questions we are asking.

It is therefore worth standing back and reflecting on this area of work. Quite a bit of research has been done into teachers’ questioning, and much of it suggests that a very small percentage of questions that teachers ask are “higher order” questions. These encourage students to talk and think. Ted Wragg’s (1993) analysis of a thousand teacher questions gave the following breakdown:

What do you think would be the average breakdown in your classroom on an average day? Do you think it would vary depending on:

The age group you are teaching?
The topic you are teaching?
Whether you are interacting with the class as a whole, with a group of students or with an individual?

Have you ever thought of recording yourself and doing analysis? Or of making questioning the focus of a classroom observation by a colleague?

Reading 4 - Using questions effectively

Some questions are better than others at providing teachers with assessment opportunities. Changing the way a question is phrased can make a significant difference to:

The thought processes students need to go through
The language demands on students
The extent to which students reveal their understanding
The number of questions needed to make an assessment of students’ current understanding

For example, a teacher wants to find out if students know the properties of prime numbers:

The teacher asks “Is 7 a prime number?”

A student responds, “Err…Yes, I think so”, or “No, it’s not.”

This question has not enabled the teacher to make an effective measurement of whether the student knows the properties of prime numbers. Changing the question to “Why is 7 an example of a prime number?” does several things:

It helps students recall their knowledge of the properties of prime numbers and the properties of 7 and compare them. They then decide whether 7 is an example of a prime number.

This question requires students to explain their understanding of prime numbers and use this to justify their reasoning. The response requires a higher degree of articulation than “Err…Yes, I think so.”An answer to the question might be: “Yes, because prime numbers have exactly two factors and 7 has exactly two factors. So 7 is a prime number.”

It also provides an opportunity to make an assessment without necessarily asking supplementary questions. The question, “Is 7 a prime number?”requires follow-up questions to get a full response on which to make an assessment.

Here are some other types of questions that are also effective in providing assessment opportunities in mathematics:

Cambridge Education 1

Asking Better Questions

How can you be sure that…?

What is the same and what is different about…?

Is it ever/always true/false that…?

Why do _, _, _ all give the same answer?

How do you…?

How would you explain…?

What does this tell us about…?

What is wrong with…?

Why is _ true?

Cambridge Education 1

Asking Better Questions

Source: QCA, England 2003

Cambridge Education 1

Asking Better Questions

Four strategies for devising effective questions

1Provide a range of answers

This involves asking a question and giving a range of possible answers which include definite yes answers, definite no answers and some ambiguous answers. Dylan Wiliam (2006) gives an example of how this works using an example of a range of answers from a secondary school science lesson:

What can we do to preserve the ozone layer?

Reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced by cars and factories
Reduce the greenhouse effect
Stop the cutting down of forests
Limit the number of cars that can be used when the ozone level gets high
Properly dispose of air-conditioners and fridges

The teacher then asks the students to hold up one, two, three, four or five fingers depending on whether they think the answer is A,B,C,D or E. From this she knows whether the students have learnt or need more teaching. Another teacher gets the students to group with others who have the same answer: they go to a corner of the room and plan together how they are going to persuade the students in the other corners that they are wrong (the correct answer is E because it is a question about the ozone layer not global warming).

Other examples…….

What do we need for life?

water/telephones/clothing/cars/shelter/food

Are these foodstuffs good for you?

chocolate, fruit, milk, meat, fat, sugar, water, butter, margarine, rice, pudding, motor oil, black pudding

Which words are verbs?

door, run, climb, red, slide, spill, cycle, shout

Which things are needed to plan a route?

compass, watch, map, GPS, trundle wheel, car, flag, atlas, globe

Which of these languages features would you need to use if you were going to write a diary entry?

formal language, past tense, abbreviations, technical language, named people, present tense, informal language