How to Ask Open-Ended Questions

CLEO: A framework for effective teaching and learning

How to ask Open-ended Questions

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Open-ended questions require analytical, critical thinking and reasoning skills. They should engage the Discussion Group in meaningful discussion and debate.

It is often more difficult to write an open-ended question, especially the right question, than it is to supply an answer!

Being able to write/ask good questions is an essential skill for effective communication and can be used anytime such as in job interviews, to ensure you are getting the right information from say a teacher/boss, to make sure you are following instructions correctly.

Open ended questions have the following features:

They are NOT questions that demand a single correct response (eg. yes or no).

They will often ask you to express an opinion or interpretation of something.

They can be very focussed, and require you to refer back to the text to answer the question or to support your opinion/interpretation.

They can be very broad and look at themes or issues in a book.

They may ask you to:

analyse (give your interpetaion based on reading/data).
compare and contrast (look at 2 different themes or 2 different aspects of the same theme to determine differences and similarities).
problem-solve (using available information to work out different scenarios, suggest other ways to solve problems posed by the text).

evaluate (give your opinion about a text, with examples to support your answer).

They always require a detailed answer.

Tips for Writing Open-ended Questions

Open-ended questions involve words like who, what, when, where, why, and how.
If you use phrases such as What do you think about ..., or How does this affect ..., or What is your opinion of ..., or How do you feel about ... - you should also ask for reasons, excerpts or information to back up answers.
Don't make the question too long. Keep your questions focussed and to the point.
Read your text carefully. Ask yourself - What are the main themes, ideas, issues or concepts being covered?
Now take your answers and create some questions - your first question to the group could be the one you asked yourself!
Look at how the text is written. What is it? - a biography, a diary, a picture book? Is it written in the first person (steam of consciousness), from another person's point of view (a narrator), in the third person (narrator unseen). Ask questions about this aspect. Does the way the author has chosen to write the story affect how you (the reader) receive it?
If it is a nonfiction book, consider layout and how the book is put together to relay information.
Another way of stimulating discussion is to make a statement and then ask team members to explain why they agree or disagree.