QUESTIONS TO HELP STUDENTS CONSTRUCT KNOWLEDGE
A learning cycle tutorial lesson plan
Outcomes
1. Determine how many convergent and divergent questions you ask before completing the lesson.
2. Time wait time between the end of the question and the student response.
3. Practice writing questions using a tool such as the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy of the HRASE Guide.
4. Write short-term goals to improve questioning behaviors.
5. Communicate goals and expectations to your students.
Introduction
Do you find yourself asking simple questions just so students will respond? Would you like to have your students be more engaged in class? How do you get students to think more deeply about a topic? I think all instructors would like to have students become cognitively engaged in class but give up in frustration when no one answers the questions posed.
What follows are a few hints that have worked for me over the years to get students to discuss beyond the surface of a topic. I will have to issue a warning up front—the change takes time and practice. You will not experience overnight success! In fact, I’ve read that it can take 15 months for students to really take off and engage in substantive discussions. We at tribal colleges are more fortunate than many college instructors because we usually see our students for several classes so that they can adjust to your questioning strategies and realize that you expect them to “think”!
Engage
Tape yourself (audio or video) while leading a discussion.
Explore
Listen to/watch the tape and keep track of the following things:
a. How many of your questions demand a single correct answer from the
students? [CONVERGENT QUESTIONS]
b. How many of your questions require that the students apply, analyze, or
evaluate information [DIVERGENT QUESTIONS]
c. How much time elapses between the end of your question and when a student
responds? Is there any difference in the wait time between divergent and
convergent questions?
Explain
Do you write questions ahead of time?
It is hard to generate good questions off the top of your head. I have received many compliments on the questions I raise to promote discussion. I always share with those individuals that those questions didn’t ‘just happen’—I planned them ahead of time. Here are the steps I follow in writing questions:
1. What are the learning outcomes for the discussion? These may be tied to the
overall section goals or objectives. I try to communicate these to the students
prior to the start of class either via Power Point slide or on a handout.
2. Look at the questions in the instructor’s guide or lab manuals to see if those
might be helpful in getting a good discussion going.
3. I have a couple of tools I use to help me write questions. These are guides for
helping you write the kind of questions that will help you meet your outcomes.
a. Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy—
http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/blooms.htm
b. HRASE
http://flash.lisd.net/curriculum/Elem/science/HRASEQuestionModel.pdf
Tips for getting students involved
1. Many of your students have learned over the years to be passive in the classroom. If they don’t respond, the teacher will answer the question for them. Start by asking students a question during a lecture. Ask them to jot down 1-3 ideas related to the question. Give them time to write. Now they have something written they can share with a partner or the class. For more ideas on asking questions in lecture you might want to look at the following article:
Gullette, M. (1992). Leading discussion in a lecture course: Some maxims and an exhortation. Change,23 (2), 32-39.
2. Create an atmosphere where questions are welcomed and expected. You can make a written list of answers, both right and wrong, and then have students evaluate the list looking for inconsistencies.
3. Don’t begin with your most difficult questions. Develop a sequence of questions that will challenge the students to move from remembering to applying and analyzing. On the other hand, don’t insult your students by asking the obvious!
4. Remember to give students time to think. This is called wait-time 1; 3-5 seconds is the recommended minimum time before a student begins a response to your question. Questions requiring more thought should be given a greater wait-time. Wait-time 2 is also important. This is the time after a student is finished before the teacher jumps in with a comment or another question. I’ve found that a wait of as little as 3 seconds can promote elaboration by the student or even responses from other students.
(There is some excellent research on how wait time improves both the length and quality of student responses. A classic article by Mary Budd Rowe (1974) in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching laid the foundation for work in this area.)
5. Listen to the students. Don’t be so focused on what you want the student to say that you miss what could be a fruitful line of discussion. You might uncover student misconceptions this way or you might gain new insights into how students are understanding the material. I often make notes of key words or ideas that I will come back to later in the lecture or discussion. Those key words can help tie lines of discussion together too. Ask probing questions to get the students to elaborate and explain their thinking. And don’t be afraid to tell a student that you are having trouble “connecting the dots” or that a particular line of thought would be better pursued another day.
Elaborate
Put the ideas into practice
1. Write one or two questions that you would like to ask in lecture or lab. Have the students write 1-3 ideas down before calling for responses. Note what happens as you repeat this behavior over the course of several class periods.
2. Plan a discussion time. Write your outcomes first. Then generate questions that will help students reach the outcomes. Share the outcomes with your students before class begins. Tape the discussion.
3. Review the tape to evaluate the following things:
a. Time wait-time 1 and wait-time 2. Did you give students time to think?
b. What level of response did you get to each question? (I would use one of the
taxonomies to help figure this out. Remember, it will take time to get students
to move beyond simple remembering to start applying and analyzing.)
c. What evidence do you have that you listened to students? Note what probing
questions you asked.
4. Write a goal that will help you improve in ONE area of questioning. Repeat this behavior until you have reached a level that satisfies you.
Evaluate
Asking good questions requires practice just as a carpenter must practice using a tool to become a master at using that tool.