Teacher questioning is part of the rhythm of classroom work. Teachers ask questions for a variety of reasons, e.g. to check for understanding, to reinforce learning, to clarify significant points in the lesson, and so on. Assessment for learning focuses specifically on ways in which the teacher can plan and conduct classroom dialogue so as to help students to learn better. In doing so it looks at the kinds of questions that are most helpful and at the rhythm of the questioning itself.
Classroom questions generally come in two kinds:
Closed questions, which look for a predetermined 'right' answer. Teachers use closed questions when they want to determine the level of information recall or simple comprehension. Some of the traditional 'w-questions' are good examples of this form of questioning:
- what happened?
- who was involved?
- when did it happen?
- where did it happen?
Open questions, which allow for a range of responses and aim to 'open up' a topic or extend the learning possibilities for students. They encourage students to think beyond the literal, simple answers and they enable teachers to extend the students' understanding. Open questions are sometimes referred to as 'higher order' questions because they encourage students to
- apply what they have learnt - can you find similar themes/patterns/concerns in other areas of your work?
- analyse what they are learning - what makes you think that? Do you agree with this point of view?
- synthesise different aspects of their learning - how does this viewpoint affect your views on...? Given what you know about a, what do now you think about b?
- evaluate different aspects of what they have learnt - what makes this a successful piece of work? Could it be better? Is it as good as x? Which is better, and why?
Questions for the teacher
In questioning their students most teachers use a combination of closed and open questions depending on the context of a particular learning situation. However, it is important that teachers reflect on and question the rhythm of their own questioning, especially the wait time they allow before asking another question or seeking a definite answer to a question that has just been posed. Clearly this applies in particular to the use of open question types.
Assessment for learning shares two vitally important pieces of information with students: the learning intention of each 'session' and the criteria for success in this 'piece' of learning. In order to assist students in the process of evaluating their own learning the teacher will focus on two questions: can the students remember the learning intention and can they remember the criteria for success before moving on to evaluation of the learning itself?
Students asking questions
Asking questions is a natural and important part of the learning cycle. Students can spend a lot of classroom and homework time answering questions but they benefit considerably when they are encouraged to pose questions themselves around the learning topic. What is intended here is not simply that the students ask the questions and the teacher answers them! Rather, the intention is to encourage students to adopt a broadly interrogative approach to their own learning so that they use questions to:
- explore or unlock key ideas
- identify what they already know
- establish what they need to discover
- help them in more effective note-taking
Where the intention in a homework assignment is preparation for a further lesson, students can usefully be asked to pose some discussion questions of their own about the material in hand. It may indeed be helpful to ask the students to suggest the kinds of questions a teacher might ask of the subject, or to imagine themselves teaching the subject to younger students and to formulate the most important questions.
What's HOT?; Article from info@ncca (September 2008)
Popping the question; Article from info@ncca (September 2006)
Key principles of AfL
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