Effective Questioning: AEE 412 Weekly Writing #5

How many questions should I ask? How long should I wait for an answer? Are my questions too low-level for my students? Are they going over their head? Am I really asking them what I want to know about?

These are just some of the many questions I've heard my cohort and myself talk about these past few weeks as we get into the swing of lesson planning, unit planning and writing objectives. Our readings this week focused on effective questioning and individual coaching as teaching techniques, and has continued our previous classes on objectives and incorporating various cognitive levels into our teaching. It's hard to know how to answer those questions, though we are slowly getting better at it through writing objectives and teaching in our labs.

According to research, the average teacher asks between 300-400 questions a day. 300-400 A Day! Even with eight classes a day, I'm not sure how I could think of 300 questions a day, let alone ask them all. But I have learned that there are various ways to ask questions - some come in the form of objectives, some ask students to connect previous knowledge or experience to the classroom, others gauge how much students are understanding the material. No matter what the questions are, wording is very important as it affects the clarity of the question and whether it is a higher or lower level of cognition.

Questions can be at either level of cognition, as long as the questions are appropriate for the level of learning we want our students to achieve. Do we want our students to just name the four compartments of the ruminant stomach? Or do we want them to also be able to explain how the four compartments work together as part of the ruminant digestive system?

When asking questions in the classroom we have to also remember that it's important not only how we ask the question, but also how we react to students when they are answering them. We have to wait long enough after asking questions to allow students time to process what we are asking, but short enough so that we do not lose their focus. We also have to remember to genuinely reinforce and encourage students for answering questions and participating in class, while providing equal opportunities for all learners.

Learning how to properly write objectives and use questioning in the classroom will take time, but with practice we can all get better at it, and soon we'll be able to form questions at all levels of cognition. To help with this, I found a link with charts that provide examples of keywords, example objectives, activities, and assessments at each level of Bloom's Taxonomy (showing just how important Bloom is).
                                                                                                                                                                    With time, questioning will become a natural part of our teaching toolboxes.