ART of QUESTIONING

Prepared by:

JENNIE G. CASAUAY
The Art of Questioning
Activity
Divide the group into two.
Group 1
What do you expect from your students?
Group 2
What do you think your students expect from you
teachers?
Write your answers in the form of questions also.
 In today’s modern educational
practices, the art of questioning has remained
one of the best tools in promoting effective and
meaningful learning. In fact, questioning
continues to be an essential component of good
teaching. There are even some people who
believe that the effectiveness of a teacher can
be measured by his ability to ask questions. Still,
there are too many teachers take this teaching
tool for granted, or use it carelessly.
Questions provide answers to our curious
mind, things that need reasoning, things
we do not understand, and discovery of
something new.
Questions make us reflect on the way we
deal with life and promote a better
understanding of why things happen the
way it should be.
Skillful questioning involves:

Knowledge of the various uses of the question

The characteristics of a good question
The techniques of questioning
The techniques of handling the learners’
responses
What do we mean by Questioning
Techniques?

Socrates: Teaching is the art of asking

questions.
Guy Claxton: Good learning starts with
questions, not answers.
Albert Einstein: In the middle of difficulty
lies opportunity. The important thing is not
to stop questioning.
Why is there a need to know about
Questioning Techniques?

• Interaction – the most common form of

interaction between teachers and
students.
• Challenge –provide motivation by
encouraging students to actively
participate in learning.
• Influence- can cause integration of skills.
• Progress- asking questions help teacher to
promote the level of the students.
• Assessment –the teacher can assess the
effectiveness of her teaching.
Categories of Questions

Knowledge (who, what, whom, where, why, how)

Comprehension (retell)
Analysis (What are the parts of.... ? features of....? Classify according
to....)
Application (How is.... an example of....? How is.... related to.....? Why
is.... significant....?)
Synthesis (What would infer from? What ideas can you add to? How would
you design a new....? What would happen if you combine...?)
Evaluation (Do you agree that...? What do you think about...? What is the
most important.....? Place the ff. in order of priority. How would you
decide about...? What criteria do you need to use to assess....?)
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REMEMBERING
Can the student recall or remember
information?
Level 1
Remembering (Knowledge) • Recognizing
• Listing
13
The learner is able to • Describing
• Identifying
recall, restate or
• Retrieving
remember learned
• Naming
information. • Locating
• Finding
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 15

Understanding
Can the student explain ideas and
concepts?
Level 2
Understanding (Comprehension)
16
• Interpreting
• Exemplifying
The learner grasps the • Summarizing
meaning of information • Inferring
by interpreting and • Paraphrasing
translating what has • Classifying
been learned. • Comparing
• Explaining

Can you explain ideas and concepts?

Questions
• Can you explain why…?
17
• Can you write in your own words?
• How would you explain…?
• Can you write a brief outline...?
• What do you think could have happened next...?
• Who do you think...?
• What was the main idea...?
• Can you clarify…?
• Can you illustrate…?
• Does everyone act in the way that …….. does?
(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 12)
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Applying
Can the students use the information in a new
way?
Level 3
Applying (Application)
19
• The learner
makes use of • Implementing
information in a • Carrying out
context different • Using
from the one • Executing
that it was
learned.
Questions
 Put yourself in the place of one of the characters and 20
tell what you would have done….. ?
 What would result if….. ?
 Compare and contrast….. ?
 What questions would you ask to find out … ?
 How would the character solve the similar situation
of….. ?
 Put the main character in another story setting, how
would he act?
 If you had to plan a vacation for the main character,
where would they go?
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Analyzing
Can the students distinguish between the different
parts?
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Questions
• What motive does ____ have…..? 23
• What conclusions can you draw about…..?
• What is the relationship between…..?
• How is ______ related to …..?
• What ideas support the fact that…..?
• What evidence can you find…..?
• What inferences can you make about…..?
• What generalizations can be made about …..?
• What assumptions do you make about …..?
• What is the theme of…..?
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Evaluating
Can the students justify a stand or
decision?
• It involves the making of personal judgment
on the text by the reader, usually based on
his/her experience: 25
 Evaluation of accuracy
 Discrimination of fact and opinion
 Recognition of emotionally charged words
 Identification of author's purpose, mood,
tone, intent
 Evaluation of values presented
Questions
 Compare two characters in the selection….which
was a better person…why?
26
 Which character would you most like to spend the
day with?
 Do you agree with the actions of…..?
 How could you determine…..?
 Why was it better that…..?
 What choice would you have made about…..?
 How would you explain…..?
 What data was used to make the conclusion…..?
 Would it be better if…..?
 Creating
Can the students create new products or
points of view? 27
• involves coming up with new ideas or
reproducing the text information in other 28
forms: dramatizing, writing another
ending, writing a letter, musical
interpretation
 QUESTIONS 29

• Can you design a...to...?

• Can you see a possible solution to...?
• If you had access to all resources, how would you
deal with...?
• Why don't you devise your own way to...?
• What would happen if ...?
• How many ways can you...?
• Can you create new and unusual uses for...?
• Can you develop a proposal which would...?

(Pohl, Learning to Think, Thinking to Learn, p. 14)

ACTIVITIES AND PRODUCTS
 Invent a machine to do a specific task.
 Design a robot to do your homework. 30
 Create a new product. Give it a name and plan a marketing
campaign.
 Write about your feelings in relation to...
 Write a TV show play, puppet show, role play, song or
pantomime about..
 Design a new monetary system
 Develop a menu for a new restaurant using a variety of
healthy foods
 Design a record, book or magazine cover for...
 Sell an idea
 Devise a way to...
 Make up a new language and use it in an example.
 Write a jingle to advertise a new product.
Uses of Questions
To stimulate students’ to think
To motivate students’
To diagnose students’ difficulties
To discover students’ interest
To help students’ organize and evaluate
To aid students’ to relate pertinent
experiences to the lesson
Uses of Questions
To focus students’ attention
To develop new appreciation and attitudes
To provide drill or practice
To show relationships such as cause and effect
To encourage the application of concept
Types of Questions According to Purpose

For assessing cognition

For verification
For creative thinking
For evaluating
For productive thinking
For motivating
For instructing
Characteristics of Good Questions

brief, clear, and unequivocal

not be lifted from the book
suited to the age, experience, and ability of the student
deal with only one idea
vary in difficulty
applicable to all students
thought-provoking and challenging
are not self-answering
relevant to the lesson under discussion
in good grammatical form
Questioning Skills and Conduct of Good
Questioning
Varying type of questions
Ask questions in conversational tone
Asking non-directed questions
Calling on non-volunteers
Students should not be called in fixed order
Allowing for sufficient wait time
Courtesy between the teacher and his students
should prevail during the questioning session
Handling Student’s Response

 Show appreciation for any answer

 Wrong answers should never be allowed to go uncorrected
 Giving appropriate praise for high quality responses
 Following up a student’s response with related questions
 Answering in chorus should not be allowed by the teacher
 Student should recite to the whole class, not to the teacher
 Students should be encouraged to observe correct grammar and
answer in complete sentence
 Showing non-verbal encouragement
 Refrain from marking the student in the record book during class
recitation
Handling Student’s Response

 Teacher should be glad to welcome questions

 Irrelevant and inane questions should not be entertained
 Questions should be thrown first to the whole class for an answer
or discussion
 Questions should be in correct grammar or in good language
 The teacher should honestly admit if he does not know the answer
to a question
 Very shy students should be encouraged to write their questions
anonymously and give them to the teacher
 Allot appropriate time slot for open questioning
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Thank You