Fisher and Frey really give a good insight on how to develop
good questions, and why good questions are important in the classroom. Since questioning is the method teachers use to
check students’ understanding, teachers need to make sure they are asking good
effective questions. Developing
effective questions can be a hard task for some teachers and it takes a lot of
practice. The main thing teachers need
to remember when asking questions is to make sure it relates to the content. We have all had teachers that would put
questions on a test that was not related to what we had been taught. However, by
developing quality questions, students are challenged to think about the lesson
and give their own opinions and analysis.
Sadly, many teachers tend to ask too many “lower-order”
questions. These questions generally
elicit a “yes” or “no” response. Teachers lean to asking these types of
questions when checking for students’ understanding, and to see whether
students have memorized a fact. It is
okay for teachers to ask “lower-order” questions in particular situations, and
sometimes it is the only type of question that may be appropriate. By no means,
should a teacher only ask “lower-order” questions in the classroom. I believe when teachers ask good questions,
it improves motivation and raises the standards. So, when teachers are developing questions,
they need to really strive to ask more “higher-order” questions. “Higher-order” questions involve students expanding
on an idea or response. I know a huge
thing with Common Core, is that it really pushes asking a lot of what they call
HOT questions. By asking HOT questions,
teachers are allowing their students to develop their thinking processes.
The book discussed several different questioning strategies
and techniques to use. I feel that it is
important for teachers to incorporate different questioning strategies in their
lessons. Personally, I really like the
QUILT technique the book talked about. It
talks about how it is important to give “wait time” after asking a
question. I feel that it is important to
give students time after asking the question, because it allows them time to process
the question and give a more thought out answer. Also, it says it is important for the teacher
to give feedback on accuracy of the answer, and to expand on the answer. I feel like this is the most important part. I
know I have been in classes where someone answers the question, but the teacher
would never say whether it was right or not. Therefore, I was left confused and
uncertain of the correct answer. I feel that it is important for teachers to
expand on the correct answer, because sometimes the teacher may put it in
different words that make more sense. Also, students are left with no
uncertainty of the correct answer.
When reading this chapter, it reminded me of my second grade
teacher. She had a Question Box set up
in her room. When we were working on a
project or had a general question, we would write it on a piece of paper and
put it in the box. At the end of the
class, my teacher would get all the questions from the day and read them to the
class. The class would answer the
questions as a whole. I really liked
this, because most of the time I would have the same question as the rest of
the class. So, I would be able to get the information needed to finish the
assignment. Just a good idea for the classroom!!
Questions:
The QUILT talks about allowing “wait time” after asking a
question. How long of a “wait time” should you give students?
In my clinical experiences, I have seen some teachers tend
to call on the same students to answer questions. Is there a fun way (besides
the popsicle sticks) to get students more involved in the questioning and
answering part of the lesson?
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