Questioning Research Summary: Difference between revisions

* How do questions develop pupils’ cognitive abilities?

The research emphasises the importance of using open, higher-level questions to develop pupils’ higher-order thinking skills. Clearly there needs to be a balance between open and closed questions, depending on the topic and objectives for the lesson. A closed question, such as ‘What is the next number in the sequence?’, can be extended by a follow-up question, such as ‘How did you work that out?’

Overall, the research shows that effective teachers use a greater number of higher- order questions and open questions than less effective teachers. However, the research also demonstrates that most of the questions asked by both effective and less effective teachers are lower order and closed. It is estimated that 70–80 per cent of all learning-focused questions require a simple factual response, whereas only 20–30 per cent lead pupils to explain, clarify, expand, generalise or infer. In other words, only a minority of questions demand that pupils use higher-order thinking skills.

It doesn’t matter how good and well structured your questions are if your pupils do not respond. This can be a problem with shy pupils or older pupils who are not used to highly interactive teaching. It can also be a problem with pupils who are not very interested in school or engaged with learning. The research identifies a number of strategies which are helpful in encouraging pupil response. (See Borich 1996; Muijs and Reynolds 2001; Morgan and Saxton 1994; Wragg and Brown 2001; Rowe 1986; Black and Harrison 2001; Black et al. 2002.)

* there is a ‘no-hands’ approach to answering, where you choose the respondent rather than have them volunteer;

* ‘wait time’ is provided before an answer is required. The research suggests that 3 seconds is about right for most questions, with the proviso that more complex questions may need a longer wait time. Research shows that the average wait time in classrooms is about 1 second (Rowe 1986; Borich 1996).

'''How do questions develop pupils’ cognitive abilities?'''

Lower-level questions usually demand factual, descriptive answers that are relatively easy to give. Higher-level questions require more sophisticated thinking from pupils; they are more complex and more difficult to answer. Higher-level questions are central to pupils’ cognitive development, and research evidence suggests that pupils’ levels of achievement can be increased by regular access to higher-order thinking. (See Borich 1996; Muijs and Reynolds 2001; Morgan and Saxton 1994; Wragg and Brown 2001; Black and Harrison 2001.)

When you are planning higher-level questions, you will find it useful to use Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives (Bloom and Krathwohl 1956) to help structure questions which will require higher-level thinking. Bloom’s taxonomy is a classification of levels of intellectual behaviour important in learning. The taxonomy classifies cognitive learning into six levels of complexity and abstraction

# Knowledge – pupils should: describe; identify; recall.

# Comprehension – pupils should: translate; review; report; restate.

# Application – pupils should: interpret; predict; show how; solve; try in a new context.

# Analysis – pupils should: explain; infer; analyse; question; test; criticise.

# Synthesis – pupils should: design; create; arrange; organise; construct.

# Evaluation – pupils should: assess; compare and contrast; appraise; argue; select.

*Black, P. and Harrison, C. (2001) ‘Feedback in questioning and marking: the science teacher’s role in formative assessment’. ''School Science Review ''82 (June) 43–49.

*Black, P. et al. (2002) ''Working inside the black box: assessment for learning in the classroom. ''King’s College, London. ISBN: 1871984394.

* Rowe, M. B. (1986) ‘Wait time: slowing down may be a way of speeding up!’ ''Journal of Teacher Education ''37 (January–February) 43–50.