A
STRATEGY is the plan. It is the WHAT.
A TECHNIQUE
is the HOW the Strategy will be taught.
Question
Types
A. Purposes of Questioning.
B. Questioning approaches
C. Types of Questions
D. The key features of good questioners
E. Questioning types to be avoided
Good questioning techniques are essential for developing
effective training presentations.
A. Purposes of Questioning.
1. Finding out what the participant already knows
This is called establishing "entry behaviour". It is necessary
so that the trainer can avoid repetition, and target the level
of presentation appropriately, clearly an important step at the
beginning of a course. This approach is often part of a Training
Needs Analysis.
2. Revising a topic
At the beginning of a session, questions help reinforce the
learners' understanding of "where we are now". For the trainer,
answers to questions indicate the class' ability to proceed to
new topics or a warning to reteach some older material before
proceeding.
3. Stimulating thinking
Sitting and listening for extended periods leads to inattention.
Questions draw a participant's mind back to the topic.
4. Promoting discussion
Questioning draws on the experience of the participants. It shows
that the presenter is willing to involve others and is interested
in their opinions.
5. Varying delivery
Questions help break the monotony of explanation, and provide
a cue to learners that a new segment of information follows. Questions
give participants a break from listening only to the presenter.
They are the key to two way communication.
6. Managing and correcting group behaviour
Questions posed to specific participants can correct undesirable
behaviour e.g. talking while others are speaking, inattentiveness,
sleeping etc.
7. Checking of understanding
A very important thing to do, after giving a set of instructions
to a class, is to check that they know what is expected of them.
The most useful question is, " Now! What do you have to do?"
B. Questioning approaches
1. Targeting Questions:
Questions may be directed to groups or individuals. Avoid directing
questions in a predictable seating order. Direct questions to
the back, centre, front and corners of the room in a random fashion.
Don't ask the same one or two people all the time.
2. Delivery:
To ensure that all participants consider the question, ASK the
question, PAUSE for several seconds while looking around the group,
then NAME the person to respond. Example: "Why do presenters use
questions?" (Pause .......) "Maria?"
3. Acknowledging answers:
It is essential to show a response to a participant's answer.
If they are ignored, they will assume their answer was wrong.
Your silence will be seen as a punishment and the participant
may not try to answer again. How can you respond? Praise the answer.
Say something like, "That's a sound answer." / "Well done." /
"Just what I was looking for." rather than "Good." "Good." "Good."
Be sincere. Don't use the same response all the time.
Ask the person or another participant to repeat the answer.
If it is a particularly good answer the repetition will draw attention
to it.
Do not echo answers all the time. If you habitually do this, the
group will not attempt to listen to the person responding.
Ask another participant to comment on, or explain further, the
answer given.
C. Types of Questions
1. Open questions are those which can be answered by a
variety of responses. Example: " What are the names of some of
the important islands in the Pacific Ocean?"
2. Closed questions are capable of only one correct answer.
These are useful to test recall. Example: " Who is the current
president of the United States of America?"
3. Rhetorical / Dramatic questions are those for which
the presenter doesn't expect an answer. Example : "What then is
the solution to our problem? Obviously there is no easy answer.
etc ..... "
D. The key features of good questioners are
that they:
( i ) Are brief and concise.
( ii ) Are prepared to rephrase questions
( iii ) Are prepared to draw further responses from participants
( iv ) Use a variety of techniques
( v ) Redirect questions / responses
( vi ) Provide feedback and reinforcement without repeating answers
( vii ) Spread questions around the class.
E. Questioning types to be avoided
1. Yes / No answers.
When teaching a second language, these are invaluable. In the
everyday training room, however, they are useless because the
trainer is then forced to ask, "Why?" or "Why not?"
2. Volunteer questions.
These precede the real question and take the form, "Who can tell
me ......" or "Who would like to tell me ... " or " Can someone
help by ..... ?"
3. Multiple choice provision.
Here the presenter gives the group a range of answers to chose
from, a good technique in a written test but not in spoken form.
Example: "Who discovered the east coast of Australia?............
Well, was it Tasman, Cook or Dampier?"
4. A string of questions.
The presenter asks a large number of questions, leading to confusion
because participants don't know which to answer first. Example:
"Is Gender Development appropriate in the context of third world
countries or would you agree that population control, which is
given greater emphasis, will naturally bring a correction to the
status of women, or is this just a feature of some aid programs
implemented by international agencies?"
5. The use of unnecessarily complex or advanced language.
Example: " Would the elimination of illumination in the premises
contribute to the cessation of production by the employed personnel
?" It is simpler to say, " If you turn the lights off, will the
staff continue working ?"
http://www2.edfac.usyd.edu.au/BLP/Teaching_Skills/questioning.htm
http://www2.edfac.usyd.edu.au/BLP/Teaching_Skills/questioning.htm#types
Essential Question Types
Elaborating Questions
Clarification Questions
Irrelevant Questions
Irreverent Questions
Hypothetical Questions
Unanswerable Questions
Strategic Questions
Provocative Questions
Telling Questions
Divergent Questions
Probing Questions
Inventive Questions
Planning Questions
STUDENT QUESTIONS
Make it easy for students to ask questions
Make time for questions
Wait for students to formulate questions
Ask other students to answer
TEACHER QUESTIONS
Plan some questions as you prepare
Ask clear, specific questions
Use vocabulary students can understand
Ask questions in an evenly-paced, easily identifiable order
Ask questions from all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives
Use questions to help students connect important concepts
Use questions to give you feedback
Allow sufficient time for students to answer Rephrase questions
http://cte.udel.edu/TAbook/question.html
Techniques
that Encourage Active Learning
Use the following tactics during
class to ensure that students are actively engaged in thinking about the content.
Students should be called on randomly (using the deck of cards method
for instance) so that everyone participates. When students do not know when they
will be called on they are much more likely to remain alert and engaged in the
learning process.
Students should be routinely called upon to:
Summarize or put into their own words what the teacher or another student
has said.
Elaborate on what they have said.
Relate the issue
or content to their own knowledge and experience.
Give examples to
clarify or support what they have said.
Make connections between related
concepts.
Restate the instructions or assignment in their own words.
State the question at issue.
Describe to what extent their
point of view on the issue is different from or similar to the point of view of
the instructor, other students, the author, etc.
Write down the most pressing question on their mind at this
point. The instructor then uses the above tactics to help students
reason through the questions. Discuss any of the above with a
partner and then participate in a group discussion facilitated
by the instructor
Reciprocal Teaching
This is an instructional technique to increase students'
understanding of text.
It is a dialogue between the Leader and the students about parts of the text.
Four strategies structure the dialogue:
*Predicting
I think......
*Clarifying
Helps the student focus on any word or concept that is not understood.
Reread, read around the word
*Questioning
Facts
Evaluative
Inferential
*Summarizing
Provides the opportunity to identify and integrate the
most important information in
the text. Sentences, paragraphs, the page, the
chapter, or the whole article/book can
be summarized.
* The most important
part of this paragraph / page is...
* The main idea is...
Each
strategy aids the student in construction meaning from the text. It also helps
the student monitor their reading toverify they are understanding what they are
reading.
Non-E Paragraph
Pick a topic that you are studying in your
class and have students
write a paragraph about it without using the letter
'e.' It will challenge them.
Permit use of dictionaries and a thesaurus. Have
them make a list of the word that they wanted to use and the substitute.
Ask
"Why?" Differently
When students are asked "why?"
outside of school, it is often in a situation in which someone believes they have
done something wrong. For example, "Why did you put peanut butter in the VCR?"
After a while, many students react defensively as soon as they hear the questions
"why?" at the beginning of a sentence.
Find other ways to ask "why?" by considering
such prompts as:
What might be the reason(s) behind...?
Will you please
explain your reasoning?
Will you please tell me more about...?
What
might be the reason for...?
Random
Draw
Write students' name on a popsicle stick, small shape, anything will
work.
Put them in a container.
Ask a question FIRST, WAIT, then draw a name
to determine who is to answer.
Return the stick (or whatever)and stir - the
same student may be called upon more
than once. This is also a great way to
determine turns for the balls, computer, etc.
