Plan key questions to provide structure and direction to the lesson.
Spontaneous questions that emerge are fine, but the overall direction of the
discussion has been largely planned.
Example: a "predicting discussion" (Hyman, 1980)
What are the essential features and conditions of this situation?
Given this situation, what do you think will happen as a result of it?
What facts and generalization support your prediction?
What other things might happen as a result of this situation?
If the predicted situation occurs, what will happen next?
Based on the information and predictions before us, what are the
probable consequences you now see?
What will lead us from the current situation to the one you predicted?
Phrase the questions clearly and specifically. Avoid vague and ambiguous
questions.
Adapt questions to the level of the students' abilities
Ask questions logically and sequentially
Ask questions at various levels
Follow up on students' responses
Elicit longer, more meaningful and more frequent responses from
students after an initial response by -
Maintaining a deliberate silence
Making a declarative statement
Making a reflective statement giving a sense of what the students said
Declaring perplexity over the response
Inviting elaboration
Encouraging other students to comment
Give students time to think after they are questioned (Wait Time)
The three most productive types of questions are variants of
divergent thinking questions (Andrews, 1980):
The Playground Question
Structured by instructor's disignating a carefully chosen aspect of
the material (the "playground")
"Let's see if we can make any generalizations about the play as a
whole from the nature of the opening lines."
The Brainstorm Question
Structure is thematic
Generate as many ideas on a single topic as possible within a short
period of time
"What kinds of things is Hamlet questioning - not just in his
soliloquy, but throughout the play?"
The Focal Question
Focuses on a well articulated issue
Choose among a limited number of positions or viewpoints and support
your views
"Is Ivan Illych a victim of his society or did he create his problems
by his own choices?"
