The Power of Students' Questions

  

Initially, the intention of this post was to inform and share teachers’ questioning techniques and examples of teachers using questioning to get students to think critically.  However, as I walked around the building and observed our teachers and students, I found myself surprisingly impressed with the questions our STUDENTS were asking.  I was in several classrooms where the students seemed to be invited to challenge the teacher.  Not in a negative way at all, but instead in a way that led to high levels of engagement and amazing conversations.  This was evidence that sometimes the questions are as valuable the answers.

The students in our classrooms today have more knowledge than ever and because of technology their collective knowledge is more evident and accessible.  Those of us that have young children or have been in primary classrooms know that children are bursting with questions.  So what happens in high school that makes some of them stop asking?  Are they no longer curious? Research also shows that high school students today are even less comfortable asking questions than just a few years ago.  In 2010, 69% of HS students agreed that they felt comfortable asking questions in class. In 2014, that number had fallen to only 63%.  For some teachers, I think it is important for us to switch our questioning strategies around.  To promote deep learning, remember that students’ questions matter most.  There is a valuable place for teacher questioning, but sometimes teachers ask questions that students can answer without much original thought.   It is important to remember that our current high school students have never lived without Google!  It is a way of life to them.  Our questions don't always make them think critically.

Why don’t students ask questions?

If the first troops that hit the beach get mowed down, no one will follow!  Be careful how you respond to the first troops!  For many of our students, high school is risky! Some students don’t want to be seen as dumb.  Others don’t want to seem too interested or excited about school.  Sometimes even our strong students don’t know how to ask good questions.  It often takes time and practice for students to hone their own questioning skills.

What do our students' questions tell us?

The purpose of teacher questioning is to guide instruction, diagnose confusions and determine understanding.  Student questions can have the same purpose.  Students questions…

• Provide formative assessment data that helps adjust instruction.

• Increases curiosity, self-motivation and engagement.

• Isolate student confusion and force students to articulate those confusions.

What do our teachers have to say?

Ideas from our staff on how they encourage student questioning:

Ashlin Henderson - English Department

We teach reading strategies called "Notice and Note." The students have to look for "signposts" that will help them analyze a text. When they find these signposts, they have to answer an "anchor question" that will lead them to analyze. One of the signposts is Tough Questions. The anchor question is, "What does this question make me wonder about?" Most of the time they come up with their own questions, usually about foreshadowing, like, "what will happen to this character," or "what will happen next in the story?" Instead of me asking them those questions, they formulate them with this reading strategy.

Jeff Wells - Science Department

For my STEM Physical Science, I am attempting a flipped-classroom model where I post lecture videos on Schoology.  Below each video, I've placed a Google form where students can send me questions as they watch the lecture (see image below).  I then can answer those questions for the entire class the next school day.

Allyson Strong - Intervention Specialist

I pretend to be the "forgetful teacher" from the previous day/lesson.  I have the students in my English Skills and Co-Teaching practice asking me the same questions.  I find that the students do remember my reading comprehension questions from the day before.  However, they end up making up questions on their own, which is exactly what I wanted them to do!

After reading a story, I have students pretend to ask the hero (protagonist) or antagonist in the story a question.  I have students write questions down on a post it note while they read, or draw it out on a Screen Chomp (cartoon).

Thanks for reading and sharing.  Next month, we will focus on student self-assessment.  I already have some great ideas from Marvin, Fish and Kinniard.  Let me know if you have ideas you want to share on student self-assessment.  Keep doing what you do to FIP our school and make this a great place!