Problem Questions

Ask a better question...

Life is full of questions.

So is teaching!

Tell me if this looks familiar:

• You are teaching something.
• You are not sure if the kids are getting it.
• You ask a question about what the class just heard/read/saw/did.
• A couple of hands raise in the air.
• You call on one
• That kids attempts an answer (that isn’t quite what you’re looking for)
• You call on another kid
• That kid answers well.
• You move on.

This is how we were taught. But what problems might be a part of that?

Problem #1: We only hear back from one or two kids.

1. Really, in many classes the rest of the class has learned to let “Lisa Simpson” or “Hermione Granger” answer the question all the time so everyone else can sit back and not have to think.
2. 
   Possible Solution A -- Try a turn and talk BEFORE you ask for raised hands. That gives kids a chance to TRY OUT a thought or idea. It raises the number of kids THINKING and  TALKING about the question. It increases the number of kids who feel confident about raising their hands and trying to answer.
3. Possible Solution B -- Hold EVERY kid accountable by using a randomized “call on” system. Sometimes these are digital systems (like Class Dojo) but more often, I see teachers with numbered seats and a can of popsicle sticks where every popsicle has a number that corresponds to a seat number. The teacher pulls the popsicle stick out of the can and if they call #17, then the kid in seat #17 has to try to answer. This helps everyone be “on the hook” for participating and trying to answer, not just the hand-raisers.

Problem #2: We ask low level questions

1. Really, kids often trick us into THINKING they can’t do higher level thinking. And because we are honest people ourselves, we BELIEVE them! Sometimes they aren’t ready to answer the question, but they make us think they might NEVER be ready!
2. Possible Solution C -- Try asking “spiraling questions”. Start with a low level (or two) to build confidence and work your way up. One of the things I learned from Core Connections is the idea that kids need to gain a little confidence by answering some “right there” questions -- and them move up from there. What did Hamilton say about a National Bank? WHY did he say that? Or, “what did China trade along the Silk Roads. WHY did they trade THOSE things and WHY is that important? How did that change their lives?
3. Possible Solution D -- open ended “what if” questions with no “wrong answer”. Why would people risk their lives to trade halfway across the known world? Why would the Chinese historians hate Empress Wu? What would you do if you were faced with this choice? If we struggle to ask higher order questions, start with just making open-ended questions.

Problem #3: We-the-teachers ask all the questions.

1. Why is it that the teachers always ask all the questions. Aren’t we (at least theoretically) supposed to know more “answers” than the kids? How can we get our kids to ask more (and better) questions?
2. Possible Solution E -- Start with “Why”.. Once upon a time, your adolescent students were curious toddlers who asked “why” until their parents wanted to go nuts. So, let’s bring that back. Teach them to ask “why” about everything -- and then try to make educated guesses as to the answers.
3. Possible Solution F --Teach higher order thinking explicitly. Give them the Costas Questioning House, the DOK Wheel or the Bloom’s Flipbook. Then, directly teach them how to to make good questions from the various levels -- and how to answer them!

Kids are kids and they struggle with questions. How can we keep them all accountable, using higher order questions AND creating their own questions?  Same way you get to Carnegie Hall -- practice, practice, practice!

How to you deal with problems that come up around questioning? As always, I love to hear from you!

-Tracy