Richard RoperSecondary Mathematics SpecialistRegion 15 ESCrichard.roper@netxv.net

QUESTIONING STRATEGIES FOR THE SECONDARY MATH

CLASSROOM

Bloom’s Taxonomy is a way of grouping student’s thinking into six classifications based on the complexity of their cognitive ability

Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation

From Noun to VerbVerbs describe actions while nouns do not

Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating

QUESTIONING….WHY?

Fold across the solid lineCut across the dotted lineThe bottom two tabs will be “Remembering”

and “Understanding”The next two tabs will be “Applying” and

“Analyzing”The top two tabs will be “Evaluating” and

“Creating”The title at the top of the foldable will be

“Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy”Use this foldable to record notes for the next

several slides

QUESTIONING FOLDABLE

Able to retrieve information learnedAble to recall and restate informationAble to reproduce algorithmic eventsQuestion Stems for “Remembering”

What do you know about ….?How did ___________ happen?Who was the main character?Can you define the word _________? Identify the date of _________?

REMEMBERING

Fact chartsWrite down known informationRepeat important informationLabel visual aidsIdentify important pointsUse an Outline to denote

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH REMEMBERING

Paraphrasing important passagesInterpreting …Explanation of math/science algorithmsRewording definitions into their own wordsQuestion Stem for “Understanding”

How would you explain …..?How would you rephrase….?Can you summarize the given passage?What was the main idea of the story?Can you give details about the _____?

UNDERSTANDING

Retell a story in their own wordsGive an example or a non-exampleAllow them to come up with their own

definitions of a wordAsk them to condense a paragraph into

a single sentenceSummarize a sequence of events

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH

UNDERSTANDING

Making connectionsRelating key components of a short storySolving semi-complex problemsImplementing a plan to ….DemonstrateQuestion Stems for “Applying”

How would you use …..? What examples can you find for ……? How would you demonstrate……? What else could ______ have done in the story? What would the result be if …….?

APPLYING

Ask student to predictChoose the best statement that appliesWhat would the result be if ….Make a scrapbook or journalConstruct a model that demonstrates

how something works

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH APPLYING

Sorting and organizing informationCategorizing data into useful groupsCompare and contrast ideasUse of sequencing to make info relevantQuestion Stems for “Analyzing”

How would you organize_______? What are the properties of ______? Why did _______ happen? What ideas justify…..? What are the important steps in the ________ process?

ANALYZING

Ask them what the facts areWhich statement is relevantWhat conclusions can they come toState your point of viewPrepare a report on a particular subjectInvestigate the solution to a word

problem

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH ANALYZING

Supporting a positionDefending in a debate situationCriticizing a point of viewHypothesizing a mathematical conceptQuestion Stems for “Evaluating”

Do you agree or disagree with …..?How do you feel about …..?Which is better and which is worst?Which solution is the best and why?

EVALUATING

Try to find the errors in a given statement

List a set of criteria to judge fromPick a side and try to convince other of

your point of viewForm a panel to discuss the views of a

particular time periodDetermine any inconsistencies in a

system of equations

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH EVALUATING

Designing/Developing Generalizing a mathematical conceptDrawing conclusions from a writing sampleInventing something used in a research

projectQuestion Stems for “Creating”

What would happen if …..?How can you arrange …..?How would you improve it?What do you think would happen if ….?

CREATING

Ask students to test their theoriesState a rule to a given problemCreate a timeline in historyUse a math problem to another math situation

Compose a piece of musicRevise a passage to give a different plot

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES TO HELP WITH CREATING

Separate into two teams – divide the room Group 1 can only ask Yes/No questions. Group 2 can ask any questions. All questions must be submitted in writing on the supplied chart

paper. The goal of the game is to correctly guess the mathematics rule

that will involve one of the four main operations: addition subtraction, multiplication or division.

Each round will consist of asking one question to obtain information about the rule.

The rule is then applied to a certain domino. If the domino fi ts the rule, I will be placed on the red sheet of paper. If not, the domino will not be placed on the red sheet of paper.

One question per round. To win, your group must correctly identify the rule.

Hint: The rule will be mathematical in nature andmay consist of the number of dots on

each side of the domino or both.

DOMINOES ACTIVITY

What type of questions needs to be used?How does the questions need to be

introduced by the teacher?How must a student interpret the questions to

help lead them into a meaningful discussion?How can basic knowledge lead to conceptual

thinking?How can conceptual thinking lead to

procedural techniques?How can procedural techniques lead to

metacognitive thoughts and problem solving?

IMPORTANT QUESTIONING PRACTICES

Questions needs to use to the depth and complexity of the instructional situation.

Questions should differentiate.Questions should be introduced to add

value to or contribute to the knowledge gained both for the student and for the whole group.

Questions should intrigue the whole group to participate.

Questions should encourage ownership.

THE ROLE OF THE QUESTION

Become the facilitator of the discussion.Use the appropriate question to level up

on the Bloom’s list.Build in important “Wait Time” to allow

for full dissemination of the information.Selection of student(s) to bring value to

the discussion.Get students to talk more than the

teacher.

THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER ASKING THE

QUESTION

Students lead the discussion.Students must adhere to the protocol.Agree to disagree but with mutual

respect.Discussion needs to have added value.Students work together to further

learning process.Obtain resources as needed.

THE ROLE OF THE STUDENT

Wait TimeThink Pair ShareRandom CallingClass SurveyMore than one AnswerDevil’s Advocate

TYPES OF RESPONSE STRATEGIES

Mr. Turner works example problems on the board and expects student to recreate his work.

Students are given 50 ordered pairs and are expected to graph them all.

Students are given a set of numbers and expect to find mean, median and mode.

Mrs. Williams shows students where the formulas on the formula chart.

Students are working in groups with one person doing all the work while the others are observing.

Mr. Thompson requires that all students turn in their work at the end of the class period whether they are finished or not.

Mrs. Perez reads a passage out loud.

LESS EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION

Mr. Turner puts a problem on the board and starts a class discussion by asking “How could we solve this problem?”

Students are given 10 ordered pairs and are asked to determine if there is a correlation and to justify their answer.

Mrs. Perez asks students to read a short passage and facilitates a class discussion on what the theme of the passage was.

Mr. Thompson asks students to recreate a scene from a particular part in history?

Mrs. Williams asks students to investigate formulas from a formula chart and give examples of where a particular formula would be used.

MORE EFFECTIVE CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION

Effective questioning will have the most impact when the question(s) is well thought out in advance.

Transitioning from traditional questioning methods to well-prepared, meaningful and thought provoking questions will require a great deal of patience.

Educators, such as yourselves, must be persistent and perceptive while asking purposeful questions.

Unhelpful traditional questions must be replaced by inquiry based questioning as a means to supplement effective instruction.

CONCLUSION