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CHAPTER 1

Using Questioning Strategies in the Classroom

There are only so many hours in a day. We have approximately 180 days in the classroom with students, and in an average day, a teacher is likely to spend about five solid hours with students. Clearly, our goal is to make the best use of that time. We want to use practices and strategies that will most benefit our students. We aim to use processes and procedures that increase our ability to get the most effective use from our time and that of our students.

And how do we determine effectiveness? Standards and content are the focus of education in the early 21st century. We use both to identify what is important for our students to learn. Evaluating student progress helps us evaluate those targets important to the lessons we teach and to better understand our students’ performance levels. We evaluate data so that we can best meet all learners’ needs. For example, the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data show little progress and low student achievement (NAEP, n.d.). Reviewing and understanding these components, which we do in this chapter, helps us create a systematic approach to lesson identification and development.

If, as part of that approach, we take time to evaluate the types of questions we ask—even the ways we ask them—we will positively impact students’ levels of understanding and performance. We can create different questioning strategies, as explained in this chapter. We even have the opportunity to develop habits in our students that will transcend the classroom. Our approach to formulating, posing, and responding to questions can increase students’ curiosity, grow their problem-solving skills, escalate engagement levels, and strengthen their ability to persevere.

A Call to Action

Can we influence our students’ academic abilities by being aware of the questions we ask and the way we ask them in the classroom? Evidence in the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, n.d.) definitely shows a need for a boost in U.S. academic performance. The NAEP is a U.S. standardized test that evaluates and reports student progress in a variety of subjects including mathematics and reading. The assessment compares subject-level achievement across states.

The 2015 NAEP results reveal that 40 percent of fourth-grade students are proficient or higher in mathematics. In eighth grade, that number is 33 percent. Reading results show proficiency levels of 36 percent and 34 percent in fourth and eighth grades, respectively. It’s not because teachers aren’t dedicated to boosting academic performance but because those devoted teachers keep searching for strategies that will positively impact student performance. Figure 1.1 shows NAEP results in mathematics, and figure 1.2 shows NAEP results in reading, illustrating how U.S. students have fared over time. The results in both subjects show little variation since 2005.

Source: NAEP, n.d.

Figure 1.1: NAEP results in mathematics over time.

Source: NAEP, n.d.

Figure 1.2: NAEP results in reading over time.

Reviewing the figures shows us that in mathematics and in reading, in fourth grade and in eighth grade, the average national scale scores are well below the established proficiency level. The dotted lines on each chart indicate the proficiency level for each grade level.

If NAEP results are an accurate illustration of the performance level of students in the United States, it seems the data strongly suggest that a call to action is in order. With the highest level of performance at 40 percent, the results are not something that we would be proud of in our own classrooms. Growing these scores to reach or at least be near proficiency requires a change. Although making a significant change in these scores may seem like an insurmountable task, change happens one classroom at a time. Tests results like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) can determine strengths and challenges by subject and country. Fifteen-year-olds take tests in mathematics, science, and reading. In 2012, about 28 million students took the PISA (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, n.d.). Results, at www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm, can be compared. No matter what the assessment, the goal is to learn from the data and act to support student learning.

Teachers care about their students. They put a lot of effort into planning and presenting lessons designed to help students succeed. What do we do when results reflect that less than half, in most cases only a third, of students are proficient? More important, can the questions we ask in the classroom better prepare students to successfully apply knowledge and skills to tasks on standardized tests?

In short: yes. Reviewing multiple sample problems from the NAEP shows that students apply their knowledge and skills to questions. If we equip students to respond primarily to questions that require recall or performance of common tasks, we are certainly providing them with important foundational skills. However, if the level of sophistication stops there, students will not acquire the skills necessary to perform at increased levels of success—not only on standardized tests but in real-life experiences.

My intention is not to highlight increased standardized test performance as our end goal but to concentrate on how the questions teachers use within our classrooms can have a positive impact on student success within and beyond school walls. Standardized tests provide measures of performance and inform schools of their status in comparison to others. However, the purpose of academic measures is to use the information to increase student understanding. Increased understanding will likely result in enhanced performance on standardized tests, but the end goal is to help students achieve higher levels of success. Increased test scores are a byproduct. Interestingly, even though many teachers realize the benefits of infusing higher-order thinking skills into classroom experiences, practices are heavily weighted toward recall questions. Some have noted that since the 1950s, classroom practices associated with questioning types and techniques have changed little (Fisher & Frey, 2007). However, teachers who are trained in ways of creating and implementing a variety of questions are more likely to use them (King, Goodson, & Rohani, n.d.). When the classroom questions asked go beyond recall and provide students with opportunities to think critically, students will have experiences that lead to higher levels of expertise.

Making a Difference With Questioning Strategies

Questioning methods have been studied for centuries. The ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was known for his ability to pose questions in order to generate meaningful discussions.

More recently, however, John Dewey promoted the importance of deep questioning in his 1910 title, How We Think. Dewey (1910) refers to thinking as a state of doubt leading to investigations that prove or nullify one’s beliefs. In addition, thinking helps us discover the meaning and importance of subject matter. Dewey explains that limiting thought to memorization or recall is contrary to creating an atmosphere where the mind is trained to think and process. He therefore promotes questions that challenge the mind and create situations where thinking occurs at deep and complex levels.

Within the methods we use to generate the questions we ask, there is room for change, perhaps even growth. If we find ways to increase student engagement, students will learn more and perhaps perform at higher levels. According to Robyn Jackson and Allison Zmuda (2014), students can be compliant without being engaged. Engagement requires that students be involved in complex thinking.

Many students find straightforward, lower-level questions boring; richer questions are intellectually stimulating, and students find them engaging. Lower-level questions might include specific dates, names, and places. These questions might have value in certain contexts but should go beyond the factual. Richer questions can include those that compare and contrast events or explain why a date is important historically and how the events impacted future events. To support higher-order thinking skills, teachers need to pose questions to students they have not been asked before. Even complex questions can be a recall experience if a student answered previously. When we create an atmosphere in which students experience acceptable challenge, they achieve success. Increasing engagement, interest, and motivation in the classroom—regardless of their current levels—are certainly appealing ventures. Students become motivated to learn because learning matters to them. What we ask and the way we pose questions do impact our students. The way we challenge our students through the questions we ask can create personal meaning and associations with previously learned content—all of which leads to a new level of understanding (Cushman, 2014).

Consider other reasons to change things up in the classroom by increasing the variety of questions you present. In her Phi Delta Kappan article “Neuroscience Reveals that Boredom Hurts,” Judy Willis (2014) asserts that the student brain wants stimulation and the lack thereof results in boredom, which hinders productivity. Repetitious tasks and simplistic questioning lead to apathy and decreased levels of performance. Student interest is piqued—and a net positive result achieved—when stimulating discussion is inspired by interesting and engaging questions.

Those questions don’t just benefit students; they benefit teachers as well. But getting to strong questioning strategies takes perseverance. Expect a transitional time. Applying a process to questions will make for purposeful questions. The following sections explain these topics.

Benefitting Both Students and Teachers

Students are not the only ones who benefit from varied and higher levels of questions. Teachers can focus student thinking on those learning targets that matter most. Responses provide insights into students’ levels of understanding, which then become tools for increasing student awareness (Clough, 2007).

The processes, activities, and lessons we use to help students discover, evaluate, and apply content give teachers the opportunity to increase students’ ability to analyze and use information. We can design questions to help students think, process, and internalize information. Investigating responses to interesting and engaging questions strengthens knowledge and skills (Walsh & Sattes, 2005).

Charlotte Danielson (2007) recognizes questioning and discussion techniques as important components of effective teaching. Danielson, a well-established reference for teacher evaluation, asks that questioning techniques specifically enhance student learning. A function of classroom query is to provide the class with multiple opportunities to respond to open-ended questions. Encouraging divergent thinking helps students to make connections and deepen their understanding of a topic.

Danielson (2007) further supports increasing the ability of students to ask questions. In her vision, students dialogue around meaningful questions while the teacher facilitates the discussion, but students carry the weight of the content and conversation. Students answer questions so teachers can check their understanding, and questions allow them to deepen their understanding. Quality questioning strategies result in an intellectually active classroom that gives students the opportunity to engage at heightened levels of sophistication, intensified awareness, and increased comprehension.

Requiring Transition and Perseverance

As we strive to increase the complexity associated with what we ask our students, the change in practice may be a challenge for our students. Their experience might be one of questions that require them to recall information or repeatedly perform a procedure. Questions that require memorization or one-word answers might be their norm. “What does a plant need to grow?” “What is the answer to the mathematics problem?” “What world leaders played a key role in World War I?” While transitioning from a more familiar approach to one that requires additional challenge, students are likely to need support to go beyond their comfort zone. A byproduct of the transition could be an increase in initial failures. If educators and students view failure as a step closer to success, the change will be more palatable. I often tell students that they are on the road to right. They may not experience the highest level of success initially, but they are on the way. Teachers need to create a balance of challenge and support in order for students to be willing to engage (Quate & McDermott, 2014).

In her book Mindset, Carol Dweck (2006) identifies perseverance as another benefit of a system of questioning that promotes deep thought, which supports the long-term success of our students. According to Dweck (2006), we as a society formerly believed those who had to spend more time learning were struggling learners. She reveals that even the highly gifted work hard in order to achieve. Students who typically learn quickly without struggle need to spend time and effort to find appropriate responses to questions that challenge them. Accomplishment is closely tied to effort regardless of individual or perceived ability. This reminds me of the famous Thomas Edison quote regarding his development of the light bulb. He said, “I have not failed ten thousand times … I have succeeded in proving that those ten thousand ways will not work” (Edison as quoted in Furr, 2011). If we encourage our students to think and try—and when they fail, to think and try some more—we will take them to a place of deeper understanding, greater success, and a heightened level of perseverance. It is through their willingness to persevere that they’ll realize success. We can challenge our students to think just beyond their comfort level and provide support as they experience roadblocks so they can move toward perseverance through a gradual release approach. Teachers can help grow perseverance by working with students on challenging activities then weaning that support as students begin persevering on their own. Scaffold activities to provide the stepping stones necessary to lead to higher levels of challenge. Provide the resources or locations of resources needed for students to be successful. Ask questions that will lead students to successful outcomes rather than provide answers for them. See the teacher do it in the following example.

Teacher: Students, throughout the year we will be involved in various tasks that require us to give increased amounts of effort. Sometimes things come easy for us. Think of a time when you had to try something more than once to be successful at it. Who has an idea to share?

Student: I had trouble learning to ride a bike. It took lots of time and practice before I could ride and not fall.

Teacher: I would imagine that many of us had a similar experience. We didn’t give up, though. Even though it was difficult for us, we kept trying. We were motivated to be on the bike, and to be able to ride successfully. Why do you think you continued to try and you didn’t give up?

Student: Because I wanted to get places faster, and I wanted to ride with my friends.

Teacher: This type of effort is called perseverance. Perseverance means that even when something is difficult for us, we keep trying. In order to become good at using the knowledge and skills we gain in school, we need to persevere in the classroom just like we do when learning a new skill at home, like riding a bike. We learn things in school so that we can become successful at applying our abilities to tasks that are like those found in the real world.

For example, this week in mathematics we learned to find the area and perimeter of various shapes. Today we are going to use that skill in a real-life situation. It will take multiple steps to arrive at a solution. You will need to determine how you will find your final answer and carry out a plan to do so. It will take perseverance.

Applying a Process

Using a process or cycle, explained in chapter 5 (page 63), to identify questions supports a purposeful approach to developing questions for the classroom (Fusco, 2012). These processes focus all questions on the goals of the lesson by planning the core questions in advance. How will you present the questions and acknowledge them? That is another point of planning. An atmosphere of respect and openness that builds levels of trust in the classroom supports the process. Chapter 7 (page 83) explains how to create that culture. Process options and crucial components appear in chapter 4 (page 51).

Without applying careful thought to planning and posing questions, the result can be ineffective. An approach that includes preplanning questions to ensure addressed standards and content will bring a positive result. Preplanning questions help provide a balance that ensures higher-order thinking questions. Follow questions designed to solicit responses that prove students have the factual understanding needed with questions that inspire thought. For example, during a science unit on weather, younger students will learn a bit about temperature and seasons, but they also need to understand how weather impacts them, what they wear, and the activities they might be able to engage in outside. Preplanning questions cause a systematic approach to accomplishing the lesson’s goals. They reveal confidence that students will reach the level of understanding required to succeed with lesson content. One way to make certain that questions promote in-depth critical thinking is to use a structure to level questions, using a taxonomy. Structures associated with classroom practice also support positive, productive, and engaging classroom conversations (Fisher & Frey, 2007).

In Summary

Student success is our end goal, not only for the short time students are with us but in their postschool lives. We want students to think, learn, and grow. That learning may appear in classroom performance, standardized assessments, or postsecondary success. Asking rich questions in the classroom will encourage thought and promote understanding. We support perseverance, engagement, and communication skills through the use of high-quality questioning strategies. Forethought and preplanning questions provide a foundation that supports effective teaching.