Designing and Using Probing Questions
Linking Exploratory Activities with Concepts
Module Five

Ron Hochmuth, Instructor
hochmuth@alexandriacentral.org
fax: (315)482-9973

Hello class ... recognition goes to Salie Brothers whom I spotted on TV a few days ago as Lisbon students collected towels as a community service project to support a war torn region of the world. Wonderful, wonderful ... I love that kind of teaching even though it may not relate specifically to the "probing questions" topic that has been our focus these past few months. Good for you Salie.

I also had the pleasure of attending our weekend retreat in Canton and meeting with some of you personnally (Mark, AJ, Elaine and Professor Esther Oey from SLU who joined our confab). I asked how the course was going and got the gambit of responses ranging from too hard, too easy, difficult to connect without interacting with a real person and haven't started yet. But the one commonality amongst the participants that were there that day was the significance of the topic. All agree it is an essential component in teaching in a learner centered class.

Probing questions, inquiry or whatever you choose to call it is an important strategy in teaching or learning - depending on your perspective. Speaking of perspective - look at this topic (questioning) from another view - try teaching a class without ever asking a single question. How engaging was it? How did you assess what students were to learn or that your objectives were met? I can't imagine teaching a class without interjecting questions. But as we have gleened thus far, there are a multidude of styles of questions that can be asked during a lesson and that is the focus of our work both last month and again this month.

Here is another list to consider. It is under the heading of GOOD CLASSROOM QUESTIONS from www.bsu.edu/burris/iwonder/strategies/cq.html

Try taking each example and designing a question that fits that mode. See how it feels, see what results you get from your respondents (students). The first 5 of the 10 are offered as follows:

Clear questions - focus on specific phenomenon.... "what would happen if... ?" recall in nature, probably most common type asked.

Thought provoking questions - demand insight and reasoning. Can't be answered simply. Require mindful engagement .... "what have I come to know or come to know differently?" iconoclast in nature, challenges assumptions.

Divergent questions - broad range and variety of responses... "we have all ppositive responses, what are some negative thngs that could occur?" usually requires expanding one's perspective. other side of the coin.

Open-ended questions - require more than one answer. Can't be answered with a simply yes or no....."what are some of the things that happen when?" no singular truth?? seperates black and white into grays.

Extending questions - requires students to draw conclusions, make generalizations, provide reasoning for what they believe or know to be true.... "what do you think is the most important affect of teachers asking good questions?" try that question in your class!!!!

Well that's 5 styles for this month guys and gals. Give 'em a try. Next month we will have 5 more strategies to consider before we move on.

Please e-mail me a response to the following:

How is the final project coming along?