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

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

Hi class!!!

I originally thought we would have the holiday season as an off month but I'm told to make it a bit lighter and so it will be.

....so how are we all??? (ooh another question)... I can't help but think that every time I ask a question I have now cued you to have some sort of response. (Pavlovian perhaps?) But in actuality that is the plan. I hope that the "art" of questioning becomes so ingrained in you that you become super conscious every time you ask a question and are aware of the type of question you are asking. Like anything, repetition and practice make us more proficient at the task.

Please e-mail me responses to the following:

Are you reflecting on the first two modules and how you are using questions for class discussion and test? Have you noticed the, for lack of a better word, sophistication of your questions improving? More importantly has it effected student learning?

All the above questions are to be considered on-going for the duration of the internet course. Hopefully, they and others you devise may serve as the reflection questions you consider.

I'm not going to add an 'in class' component this month; rather I want you to go to the internet and search the term - Socratic inquiry. The first thing I think you'll marvel at is the old Greeks' educational philosophy and teaching pedagogy (and won't it impress your friends and colleagues when you are able to pontificate on this heady topic?) Secondly, you should notice the difference between Socratic dialogue and Inquiry learning. Although both deal with questioning techniques, with Inquiry it is the learner who generates the stimulus(question) and the expert who generates the response.

With the Socratic method it is the expert who generates the stimulus (question) and the learner generates the response. Do you see the difference? If kids ask the question, it's inquiry. If the teacher ask or frames the question, it's socratic. Both have merit and can be used to effectively meet objectives. But remember you asking questions is generally more process oriented. By that I mean, you may ask a series of questions that are sequenced to eventually arrive an answer. With inquiry you are not exactly sure what may be asked and then must craft your response to meet the objective as well as answer the particular question.

Perhaps before Christmas vacation you can try both strategies. How do you think either method fits into the Learner Centered Classroom? ... And by the way, just to complete the paradigm.... with the 'didactic' method the expert generates the stimulus and the response! (teacher centered class) And with 'discovery' the learner generates the stimulus and the response! (which is another topic.)

See what else you can 'discover' as you explore the net searching out the topic I assigned or you that uncover.

Happy holidays to you all.... with fondness, Ron