Chapter 8- Ongoing Questioning

The most important feedback is what teachers learn from students, so that we can rethink our
strategies. (Hattie-2009)
Different ways of learning from what students know or may not be clear about:
Partner Talk/ Teachers Eavesdropping
-are golden opportunities for a teachers to walk around the classroom eavesdropping,
-interesting ideas are being shared that might not be said out-loud
-this information could change the direction of the lesson (child centric)
One To One Dialogue
-is a powerful opportunity to explain and understand how things are worked out
-effective questioning to individuals throughout lessons reveals childrens thinking and understanding
-Sample Of Good Questions-Tell me what you have done
-Tell me what youre going to do first
-What do you mean by
-Why do you think
-Give me an example of what you mean
-Can you explain that
-So why is this one better than that one
-How could you change this to make it clearer
The more you probe the more is revealed. Regular face-to-face informative questioning by the teacher
will reveal childrens understanding and will drive the direction of further teaching.
Table/Desk Configuration
Where the partner talks take place is important-the configuration of furniture can be a barrier to
partner talks as some children have their backs to the teacher, or have to turn around or lean to avoid
only seeing the back of the childs head in front. Sometimes having to face another child across a
table, facial expressions and distracting behaviour can be off-putting for some children. Teachers find
it hard to crouch, lean across the tables or stand above students and not everyone may be able to
hear.
There are examples on pg 116 as to the best configuration.
Using Blooms and Thinking Hats To Ask Higher Order Questions
Blooms- use to help plan your questioning
-Knowledge
-Understanding
-Application
-Analysis
-Synthesis and speculating
-Evaluation
De Bonos Hats-use to help channel students thinking about a particular question

-White- What are the facts?

-Red- What is my gut feeling?
-Black- What are the reasons to be cautious?

-Yellow- What are the benefits?

-Green- What are the possibilities?
-Blue- Are you managing the Hat process properly?
De Bono suggests a more structured approach should be used as a pre-cursor- White Hat
to establish the facts and information to create a shared vision before the other hats are
introduced. The hats would then be introduced one at a time except the Red Hat, which is
used for a very short time to ensure gut reactions rather than judgements.
The rationale for the hats is that the brain thinks in a number ways which can be deliberately
channelled and planned for in a structured way, allowing us to develop tactics for thinking
about particular issues.
Nothing much new here, but good to re-visit and be reminded of these tools and strategies
and remember the power of listening.