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Ethics of Technology
Information technology has substantially affected modern human life in every aspect. People must be responsible users of information technology.

May-August 2008

The Use of Questioning in Instruction: A Better Approach

Dr. Manuel M. Punzal

A Lesson from Childhood Young children, usually beginning threeyear olds, love to ask questions one after another. This is not just a habit that they have and which, sooner or later will come to pass, and which to some adults may be amazing or to some may be boring. It is a way for them to begin the process of learning the what, why, when and where of life. And the more they ask, the more they learn, and better. As some perceptive adults view this childs habit, it is innate wisdom of an innocent desiring to know the vicissitudes of life. The Greek Philosopher Socrates seemed to have not overcome this habit of questioning. The Socratic method of questioning is at the core of his famous philosophical dictum, the unexamined life is not worth living. The effective use of questioning can impact on: a) arousing the learners curiosity; b) stimulating interest on the topic under discussion; c) making concepts clearer; d) focusing key points to learn; e) enhancing problem-solving skill; f) encouraging learners to use higher order thinking skills; g) motivating learners quest for new insights and information, and h) determining the learners cognition status in aid of restructuring instruction. The types of questions and the manner in which questions are framed have direct impact on Blooms Taxonomy of Thinking Skills as follow: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

What are questioning?

some

techniques

of

effective

Establish a climate of rapport and mutual trust. Avoid trick questions and those that require only answers of YES or NO. Phrase the questions carefully, concisely, and clearly. Give some signs of non-threatening facial or vocal expression and genuine signs of encouragement. Definition A question is any sentence which has an interrogative form or function. In classroom settings, teacher questions are defined as instructional cues or stimuli that convey to students the content elements to be learned and directions for what they are to do and how they are to do it (Colton, 2001). Questioning Skills Most questions that teachers ask are simple recall questions that require the student to remember some factual information and recite it to the teacher. Comprehension questions require the student to demonstrate understanding in addition to mere recall.

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Dr. Ronald Pastrana discusses his lesson with the students.

Analysis questions can cause students to apply that comprehension to a new setting. Evaluations ask the student for his or her beliefs or opinion. 1. Using Probing Effective use of probing is one of the most important questioning skills. If the students do not provide a complete answer, he or she may know a partial answer. In some cases, even though the question is perfectly clear to the teacher, it might need to be restated or broken down into smaller pieces. The teacher should not accept I dont know as the final response. Probing is the use of further questions to force the student to put together his or her partial knowledge into a more complete answer. Probing often involves the use of follow-on or leading questions to help the student answer the initial question or to provide a more complete answer. Probing means going deeper; it means digging. It can sometimes be painful to both the student and the teacher. It requires patience on the part of the teacher. In any case, it means not answering your own questions until you have tried to make the student think through the answer. Even a simple recall question may lead to important new learning on the part of the students if probing is used effectively. 2. Shifting Interaction Another important questioning technique is called shifting interaction. This involves redirecting the class discussion from one student to another. If a students response is incomplete or incorrect, the teacher should try probing that student first. If that is not productive, responsibility for the question should be shifted to anther student. Positive reinforcement should be provided to the first student and the same question should be directed to a second or even a third student. Sometimes a student will respond to a teachers question with another question. With shifting interaction, the teacher simply redirects the students question to another student. If the student asks for an opinion,

the teacher may even redirect it back to the same student. Effective use of questioning is a critical asset in every good teachers toolbox. But just as a good mechanic selects the right tool for the job and then uses it correctly, a good teacher uses questions at the right level and follows good questioning techniques: The way a student is expected to respond to questioning is determined by the levels at which the questions are worded: recall, comprehension, analysis, or evaluation. But the success of the student in answering the question is more often determined by the teachers questioning techniques: 2.1. Be sure the question is clear on your mind. Think through what you want from the student before you ask the question. Formulate the question without thinking or calling on a specific student. When you call a student before the question is asked, every other student is free to ignore the question. 2.2. After framing the question, pause while everybody has a chance to think of an answer. That is called wait time, and it is amazing how few teachers use this important questioning skill. The average wait time, when the teacher waits at all after a question, is less than a second. There should be at least 2-4 seconds after any questions before a student is called on the respond to it, you might even try counting to yourself to force you wait an appropriate time. 2.3. Ask only one question at a time. Multiple part questions are confusing and are likely to result in student misunderstanding. Avoid what called shotgun is questioning. This where the teacher asks a series of related questions or estates the same question over and over without getting (sometimes without allowing) an answer. Use recall questions first to be sure the students have the knowledge. Then proceed to comprehension and analysis question. Follow those up with evaluation questions. Research Findings Some researchers have conducted general investigations of the role of classroom questioning and have drawn the following conclusions: a) Instruction which includes posing questions during lessons is more effective in producing achievement gains than instruction carried out without questioning students; b) Students perform better on test items previously asked recitation questions than on items they have not been exposed to before; c) Oral questions posed during classroom

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recitations are more effective in fostering learning than are written questions; and d) Questions which focus students attention on salient elements in the lesson result in better comprehension than questions which do not. 1. Redirection/Probing/reinforcement The findings emerging from these investigations are congruent with the general literature on questioning, including: Redirection and probing (often researched together) are positively related to achievement when they are explicitly focused, e.g., on the clarity, accuracy, plausibility, etc. of student responses; Redirection and probing are unrelated to achievement when they are vague or critical, e.g., Thats not right; try again:, Where did you get an idea like that? Im sure Suzanne has thought it through more carefully and can help us; Acknowledging correct responses as such is positively related to achievement.; and Praise is positively related to achievement when it is use sparingly, is directly related to the students response, and I sincere and credible (Colton,2001) 2. Wait-Time The average wait-time teachers allow after posing a question is one second or less. Students whom teachers perceive as low or poor learners are given less wait-time that those teachers view as more capable. For lower cognitive questions, a wait-time of three seconds is most positively related to achievement, with less success resulting from shorter or longer wait-times There seems to be no wait-time threshold to higher cognitive questions; students seem to become more and more engaged and perform better and better the longer the teacher is willing to wait (Colton,2001) Increasing wait-time beyond three seconds is positively related to the following students outcomes: 1)improvement is in the students achievement; 2) improvement in students retention, as measured by delayed tests; 3) increase in the number of higher cognitive responses generated by students;4) increase in the length of students responses; 5) increase in the number of unsolicited responses; 6) decrease in students failure; 7) increase in the amount and quality of evidence students offer to support their inferences; 8) increase in contributions by students who do not participate much when waittime is under three seconds; 9) expansion of the variety of responses offered by students; 10) decrease in student interruptions.; 11) increase in

student-student interactions; and 12) increase in the number of questions posed by the students. Examples of Wait-Time Case
Teachers goal: To relate slope to soil erosion and then to the use of terracing as an erosion control measure. - (Recall) What causes most of soil erosion? (WAIT) - Question Mario. (WAIT) - Mario: I guess water does. - (Probing) How does water cause soil erosion? (WAIT) - Question Leo. (WAIT) - Leo: It washes the soil away - (Probing) Thats true, but how does it do that? (looking at Leo WAIT) - Leo: It dissolves the soil. - (Probing) that is partly right. It does dissolve some minerals. But what action of water causes the soil to move away? (looking at Leo WAIT) - Austin:???? - (Shifting) Can you help Leo with this? (WAIT) - (Interaction) Donna. (WAIT) - Donna: As the water moves, it picks up soil particles and carries them along. - (Comprehension) Thats right, Now, what does the slope of the field have to do with that? (WAIT) - Luis. (WAIT) - Luis: The steeper the slope, the faster the water runs off and that makes the erosion worse. - (Analysis) Super! Now, what can we do to change the slope of a hill without the whole thing out with bulldozers? (WAIT) - Jose. (WAIT) Source: Colton,2001

Increasing wait-time beyond three seconds is positively related to the following teacher outcomes: 1) increase in flexibility of teacher responses, with teachers listening more and engaging students in more discussions; 2) increase in teacher expectations regarding student usually thought of as slow; 3) expansion of the variety of questions asked by teachers; and 4) increases in number of higher cognitive questions asked by teachers (Colton, 2001) 3. Placement and Timing of Questions Asking questions frequently during class discussions is positively related to learning facts. Increasing the frequency of classroom questions does not enhance the learning of more complex material. (Some researchers have found no relationship; others have found a negative relationship.) On the other hand, posing questions before reading and studying material is effective for students who are older, high ability, and/or known to be interested in subject matter. Very young children and poor readers tends to focus only in material that will help them answer

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questions if these are posed before the lesson is presented. 4. Cognitive Level of Questions Should we be asking questions which require literal recall of text content and only very basic reasoning? Or ought we to be posing questions which call for speculative, inferential, and evaluative? Some researchers have designed experiments which examine the effects of questions framed at differing levels of Blooms taxonomy of school learning. Lower cognitive questions are those which ask the student merely to recall verbatim or in his/her own words material previously read or taught by the teacher. Lower cognitive questions are also referred to in the literature as fact, closed, direct, recall, and knowledge questions. Higher cognitive questions are defined as those which ask the student to mentally manipulate bits of information previously learned to crate an answer or to support an answer with logically reasoned evidence. Higher cognitive questions are also called open-ended, interpretive, evaluative, inquiry, inferential, and synthesis questions. It is only when researchers look at the cognitive level of teachers questions in relation to the subject matter, the students, and the teachers intent that some meaningful conclusions can be drawn from this body of research (Colton,2001). 5. Teacher Training Research tells us that pre-service teachers are given training in developing questioning strategies and, indeed, that some receive no training at all. What happens when teachers participate in training designed to help them improve their questioning skills. Research indicates that (a) training teachers in asking higher cognitive questions is positively related to the achievement of students above the primary grades; (b) training teachers in increased wait-time is positively related to achievement; and (c) training teachers to vary their questioning behaviors and to use approaches other than questioning during classroom discussions (e.g., silence, making statements) are positively related to student achievement (Colton, 2001). What are the purposes of teachers classroom questions? A variety of purposes emerge from analysis of the literature, including: a. To develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons. b. To evaluate students preparation and check on homework or seatwork completions. c. To develop critical thinking skills and inquiring

attitudes. d. To review and summarize previous lessons. e. To nurture insights by exposing new relationships. f. To assess achievement of instructional goals and objectives. g. To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own. These purposes are generally pursued in the context of classroom recitation, defined as a series of teacher questions, each eliciting a student response and sometimes a teacher reaction to that response. Within these recitations, students follow a series of steps (consciously or unconsciously) in order to produce responses to the questions posed. These steps include: (1) attending to the question; (2) deciphering the meaning of the question; (3) generating a covert response like formulating a response in ones mind; (4) generating an overt response; and often (5) revising the response (based on teacher probing or other feedback) Better pre-service training in the art of posing classroom questions, together with inservice training to sharpen teachers questioning skills, have potential for increasing students classroom participation and achievement. Increasing wait-time and the incidence of higher cognitive questions, in particular, have considerable promise for improving the effectiveness of classroom instruction. Guidelines for Classroom Questioning To ensure effective classroom discussion the teacher should incorporate questioning into the classroom learning practices. Furthermore, she should ask questions which focus on the salient elements in the lesson and avoid questioning students about extraneous matters. Finally in settings where higher cognitive questions are appropriate, the teacher should teach the students for drawing inferences. References
Colton, K. (2001). Classroom Questioning. Retrieved on August 2003 from http://www.yale.edu. Adams, I. (1985). Refinements in Teaching Comprehension: Who should ask the Questions. Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Illinois Reading Council. Peoria, Illinois.

Dr. Manual M. Punzal Dean School of Business and Accountancy, HRM and Tourism

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Ethics of Technology
Ms. Amelita M. Santos

Information technology has substantially affected modern human life in every aspect. People must be responsible users of information technology, who should have a basic understanding of its beginnings, an awareness of current issues, and a familiarity with ethics. Quinn (1990), in his discussions included the most up-todate moral controversies surrounding information technology, including Internet addiction, Internetenabled computer: spam, controversial e-mail and Web sites, identity theft, and the exchange of copyrighted music over peer-to-peer networks. Other issues with greater impact on society as a whole, such as computer privacy, government surveillance, computer and network security, and computer error are now being considered with great impact. To address these issues, the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) issued a statement of policy concerning Internet ethics (in January 1989). This document is referred to as RFC 1087 'Ethics and the Internet'. The following is an excerpt taken from RFC 1087: The IAB strongly endorses the view of the Division Advisory Panel of the National Science Foundation Division of Network, Communications Research and Infrastructure which, in paraphrase, characterized as unethical and unacceptable any activity which purposely: Seeks to gain unauthorized access to the resources of the Internet. Disrupts the intended use of the Internet. Wastes resources (people, capacity, and computer) through such actions. Destroys the integrity of computerbased information. Compromises the privacy of users. According to Cottrell (1999), rapid advances in computer technology led computing and philosophy professionals in the late 1980s and early 1990s to examine, with considerable debate about the substantially different ethical dilemmas created as new technologies were deployed. In the many literature reviews she made, she examined the effects of new technologies which indeed created new ethical dilemmas. With the rapid infusion of computers,

"The infrastructure of the Internet is fundamentally flawed in so many ways that it is a constant source of amazement that it doesn't collapse under its own weight. But for those of us who depend on the Internet for the competitive advantages it brings, there is little choice but to live with it and struggle to recover from the constant curves it throws us." - Fred Cohen, Sandia National Laboratories software and related technologies into homes, schools and businesses, it is but imperative to think on the ethical issues surrounding technology to insure people understand and practice values important to all - respect for others, their property, ownership, and the right to privacy. That is, people must understand how to convey ethics and values important to the society -- a sense of responsibility, a sense of right and wrong and a sense of the law. While laws exist to protect people, their property and their rights, as well as the belief that people, their property and their rights should be protected and respected which is covered by Ethics, also called moral philosophy. This involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior, even in the use of such new technology. As defined by wikipedia (2008), Ethics of technology is a subfield of ethics addressing the ethical questions specific to the Technology Age or the Digital Age. Some prominent works of philosopher Hans Jonas, a German Philosopher focused on the social and ethical problems created by technology. That is, technology itself is incapable of possessing moral or ethical qualities, since "technology" is merely a tool used by people for their self advantage. Basically, "ethics of technology" refers to two basic subdivisions. 1. The ethics involved in the development of new technology - whether it is always, never, or contextually right or wrong to invent and implement a technological innovation. 2. The ethical questions that are exacerbated by the ways in which technology extends or curtails the power of individuals - how standard ethical questions are changed by the new powers.

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In the former case, ethics in computer security and computer viruses inquires whether the very act of innovation is an ethically right or wrong act. In the same way that a scientist have an ethical obligation when he invents a nuclear weapon. So, what are the ethical questions surrounding the production of technologies that waste or conserve energy and resources? Similarly when there is a production of new manufacturing processes that might inhibit employment, or might inflict suffering in the third world. In the latter case, the ethics of technology quickly break down into the ethics of various human endeavors as they are altered by new technologies. For example, bioethics is now largely consumed with questions that have been exacerbated by the new life-preserving technologies, new cloning technologies, and new technologies for implantation. In law, the right of privacy is being continually attenuated by the emergence of new forms of surveillance and anonymity. The old ethical questions of privacy and free speech are given new shape and urgency in an Internet age. Such tracing devices as Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID), biometric analysis and identification, genetic screening, all take old ethical questions and amplify their import. Subsequently, in today's age of digital revolution there is a fundamental reshaping of the elements by which people comprehend the world about them. The constant availability of images and ideas, and their rapid transmission even from continent to continent, have profound consequences, both positive and negative, for the psychological, moral and social development of persons, the structure and functioning of societies, intercultural communications, and the perception and transmission of values, world views, ideologies, and religious beliefs. Today it takes no great stretch of the imagination to envisage the earth as an interconnected globe humming with electronic transmissionsa chattering planet nestled in the provident silence of space. Most of us today already have e-mail and connected to the Internet, where we rely on Web sites like MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Multiply and many others to let the world find out important information about us. However, this posed many questions and the ethical question is whether this is contributing to authentic human development and helping individuals and people to be true to their transcendent destiny. The widespread use of computer networks and the global reach of the World Wide Web have added substantially to the information sector's production of an astonishing abundance of

information in digital form, as well as offering unprecedented ease of access to it. Creating, publishing, distributing, using, and reusing information have become many times easier and faster in the past decade. The enrichment that this explosive growth in information brings to society is really good. But, the bad news is, these enrichment can also bring to those who take advantage of the properties of digital information and the Web to copy, distribute, and use information illegally. The Web is an information resource of extraordinary size and depth, yet it is also an information reproduction and dissemination facility of great reach and capability; it is at once one of the world's largest libraries and surely the world's largest copying machine. Thus, computer professionals who are members of organizations, like Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), in the USA: and the Philippine Computer Society or PCS, in the Philippines, they need to adhere to professionalism for all IT users. As authorities with specialized knowledge and being respected in the community, they can have a significant impact upon the world, thus, be able to provide information on the ethical behavior every IT user must pursue (Gotterbarn, 2001). Likewise, this is a major concern addressed by 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology (3TU.Ethics), which brings together the expertise of the philosophy departments of the three technical universities in the Netherlands (Delft, Eindhoven, Twente) in the field of ethics of science, technology and engineering. This joint venture allows for close collaboration in research as well as teaching, outreach and contract research in both the private and public sector. More specifically its mission is as follows:
To stimulate and undertake interdisciplinary and applied research in the field of ethics and technology; To stimulate and undertake fundamental research in ethics relevant for the field of ethics and technology; To stimulate and undertake activities in the field of teaching in ethics and technology; To act as an intermediary between the philosophies departments involved in 3TU.Ethics on the one hand and public debates and the media on the other.

New technologies bring about the need to interpret old values in new ways, but also may call for the creation of new codes of conduct when new actions are made possible with the use of technology. Several ethical codes dealing with technology use exist and many schools have

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Sample of Code of Ethics Used by Companies (Technology)

Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice

By: Executive Committee: Gotterbarn,D. (Chair), Miller,K. and Rogerson, S. (1999) Short Version PREAMBLE Computers have a central and growing role in commerce, industry, government, medicine, education, entertainment and society at large. Software engineers are those who contribute by direct participation or by teaching, to the analysis, specification, design, development, certification, maintenance and testing of software systems. Because of their roles in developing software systems, software engineers have significant opportunities to do good or cause harm, to enable others to do good or cause harm, or to influence others to do good or cause harm. To ensure, as much as possible, that their efforts will be used for good, software engineers must commit themselves to making software engineering a beneficial and respected profession. In accordance with that commitment, software engineers shall adhere to the following Code of Ethics and Professional Practice. The Code contains eight Principles related to the behavior of and decisions made by professional software engineers, including practitioners, educators, managers, supervisors and policy makers, as well as trainees and students of the profession. The Principles identify the ethically responsible relationships in which individuals, groups, and organizations participate and the primary obligations within these relationships. The Clauses of each Principle are illustrations of some of the obligations included in these relationships. These obligations are founded in the software engineers humanity, in special care owed to people affected by the work of software engineers, and the unique elements of the practice of software engineering. The Code prescribes these as obligations of anyone claiming to be or aspiring to be a software engineer. Software engineers shall commit themselves to making the analysis, specification, design, development, testing and maintenance of software a beneficial and respected profession. In accordance with their commitment to the health, safety and welfare of the public, software engineers shall adhere to the following Eight Principles: 1. PUBLIC - Software engineers shall act consistently with the public interest. 2. CLIENT AND EMPLOYER - Software engineers shall act in a manner that is in the best interests of their client and employer consistent with the public interest. 3. PRODUCT - Software engineers shall ensure that their products and related modifications meet the highest professional standards possible. 4. JUDGMENT - Software engineers shall maintain integrity and independence in their professional judgment. 5. MANAGEMENT - Software engineering managers and leaders shall subscribe to and promote an ethical approach to the management of software development and maintenance. 6. PROFESSION - Software engineers shall advance the integrity and reputation of the profession consistent with the public interest. 7. COLLEAGUES - Software engineers shall be fair to and supportive of their colleagues. 8. SELF - Software engineers shall participate in lifelong learning regarding the practice of their profession and shall promote an ethical approach to the practice of the profession.
Source: http://www.acm.org/about/se-code/

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adopted Acceptable Use Policies that include rules for the proper use of information technologies. Teachers, students, and parents need to know and understand these codes. For children and students, the major issues surrounding technology ethics can be categorized into three areas: privacy, property, and appropriate use. While the Internet can be a unique educational and recreational resource for children, it is important that they are educated about how to safely and responsibly use this powerful tool. Several issues have received particular attention with respect to protecting children online. Parents and teachers should be aware of cyberstalking and the threats that online predators pose to children's physical safety; harmful or inappropriate content (most often characterized as pornographic, excessively violent or simply 'adult'); privacy invasions that result from the collection of personally identifiable information about individual children; and commercialism and aggressive marketing targeted directly at children. Another issue related to the presence of children on the Internet is the potential misuse of this tool. Whether the consequences are intentional or unintentional, the Internet can open a dangerous window of accessibility for children who are unaware of the consequences of irresponsible use. For this reason, it is essential that teachers and parents consider how to educate children about the consequences associated with misusing the Internet. Much of the ethical debate about computers and information technology more generally has been informed by the impact view of information technology. Within this tradition a number of issues have emerged as important. For example, whether computers generate new types of ethical problems that require new or different ethical theories or whether it is just more of the same (Gorniak 1996). These debates are often expressed in the language of the impact of information technology on particular values and rights (Johnson 1985, 1994). Thus, we have discussions on the impact of CCTV or web cookies on the right to privacy, the impact of the digital divide on the right to access information, the impact of the piracy of software on property rights, and so forth. In these debates Jim Moor (1985) has argued that computers show up policy vacuums that require new thinking and the establishment of new policies. Others have argued that the resources provided by classical ethical theory such as utilitarianism, consequential and deontological ethics is more than enough to deal with all the ethical issues emerging from our design and use of information technology (Gert 1999).

Irrespective of whether information technology creates new types of ethical problems that require new ethical theory or whether established ethical theory is sufficient, one tends to find the debate centered on questions of policy that is intended to regulate or justify conduct. These policies are seen, and presented as ways to regulate or balance competing rights or competing values. (Stanford, 2008) References
Brey, P. (2001) "Disclosive Computer Ethics." In Spinello,R.A. and Tavani, H. eds., Readings in CyberEthicsJones and Bartlett. Committee on Intellectual Property Rights in the Emerging Information Infrastructure (2000). The Digital Dilemma: Intellectual Property in the Information Age. Washington, USA: National Academy Press Cottrell, J. (1999), Ethics in an Age of Changing Technology Familiar Territory or New Frontiers?. Retrieved on July, 2008 from http://www. emerald insight. com /Insight/ menu. Devon, R. & Van de Poel, I. (2004). "Design Ethics: the Social Ethics Paradigm." International Journal of Engineering Education 20 (3). Gotterbarn,D., Miller, K. and Rogerson, S. (1999). Software Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Practice. Retrieved on July 2008 from www.acm.org/about/se-code. Mateti,P.(2007). Internet Security. Retrieved on July 2008 fromhttp://www.cs.wright.edu/~pmateti/InternetSecurity/Lecture s/Top/429weekByWeek.html. Nef, J., Vanderkop, J., Wiseman, H. (2004). Ethics and Technology: Ethical Choices In The Age Of Pervasive Technology. USA: John Wiley & Sons. Welcome. Retrieved on July 2008 from www.ethics andt echnology.eu .

Ms. Amelita M. Santos Faculty School of IT and Computer Sciences

LCCM Research Digest is published by the Research and Publications Center to serve as a sounding board of up to date ideas and actions related to research, classroom management and delivery of the faculty in the different schools of the College. It encourages and welcomes condensed versions or a short summary of research or review essays, conference papers, lecture notes, teaching guides and other classroom materials for its quarterly publication. Editorial Board: Sr. Imelda A. Mora, OSA, President Dr. Divina M. Edralin, Consultant Ms. Presentacion SL Katigbak, Director Carmela R. Claud, Researcher

Managing Editor: & Lay-out

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