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Art of Questioning
Art of Questioning
“Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than giving of right answers.” -Josef
Albers (1888-1976)
Purposes of Questioning
Principles of Questioning
3. Ask both simple and challenging questions so that the poorer students may participate and
8. If a student asks a question, don’t answer it until you’ve asked the class
9. Personalized questions
Kinds of Questions
1. Reflecting -Sentence Prompts - “So you’re thinking that…- “Sounds like you’re
2. Open-ended Questions - Allows other person to express what is on his/her mind, to tell
you what he/she considers to be important - Gives maximum latitude to speak freely
3. Closed-ended Questions - Limit the length of the response to a few words - Call for a
precise piece of information - The short response focuses directly on a specific point
Levels of Questioning
Comprehension: requires the students to think on low level such that the knowledge can
facts or information.
Evaluation: requires the students to make an assessment of good or not so good according
to some standards.
Synthesis: requires the students to find a solution to a problem through the use of
NOTE: Low Level Thinking Skills (LOTS) are those in the knowledge and comprehension
level. High Level Thinking Skills (HOTS) are those that go beyond the comprehension
level.
2. Include “staging Questions” to draw pupils towards key understanding or to increase the
6. Create an atmosphere of trust where pupils’ opinions and ideas are valued.
7. Show connections between previous and new learning.
10. Encourage pupils to listen and respond to each other as well as to the teacher.
Pitfalls of Questioning:
6. Focusing on a small number of pupils and not involving the whole class.