Critical+Questioning

=**Critical Questioning and Motivation**=

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 * Critical Questioning:**

The kind of questions we ask our students can influence, to a degree, the type and level of thinking they engage in. So what kind of questions and questioning techniques can teachers use to motivate higher thinking and learning? Bloom's (1956) taxonomy classifies questions according to varying cognitive levels from lower to higher levels of thinking: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. (note: Bloom's taxonomy was revised by Anderson and Krathwohl (2001) to remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating.

//**Knowledge:**//
What is the name of an 8 sided polygon?

//**Comprehension:**//
What is the size of wire that can be safely used to transfer 110 volts according to the Volt/Wire Size Chart?

//Application//:
What is the volume of water that can flow through a 2 inch diameter pipe? What would the diameter of a holding tank 3 ft long have to be to hold 60 gallons of water?

**//Analysis://**
What would the time savings be to fill a 120 gallon tank with a 4 1/2 inch diameter pipe compared to a 3 inch diameter pipe?

//**Synthesis:**//
What would the shape or profile of the current jaws on the 36 inch grapple have to take, to enable it to hold 24 inch diameter logs, using the same pin locations and cylinder stroke lengths?

//**Evaluation:**//
Comparing the fuel consumptions of the 350 and 450 models of Kobelco excavators, which model would be more economical to use to excavate 5000 cubic yards of soil, if the 350 model was using a 30 yard bucket and the 450 model was using a 35 yard bucket? What size of bucket would be needed to make both models equally economical?

**Closed and Open Questions**
Blosser (1995) refers to the use of closed and open questions. Closed questions have a limited number of acceptable responses and can be divided into //cognitive memory// (lower order questions that focus on factual recall) or //convergent questions// (leading to limited responses but at a higher level order of compare and contrast, application of previously learned information and making a judgement or evaluating). Open questions, on the other hand, elicit a wide range of possible responses and have the potential to stimulate higher level thinking, promote discussion and encourage hypothesizing, speculation, invention, interpretation and sharing. They require justification, identification of implications, and judgmental review of values and standards. They can be subdivided into divergent or evaluative thinking questions.

Productive Questions
Elstgeest's (1985) guide focuses on "productive questions." This includes attention focusing, measuring, comparing, action-ing, problem posting and reasoning questions. Productive questions stimulate productive physical or mental activity and reasoning, and provide scaffolding to construct understanding. Attention focusing questions guide exploration and attention to details. Measuring questions move students from qualitative to quantitative ideas and greater precision in observations and measures. Comparison questions sharpen observation. Action questions ask "What happens if?" and challenge outcome predictions.

Effective Questioning Techniques
B.G. Davis (Tools for Teaching, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1995, pp. 85-88) Tactics for Effective Questioning, provides the following 12 techniques;

1. Ask one question at a time. Keep questions brief and clear 2. Avoid 'yes' and 'no' questions. Ask 'how' or 'why' questions. 3. Pose questions that lack a single right answer. 4. Ask focused questions. An overly broad question can lead you off topic. 5. Avoid leading questions. 6. After you ask a question, wait silently for the answer. Waiting is a signal that you want thoughtful participation. 7. Search for consensus on correct responses. Follow up the correct response by asking others what they think. 8. Ask questions that require students to demonstrate their understanding. Don't ask "Do you have any questions?" ask "What questions do you have?" This implies that you expect and encourage questions. 9. Structure your questions to encourage student-to-student interaction. Students become more attentive when required to respond to each other. 10. Draw out reserved or reluctant students. Sometimes a questions disguised as an instructors musing will encourage students who are hesitant to speak. 11. Use questions to change the tempo and direction of the discussion. 12. Use probing strategies. Follow-up questions that focus student attention on their ideas or assumptions helps students explore and express what they know.

Research Findings
In a study done by Kouffetta-Menicou & Scaife (2000), they found that lower level thinking questions (recall, definitions,descriptions and identifications of variables) were "not positively related to any kind of desired learning outcome" and "cannot be assumed to be effective in higher level thinking" (pp.82-83). Higher level thinking questions (//how// questions that require description and justification of procedures, seek proof or evidence, recognize patterns and trends; //why// questions that require reasoning; //what if// questions, prediction questions and conclusions questions) appear to be associated to use of meta cognitive skills. It also suggests that "asking more questions...does not guarantee higher level learning and that it is the types of questions that matter not simply their quantity" (p.83)

In Renaud & Murray's (2007) "The Validity of Higher Order Questions as a Process Indicator of Educational Quality" they state "...several recent studies support the conclusion that higher-order questions may have a positive impact on students critical thinking skills" (p.323) They also refer to Tsui's (2002) study, though without a focus on higher-order questions, "...one could reasonably presume that the activities involved in the process of writing, as outlined by Tsui, included at least some degree of the type of thinking that would be needed to respond to a higher question." (p. 324) Reference is also made to a series of studies by Williams and Colleagues that concluded, "...students who scored better on exams with items requiring logical reasoning tended to show larger pre-test-post-test gains in critical thinking skills." (p. 324) The results of both of these studies "provide indirect support for the effect of higher-order questions and critical thinking skills" (p.324)

**References:**
Bloom, B.S. (1956) //Taxonomy of Educational Objectives:Cognitive Domain,// McKay, New York

Blosser, P.E. (1995) //How to Ask the Right Questions.// Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Assocations

Davis, B.G. (1995) // Tactics for Effective Questioning: // Tools for Teaching, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1995, pp. 85-88

Elstgeest, J. (1985) //The right question at the right time.// In W.Harlen (Ed.), Primary Science: //Taking the Plunge,//pp.35-46 Oxford:Heinemann

Koufetta-Menicou, C & Scaife, J. (2000) //T////eachers questions - types and significance in science education.// School Science Review, 81 (296), 79-84

Renaud, Robert D. and Murray Harry G. (2007) //The Validity of Higher-Order Questions as a Process Indicator of Educational Quality:// Research in Higher Education, Vol. 48, No 3, May 2007