Do you know what kind of questions you ask most frequently?
Research on the questions teachers ask shows that about 60 percent require
only recall of facts, 20 percent require students to think, and 20 percent
are procedural in nature.
The major types of questions fall into four categories:
- Managerial: questions
which keep the classroom operations moving;
- Rhetorical: questions
used to emphasize a point or to reinforce an idea or statement;
- Closed: questions used
to check retention or to focus thinking on a particular point; and
- Open: questions used
to promote discussion or student interaction.
(Source: P. E. Blosser. (1975). How to
Ask the Right Questions. National
Science Teachers Association)
Following is a list of question types you can use to analyze your questioning
strategies and develop a variety of questions to help students think.
I. Probing Questions
Series of questions which require students to go beyond the first
response. Subsequent teacher questions are formed on the basis of the
Ex: "What, exactly do you
"Will you please rephrase
"Could you elaborate on
"What did you mean by the
term. . .?"
- Increasing Critical
Ex: "What are you
"What are your reasons for
thinking that is so?"
"Is that all there is to
"How many questions are we
trying to answer here?"
"How would an opponent of
this point of view respond?"
Ex: "If this is true, what
are the implications for . . . ?"
"How does John's answer
relate to . . . ?"
"Can you relate this to . .
"Lets analyze that
Ex: Teacher: "John, what's
the square root of 94?"
John: "I don't know."
Teacher: "Well, what's the square root of 100?"
John: "Ten." Teacher:
"And the square root of 81?" John: "Nine."
Teacher: "Then what do we
know about the square root of 94?"
John: "It's between nine
- Redirecting to Another
Ex: Teacher: "What is the
theme of Hemmingway's 'Old Man and the Sea'?"
Sam: "It's about an old
man's courage in catching a fish."
Teacher: "Mary, do you
or: "Mary, do you think
it's that simple?"
or: "Mary, can you
elaborate on Sam's answer?"
II. Factual Questions
Questions which require the student to recall specific information s(he)
has previously learned. Often these use who, what, when, where, etc.
- Simple Bits of
Ex. "Who was the leader of
the Free French forces during W.W.II?"
"Who is the main character
in Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone With The Wind?"
"During which century did
"What is the Spanish verb
meaning to run?"
- Facts Organized into a
Logical Order (Sequence of Events)
Ex. "What are the steps a bill
goes through before it becomes a law?"
"How were the American and
French forces able to bottle up Cornwall and the British at Yorktown?"
"How did Robinson Crusoe
react when he discovered footprints in the sand?"
"What is the commercial
method for producing hydrochloric acid?"
III. Divergent Questions
Questions with no right or wrong answers, but which encourage exploration
of possibilities. Requires both concrete and abstract thinking to arrive at
an appropriate response
Ex. "What might happen if Congress
passes a law preventing the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United
"How would the story have
been different if John had been a tall, strong boy instead of disabled?"
"If you were stuck on a
desert island and the only tool you had was a screwdriver, what use might you
make of it?"
"In what ways would history
have been changed had the Spanish Armada defeated the English in 1588?"
IV. Higher Order Questions
Questions which require students to figure out answers rather than remember
them. Requires generalizations related to facts in meaningful patterns.
- Evaluation: Requires
judgment, value or choice based upon comparing of ideas or objects to
Ex: "Which of the two books
do you believe contributed most to an understanding of the Victorian era?
"Assuming equal resources,
who would you rate as the most skillful general, Robert E. Lee or Ulysses S.
- Inference: Requires
inductive or deductive reasoning
Inductive: Discovery of a
general principle from a collection of specific facts.
Deductive: Logical operation in
which the worth of a generalization is tested with specific issues.
Ex: "We have examined the
qualities these world leaders have in common. What might we conclude, in
general, about qualities necessary for leadership? Why?" (Inductive)
"If the temperature of the
gas remains the same, but gas is taken to an altitude of 4000 feet higher,
what happens to the pressure of the gas? Why?" (Deductive)
- Comparison: Requires
student to determine if ideas/objects are similar, dissimilar,
unrelated, or contradictory.
Ex: "Is a mussel the same
thing as a clam?"
"What similarities and
differences exist between Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and Pericles' Funeral
"What is the connection
between Social Darwinism and the Supreme Court actions of the late nineteenth
- Application: Requires
student to use a concept or principle in a context different from that
in which she/he learned it.
Concept = Classification of
events/objects that have common characteristics.
Principle = A relationship
between two or more concepts.
Ex: "How was Gresham's Law
demonstrated in the Weimer Republic of Germany?"
"Can you think of an
example to fit this definition?"
Requires a student to use previously learned knowledge to solve a
problem. Students must see relationships between knowledge and the
problem, diagnose materials, situations, and environments, separate problems
into components parts, and relate parts to one another and the whole.
This question may generate answers the teacher hasn't anticipated.
Ex: "Suppose you grow up
with the idea that dogs were bad. Out of the many dogs you came into contact
with, none bit you when you were quite young. How would you react towards
dogs now? Would the type, size, etc., of the dog make any difference as to
how you react? Explain the notion of prejudices using this example."
V. Affective Questions
Questions which elicit expressions of attitude, values, or feelings of the
Ex: "How do you feel about
"Is that important to
"Would you like to . . .
VI. Structuring Questions
Questions related to the setting in which learning is occurring.
Ex: "Are there any
"Any further comments?"
"Is the assignment
"Would you repeat
"Are we ready to