Teaching Tips for High-Level Questioning

Teachers ask hundreds of questions a day so it is important that they use questioning techniques that challenge the thinking of ALL students.

Here are five teaching tips for high-level questioning:

1. Require ALL learners to answer the question. This is when using the "all-write" strategy is very helpful. Instead of simply asking a question and having one or two students raise their hand to answer, the teacher should have ALL students write down an answer to the question. This way the teacher has gotten all of her students involved in the question and answer process. Or, instead of having all students write their answer, the teacher could simply ask the question and have ALL students share their response with a partner.

2. Require students to defend, or back-up, their answers.

3. Use Bloom's Taxonomy to create high-level questions. For example, instead of asking, "Which U.S. President authorized the use of the atomic bomb at the end of World War II?" a teacher could ask, "Was President Truman justified in using the atomic bomb to end World War II and why do you think that?"

4. Differentiate questions as appropriate.

5. Promote examination of new and different perspectives. For example, instead of asking, "What happened at the Boston Tea Party?" a teacher could ask, 'If you were a British soldier, how would you have reacted when you heard the news about the Boston Tea Party?"

By using these simple teaching tips for high-level questioning, teachers can not only get ALL their students involved in the lesson, but also get all those students to gain a deeper understanding of the content by challenging them to think critically about each answer.

If you're looking for more effective teaching tips that you can start using in your very next class, then make sure to read "52 Teaching Tips" at www.52TeachingTips.com