Better Questioning for Better Learning: Strategies for Engaged Thinking

by Benjamin Johnson

Overview

Learn how to ask deeper questions and develop better questioning habits with this important resource. Author Benjamin Stewart Johnson takes you step by step through the key considerations and brain- based research to keep in mind when developing questions. He begins with an overview of why it’s important to understand participants’ thought process when being asked questions. He then shows how to set expectations for virtual questions and face- to- face questions; how to plan authentic, higher- order questions; how to scaffold and differentiate questions; and how to avoid zombie questions. In addition, he debunks myths such as wait time and points out the best ways to help learners support their answers, use questions to check for understanding, and more. Each section concludes by helping you create an action plan to improve your skills in a given area. Appropriate for teachers, instructional coaches, training facilitators, and specialists, the book can be used independently or in schoolwide book studies to help educators of all subjects and grades improve the depth and quality of their questioning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367761059
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/11/2021
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Benjamin Stewart Johnson is an educational leader and change agent with a mission to help learners learn more by increasing teacher and administrator effectiveness. As Assistant Superintendent, he turned around a school district from being rated Unacceptable to being rated Recognized by the Texas Education Agency in only three years. He has mentored and coached multitudes of school instructional leaders to increase student learning throughout the state of Texas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Meet the Author xii

Foreword xiv

Introduction to Better Questioning for Better Learning xvii

Questioning Skills Inventory xviii

Section I Questioning Foundation 1

1 Questions: Why Ask Questions? 3

1.1 The Purpose of Asking Questions 3

1.2 Gap in Questioning 4

1.3 Training on Questioning 8

2 Questioning Perspective: What Really Happens Inside a Participant's Head When an Instructor Asks Questions? 15

2.1 Participants' Thought Processes in Face-to-Face Learning 15

2.2 Participants' Thought Processes in Synchronous Virtual Learning 17

2.3 Participants' Thought Processes in Asynchronous Virtual Learning 17

2.4 Engaging the Participants' Brains and the Reticular Formation 18

2.5 Getting Learners to Pay Attention 19

2.6 Developing a Sense of Urgency 19

2.7 The Brain Operates at the Speed of Light 21

3 Whole-Brain Questions: What Types of Questions Are Compatible With Brain-Based Learning? 27

3.1 Power of Questions and the Brain 27

3.2 HOTS and Questions 31

4 Virtual Questioning Distinctions: How Does That Differ From In-Person Questions? 41

4.1 Setting Expectations 41

4.2 High-Tech and Low-Tech Solutions 42

4.3 Preparing Online Questions 43

5 Substantiveness: How Can Questions Promote Deep Thinking? 48

5.1 Model Learner Expectations 48

5.2 Set Clear Expectations for Responses 49

5.3 Model Logic and Reasoning 50

Section I Questioning Foundation Conclusion 55

Section II Planning Learning 57

6 Wild Hog Questions: How Do You Prepare Effective Questions Before Instruction? 59

6.1 Why Plan for Questions? 59

6.2 What Are WILD HOG Questions? 59

6.3 WILD HOG Questions: Written Intentionally 61

6.4 WILD HOG Questions: Learning Depth 64

6.5 WILD HOG Questions: Higher-Order Genius 66

6.6 The WILD HOG Question Process of Creation 70

7 A Question for Every Brain: How Do You Differentiate Questions According to Needs? 84

7.1 Know Your Learners 84

7.2 Group Learning Is the Key to Differentiated Instruction 85

7.3 Options for Differentiation 86

8 Questions 101: What Are Effective Ways to Write Questions? 89

8.1 Creating Authentic Questions 89

8.2 How to Tier Questions by Complexity and Difficulty 93

8.3 Leading Questions vs Probing Questions 99

8.4 Coaching and Clarifying With Questions 102

8.5 How to Extend Understanding With Questions 107

8.6 Culturally Sensitive Questions 110

8.7 Accommodating for Language Learners 112

9 How to Scaffold Questions: How Does Scaffolding Questions Build on Participant Success? 121

9.1 What Does a Scaffolding Question Look Like? 121

10 Knowledge and Comprehension Questions: How Can Questions Prepare Participants to Learn? 125

10.1 Taxon Memory Questions 126

10.2 Flash Card Questions 126

10.3 Rule of Three 127

Section II Planning Learning Conclusion 129

Section III Learning 131

11 The Role of Repetition in Questions: How Can Questions Help Participants Remember Better? 133

11.1 How to Make Taxon Learning Enjoyable Through Questions 134

11.2 Questioning Progressions 135

12 Avoiding Zombie Questions: How Do You Avoid Asking ineffective Questions? 139

12.1 What Are Zombie Questions? 139

12.2 Learners Are Not Blank Slates 140

12.3 Why Learners Don't Answer Zombie Questions 141

13 Misconceptions About Asking Questions: How Can Questions Engage All Learners? 143

13.1 Initiate-Respond-Evaluate: How Do You Avoid the One Question, One Answer Trap? 146

13.2 The Fallacy of Wait Time: How Do You Stop Wasting Time Waiting for Participants to Answer? 152

13.3 Targeted Questions: How Do You Use Questions to Engage More Than the Front Row? 159

13.4 Physiological Questions: How Do You Engage All Participants' Brains and Bodies With Questions? 168

14 Accountable Talk: How Do You Help Participants to Support Their Answers? 176

14.1 Question Training: How Can Participants Learn to Ask Effective Questions? 176

14.2 Socratic Questions: Answering Questions With Questions 178

14.3 Logic 183

14.4 Inquiry Learning: How Can Participants Use Questions to Learn? 184

15 Controlling Questions: How Do You Use Questions to Manage the Class? 191

15.1 Survey Questions: What Do You Know About Your Participants' Thinking? 191

15.2 Polls 193

15.3 Surveys and Questionnaires 193

Section III Learning Conclusion 196

Section IV Assessing Learning 199

16 Checking for Understanding: How Do You Know All of Your Participants Are Learning? 201

16.1 Checking for Understanding at the End of a Topic 202

16.2 WILD HOG Questions to Check for Understanding Help the Instructor and the Learner 203

17 Formative Questioning: Constant Checking for Understanding That Doesn't Annoy 207

17.1 Benefit to the Learner 207

18 Pre-Post Test Mindset: How to Use WILD HOG Questions as Evaluations 214

18.1 Value-Added Learning 214

18.2 Teaching to the Test 215

19 Review and Retrench Questions: What Do You Do When All of Your Participants Are Not Learning? 217

19.1 Don't Repeat the Same Mistakes 217

19.2 Affective Filter 217

20 Formal Evaluations: How Do You Construct Accurate Assessment Questions? 220

20.1 Sampling Learning 220

20.2 WILD HOG Question Bank 220

20.3 Performance-Based Evaluations 221

20.4 Accurate Multiple Choice 221

Section IV Assessing Learning Conclusion 226

Index 228