Questions are most likely not new to you, but are you asking the right kind of questions in class?
Write down about 6 questions which you commonly ask. We will return to these once you have more information to analyse them.
Not-so-good questions
Research shows that teachers can sometimes ask a question every 2-3 seconds. Unfortunately, these questions are just asking students to remember facts. These are called recall questions and fall into a category of questions known as closed questions. Closed questions normally have a correct answer and often this is a "yes" or a "no".
Examples of closed questions:
- What is the height of Table Mountain?
- What is the capital of Zimbabwe?
- What did we do in the lesson yesterday?
- Do you want to go to the soccer match?
How many of the 6 questions that you wrote down are closed questions? If your answer is 3 or more, you have come to the right place, because we are going to arm you with questioning skills that will enhance learning in your classroom.
Good questions
The best questions in the class are those that are asked by the learners themselves. If a learner is encouraged to ask questions you have a lifelong learner.
You, as a teacher, should use open questions as much as possible to encourage the learners to think. Open questions are not answered with a simple answer. Often there is more than one possible correct answer. Certainly the learner has to think a while before an open question can be answered.
Quite often open questions start with one of the three big questioning words: How? Why? and Which?
Examples of open questions are:
Why (do you think) did Dingaan attack Retief?
Well, only Dingaan knows for sure. Historians have grappled with this question for decades. Incidentally, "Why?" is used most commonly by learners in the primary phase.
Why do teachers and learners stop using this word in higher school levels? (another open question!!!)
Why do people litter?
Let each member of your group answer this question. Compare answers. Did you all get the same answer? Is there a correct answer?
The "Why?" question often causes the learner to analyse a situation and offer an opinion based on evidence.
How do I improve my questioning techniques?
Well, practice makes perfect, but there are several answers to this question.
The "How?" question often leaves the learner with a problem to solve.
Which school should I send my child to?
This word "Which" often leaves the learner with a decision to make.
Samples of closed and open questions
Subject |
Closed questions |
Open questions |
History |
When did the Great Trek take place? | Why did the Great Trek take place? |
| Geography | What are three products from Argentina? | How does wheat production in Argentina affect South African wheat production? |
| English | What is the verb in the sentence, "The girl told the boy what to do."? | How do we rewrite the present and future tense of the verb in the sentence, "The girl told the boy what to do."? |
| Geography | Who was the first astronaut? | What planet, other than Earth would you prefer to visit? Why? |
| Science | What are two elements of water? | What is the healthiest way to purify water? |
| Maths | What is the definition of a triangle? | How have triangles influenced architecture? |
Adapted from "Strategies for Effective Teaching"
| Closed questions are not always bad. It is sometimes necessary to recap on work done and to assess whether learners understand something. However, if you only ever use closed questions, then you are never going to encourage your learners to think. |
| "Once you have learned how to ask relevant and appropriate questions, you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know." Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner, Teaching as a Subversive Activity |
| Teachers should ask open questions. Learners will learn from this and ask similar questions. |
Summarise, in your own words, the difference between open and closed questions and give two examples of each.
Now read the following passage of text and set a comprehension test of 6 questions (3 closed question and 3 open questions):
| The
Masai
Masai, East African nomadic people speaking the Masai Sudanic language. The Masai (or Maasai) traditionally herded their cattle freely across the highlands of Kenya. Probably at the height of their power in the mid-19th century, they suffered from the British colonization of Africa and the resultant ecological and political changes. Rinderpest, an infectious febrile disease, apparently accompanied the British, decimating the cattle herds that supplied the Masai with milk and blood; famine and then smallpox followed. The weakened Masai attacked rather than cooperated with the new rulers. In 1904 and 1912-13 the British government relocated the Masai population to distant southern Kenya and Tanzania, where they now live. Masai males are rigidly classed by age into boys, warriors, and elders. Girls often have their marriages negotiated by their fathers before they are born. Both boys and girls undergo circumcision ceremonies. Older women enjoy the same status as male elders. The Masai, most of whom are nomadic throughout the year, live in kraals, small clusters of cow-dung huts constructed by the women. Today the Masai number approximately 250,000. They remain a pastoral people. Further Reading "Masai," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation. Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation. |
Copyright (C) Nikana - January 2000
