Questioning
What is questioning?
Asking and answering questions is an essential comprehension strategy that is easy to incorporate into any classroom. When questioning is used before, during, and after reading a text, "the engage deeply with the content and monitor their comprehension" (Miller & Veatch 2011). By monitoring their comprehension, students are more likely to reread and analyze the text until they reach a deeper level of understanding. Learning how to ask questions while reading allows self-monitoring and comprehension checks, while learning how to read and answer questions teaches students to know whether a question is asking them to find an answer, infer, or make predictions. Asking and answering questions is a strategy that will help students comprehend higher-level texts in middle school, high school, college, and beyond. It is a strategy that will can be used for self-monitoring as well as assessing for student comprehension. Above: In the video above, a teacher describes the questioning technique and discusses how questioning promotes deeper thinking and further learning. The questions allow students to explore different problem-solving questioning techniques related to the task students are working on. Strategic questioning encourages higher-level thinking rather than rote responses.
Right (top): To the right, a video features different classrooms using questioning about the book Bridge to Terabithia. The teachers identified a comprehension menu of different types of questions that deepen and extend the learning of each individual students. The four types of question engage different types of learners and encourages motivation. The video analyzes a teacher's techniques and questioning and labels the types of cues and questioning he is using along the bottom of the screen. Right (bottom): To the right, the bottom video features discusses asking good questions based on Bloom's Taxonomy. This is a training video for teachers to examine their questioning and teaching students to ask questions that foster higher-level thinking and analyzing. All teachers would benefit from watching this video and considering the type of questions that they are asking in their classroom. Can you change your questioning to promote higher-level answers and deeper understanding? |
How can I use this strategy in a middle school?
According to Miller & Veatch (2011) asking and answering questions is a comprehension strategy that can be used in any content area. When completing an assigned reading, students can be prompted to write down higher-level questions that they can find the answers to. Students may be provided with a model of Bloom's taxonomy so they know what types of questions to be asking. After writing down their questions, they will be paired up with a partner to exchange questions, which they then must answer with or without the text (this is one way questioning can be differentiated to meet individual and class needs). Students can see how using questioning as a self-monitoring tool and comprehension check increases their comprehension and memory, increasing their 'test' or 'quiz' scores. Another method of using questioning in a middle school is to teach the students to stop after each chapter or section of text to ask themselves questions. If they are unable to answer the questions, they know to go back and reread for clarification. To start, the teacher can provide questions for the end of each section of an assigned text until students are able to use self- or partner-questioning as an individual comprehension strategy. To differentiate, the teacher can provide written questions for students that are struggling with self-questioning during their reading (Rouse, 2014). The end goal of the strategy instruction is for students to be able to monitor their comprehension and know when they need to reread for comprehension. |
Writing Component & Standard
The writing component of the questioning strategy occurs when students are asked to write down questions or their answer to questions. If questioning is used to guide students to an answer, there may not be any writing included, but if students are asked to make an inference or analyze the text, they can write down their answers clearly and with evidence to provide the teacher with a formal assessment to monitor student comprehension with questioning. |
CCSS.ELA-WHST.6-8.1B
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources. CCSS.ELA-WHST.6-8.2B Develop the topic with relevant, well-chosen facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples. CCSS.ELA-WHST.8-8.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. |