The art of asking questions, and why we need to think about them more.
What is a question? Are there different types of questions? Why do some teachers elicit an enthusiastic response from their class, and others a sea of blank faces?
The different types of question you can ask about a single topic are actually quite diverse, and each one has a different use in the learning process.
The questions that we are used to answering
It’s a problem that all teachers encounter before their lesson: how am I going to test my pupil’s recall? Obviously, there are some very familiar question types out there.
Multiple choice
Call and response
Quiz
Essay
However, there are ways to target, more specifically, exactly how you want your pupil to be learning.
What different types of questions are there?
Different questions can spark different levels of critical thinking. For example, I could ask ‘when did Henry VIII die?’, and the answer would require the critical faculty of simple fact recall, of remembrance. Fortunately, the types of questions available to a teacher and their effectiveness are well theorised. Bloom’s seminal work, the ‘Taxonomy of Educational Objectives’, divides what he sees as the six stages of learning into different steps, each associated with their own kind of question.
Remembering
The remembering level is reached when pupils can recall information that they have learnt. It is achieved by asking questions of the lowest complexity. It is the most common and frequently used kind of question, used to check whether a student has learnt a specific piece of information from a lesson.
Key words: Define/ Who/ What/ Name/ List/ Label/ Locate/ Match/ Select/ Underline.
‘When did Henry VIII die?’
‘What are the causes of World War One?’
‘What safety measures do you need for a nuclear reactor?’
Understanding
To understand a topic is to know it more intimately than to simply learn facts about it. With question types that invoke the understanding level, the onus is less on recall but on a thorough understanding of what the facts mean.
Key words: Explain/ Interpret/ Outline/ Discuss/ Translate/ Restate/ Describe/ Identify/ Which/ Summarise.
‘Explain Newton’s Third Law using the example of bumper cars.’
‘Can you identify the reason why this chemical did not react?’
‘Translate this French letter into English.’
Applying
The applying level involves students implementing the material that they have learnt. The questions asked involve an application of the knowledge in various contexts.
Key words: Solve/ Use/ Predict/ Construct/ Perform/ Demonstrate/ Classify/ Apply.
‘How would you change the UK’s policy on recycling?’
‘Use your knowledge of a balanced diet to create an ideal meal.’
‘Solve the following questions using triangle theorems.’
Analysing
The ability to analyse is at the heart of most GCSE and A-Level exam schemes. At the analysing level, students spot connections, patterns and similarities in what they learn.
Key words: What/ Analyse/ Identify/ Examine/ Investigate.
‘Who is the most morally just Dickens character?’
‘Analyse Mao’s motives when launching the Cultural Revolution.’
‘Investigate the different levels of foreign aid given around the world.’
Evaluating
At the evaluating level, students combine their own insights with any information that they have learnt.
Key words: Evaluate/ Find/ Select/ Decide/ Justify/ Debate/ Judge.
‘Select the best statistical formula to use with this maths problem.’
‘Debate whether Evelina is a ‘satirical device’ (Spencer) in Frances Burney’s novel of the same name.’
‘Justify Herman Asquith’s decision to go to war with Germany in 1914.’
Creating
At this level, students have to create their own ideas and theories.
Key words: Create/ Invent/ Compose/ Propose/ Plan/ Deign/ Formulate/ Develop.
‘Compose a poem in iambic pentameter’.
‘What alternative would you suggest for nuclear militarisation?’
‘Create a marketing campaign for one of Shakespeare’s plays in 18th Century London.’
A great teacher will ask all of these questions in a single lesson to maximise interest and engagement. These keep lessons fresh, innovative and memorable. At OxThink, our tutors understand how necessary questions are to any given subject, and give this hitherto little thought about subject, well, a good deal of enquiry.