Field Release Activity 2 – Questioning Techniques that Enhance Teaching and Learning
There are two parts to this assignment:
1. the DATA SHEET is to be completed and submitted. 2. Five paragraphs of reflections, one for each topic listed below the DATA SHEET information. Examples are given to help you.
DIRECTIONS:
Using the chart below, identify 10 questions that your mentor teacher asks during a lesson observation (questions do not have to be fully written, but it might be helpful for coding later). These should be instructional questions included during teaching and class discussion; not procedural questions, such “do you have a piece of paper to use”. In no more than 2 pages, write on your findings (the five paragraphs, one per topic) AND attach the data sheet. *********************************************************************************
GUIDELINES: Use the key on the second page as a guide for how to code each of the columns. I suggest printing the key out to use while you gather the data. For example, in the first question the teacher asks, write (shorthand is fine) the question, then under column A code the appropriate level of question that the teacher asked. (i.e. a knowledge question would be coded with the number 1, an application question 3, and so on). Then code in column B for question 1 the appropriate wait-time code. Follow the same procedure for columns C and D, and repeat the procedure for each question.
PART ONE: DATA SHEET
Question
A
Cognitive Level
B
Amount of Wait Time
C
Question Difficulty
D
Teacher Response Example – Q1 – What is a cell?
1
2
2
3
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Example Q1 – the teacher asked an application question (3) and paused for a few seconds (2) for an answer. However, the student’s response was not accepted (2) by the teacher and the teacher responded to the incorrect answer by allowing the student another opportunity (3) to correctly answer the question). NOTE: Your reflection will not identify each individual question, but it will reflect the entire data that you have gathered in assessing teacher questioning in the classroom.
Observing Teachers’ Use of Questions and Wait-Time – CODING KEY
Column A – Bloom’s Cognitive Levels of Questions: Examples:
1. Remember
Can the students recall what they have seen, heard, or read?
2. Understand
Can the student organize facts in various ways?
3. Apply
Can the student apply techniques and rules to solve problems that have single correct answers?
4. Analyze
Can the student explain relationships, make inferences, and find examples to support generalizations?
5. Evaluate
Can the student give opinions about issues and judge the merit of ideas, problem solutions, art, and other products?
5. Create
Can the student make predictions, solve problems, or produce original communications?
Column B – Wait-time
1. Teacher paused for a few seconds before calling on students.
2. Teacher paused a few seconds after calling on student.
3. Teacher did not pause.
4. Not applicable; student answered readily.
Column C – Level of Difficulty of Question
1. Student response was accepted by the teacher.
2. Response was not accepted by teacher
Column D – Teacher response to students’ answers
1. Teacher gave a brief acknowledgement of the correct answer.
2. Teacher gave gushy praise.
3. Student error was “dignified”
4. Student error was handled inappropriately.
PART TWO: REFLECTIONS
Observing Teachers’ Use of Questions and Wait-Time – EXAMPLE REFLECTION
Bloom’s Cognitive Levels
Example #1: The majority of these twenty questions only made the students use their lower-level critical thinking skills. The questions were mainly focused on knowledge and if the student was able to remember what was taught, discussed, or previously learned from another day. However, some of the questions did require them to use other critical thinking skills such as: comprehension, application, and analysis. I was surprised that the teacher did not ask the students questions that required them to use evaluation skills.
Example #2: I saw a definite pattern in the teacher’s pattern of instruction. He tends to ask a lot of questions requiring that the students think back to what they have learned in the past, so as to memorize it, and put it into long-term memory. He asks very little higher-level thinking skills where a student would have to take what they know and put it into a different context or make predictions about what they think will happen. His main questions asked were recalling information that the students should already know, and how to apply skills such as technological or math to reach the desired outcome. Wait Time
Example #1: On wait-times there were more mixed results. However, for the majority of the time the teacher would ask a question, call on a student, and then pause for them to answer. Unfortunately, because most of the questions that were asked were only requiring them to use very low-level thinking skills, a lot of the time students were able to just answer the questions immediately without even having to stop and think about it.
Example #2: On many occasions the teacher will give a few seconds of wait time before he calls on a student to answer. Sometimes he calls on the student first, asks the question, and then will give them a brief pause before requiring them to answer. On a few occasions the student will orally volunteer the answer without being called on. Only one time did I see the teacher call on a student and require the answer right away; this was because the student was not paying attention, and the teacher was illustrating that because he was not listening he did not know what the rest of the class was talking about and gave an incorrect answer. This was also one of the few occasions that the teacher did not let the student correct his error, and called on someone else. The teacher was very good at accepting any answer if it made sense and was not a question that only had one specific answer. Only during math did he not accept answers, but he always allowed the student to think again, look over the work that they had done, and try again. Level of Difficulty
Example #1: The majority of the time the students’ answers were accepted by the teacher. There were only two times where the teacher did not accept the students’ answers, simply because they were ‘yes” and “no” types of questions, and they answered them wrong. Again, I think this also goes back to the fact that the majority of the questions asked did not require the students to higher-level thinking skills.
Example #2: The teacher briefly acknowledged his students when their performance was successful by replying with a “Good job” or “That’s correct.” Only on one occasion did I see him give more praise than that, and that was because it was one of his lower-achieving students who solved a fairly complex math problem. He praised this student by telling him “That is excellent work. You followed the right steps and came to the right answer because of it.” Only a few times were the answers not accepted, and except for the one student not paying attention, everyone else got a second chance. I never once witnessed the teacher handling the error in an inappropriate fashion. Teacher’s Response
The majority of the time the teacher gave the students a brief acknowledgement that they did indeed answer the question correctly. Sometimes this was done with just a nod of the head, or a simple verbal acknowledgement like, “That is correct”, or “Very good!” The times that a question was not answered correctly, the teacher did not make an issue out of it. The teacher would either give the student a hint or clue to lead them to the correct answer, or would just tell them what the correct answer actually is.
Personal Reflection
Example #1: I was really surprised at the results that I got from just these twenty questions. I really expected them to be a lot better because these students are so very bright, and I really admire and respect my mentor teacher. This assignment really opened my eyes to help me see that we as teachers really need to watch how we ask a question, and how we word a question. Most of all I think that we really need to hold ourselves accountable by keeping a log of cognitive level of questioning that we are using in our classroom; that way we become more aware of the kind of questions that we are asking our students.
Example #2: This activity and observation helped provide me with the knowledge of how important it is for teachers to phrase questions so that they probe students to think about and recall information. I also learned that when teachers ask questions, you need to give the students a few seconds to think about the question and formulate an answer. I also learned that if the students do not respond, teachers should either rephrase the question or move on to another question. Teachers can also call upon a student. This observation also showed how important it is for teachers to provide the students with some form of feedback. They need to know that teachers acknowledge their responses whether right or wrong.
*Remember that my observation field is for Physical Activity so please make this assignment about PE. I’m a full time PE teacher assistant and the PE teacher always asks questions while she explains the game that the students play that day so I guess the questions for the assignment can be about a game*