The Art of

Questioning
 Presented by:

Mrs. Estelita V. Llanita

Lasallian Master Teacher
EXERCISE
What questions
can you draw
out from the
image?
The unexamined life is not worth
–living… the most important
thing is to ask question….
Socrates
(Σωκράτης)
"I know you won't
believe me, but the
highest form of Human
Excellence is to
question oneself and
others."
 SOCRATIC
METHOD
 dialecticmethod of inquiry or method of
"elenchus,"
 to solve a problem, it would be broken
down into a series of questions
 the answers to which gradually distill the
answer you seek.
 6 types of
questions that
Socrates asked
his students
 Conceptual clarification
questions

-Why are you saying that?

-What exactly does this mean?
-How does this relate to what we have been
talking about?
 More…
What is the nature of ...?
-What do we already know about this?
-Can you give me an example?
-Are you saying ... or ... ?
-Can you rephrase that, please?
Probing assumptions

 What else could we assume?

 You seem to be assuming ... ?
 How did you choose those assumptions?
 Please explain why/how ... ?
 How can you verify or disprove that assumption?
 What would happen if ... ?
 Do you agree or disagree with ... ?
 Probing rationale, reasons and
evidence

 Why is that happening?

 How do you know this?
 Show me ... ?
 Can you give me an example of that?
 What do you think causes ... ?
 What is the nature of this?
 Are these reasons good enough?
 More..
 Would it stand up in court?
 How might it be refuted?
 How can I be sure of what you are saying?
 Why is ... happening?
 And more

 Why? (keep asking it -- you'll never get

past a few times)
 What evidence is there to support what
you are saying?
 On what authority are you basing your
argument?
 Questioning viewpoints and
perspectives

 Another way of looking at this is ..., does

this seem reasonable?
 What alternative ways of looking at this
are there?
 Why it is ... necessary?
 Who benefits from this?
 What is the difference between... and...?
 More
 Why is it better than ...?
 What are the strengths and weaknesses
of...?
 How are ... and ... similar?
 What would ... say about it?
 What if you compared ... and ... ?
 How could you look another way at this?
 Probe implications and
consequences
 Then what would happen?
 What are the consequences of that
assumption?
 How could ... be used to ... ?
 More

 What are the implications of ... ?

 How does ... affect ... ?
 How does ... fit with what we learned
before?
 Why is ... important?
 What is the best ... ? Why?
 Questions about the question

 What was the point of asking that

question?
 Why do you think I asked this
question?
 What does that mean?
 The art of questioning
 Questioning is an integral part of an
inquiry centered classroom.
 It is a learner’s thinking tool to carry out
investigation about a subject matter.
The power to question is vested
with the teacher who uses this
tool to either approve or
disapprove of children’s
knowledge thus empowering or
disempowering them.
 GENERAL GUIDELINES
1. Distribute questions so that all, including
non-volunteers, are involved.
2. Balance factual and thought-provoking
questions.
3. Ask both simple and exacting questions
4. Encourage lengthy responses and
sustained answers.
 GENERAL GUIDELINES
5. Stimulate critical thinking
6. Use the overhead technique: 1) question,
2) pause, 3) name.
7. Insure audibility, then refuse to repeat
questions or answers
8. If a student asks a question, don't answer
it until you've asked the class
 GENERAL GUIDELINES
8. Personalize questions
10. Suggest partnership by inquiring
Levels of thinking skills
 Low level thinking
 High level thinking
Lower Level Thinking Skills

APPLICATION
UNDERSTANDING
KNOWLEDGE
Upper /Higher Level Thinking Skill

EVALUATION
SYNTHESIS
ANALYSIS
 Critical Thinking Wheel

Students need to learn

how to process
information rather than
merely memorize
information.
What’s in a question, you
ask?
 Answer…
Everything. It is a way of evoking
stimulating response or stultifying
inquiry. It is, in essence, the very core
of teaching.
—John Dewey (1933)
Learning has two sides:
Knowledge/Information
Questioning/Yearning
Xue Xi
 FIVE BASIC TYPES OF
QUESTIONS
 Factual
 Convergent
 Divergent
 Evaluative
 Combination
 Questioning technique
•The teacher should begin by obtaining
the
 attention of the students before the
question is asked.

•The question should be addressed to

the entire class before a specific
student is asked to respond.
 Questioning technique
•Calls for responses should be distributed
among
 volunteers and non-volunteers, and
the teacher should encourage students to
speak to the whole class when responding.

•However, the teacher must be sensitive to

each student's willingness to speak publicly
and never put a student on the spot
 1. Factual
 Soliciting reasonably simple, straight
forward answers based on obvious facts
or awareness.
 The lowest level of cognitive or affective
processes and answers are frequently
either right or wrong.
 Example

What is the
former name of
Jakarta?
Answer: Batavia
 More example

Name the Shakespeare

play about the Prince of
Denmark
Answer: Hamlet
 2. Convergent
 Answers to these types of questions are
usually within a very finite range of
acceptable accuracy
 These may be at several different levels of
cognition
 3. Divergent
 These questions allow students to explore
different avenues and create many
different variations and alternative
answers or scenarios
 Example
 In
the love relationship of Hamlet and
Ophelia, what might have happened to
their relationship and their lives if Hamlet
had not been so obsessed with the
revenge of his father's death?
 More example
 Likemany authors throughout time,
Shakespeare dwells partly on the pain of
love in Hamlet. Why is painful love so
often intertwined with good literature.
What is its never ending appeal to
readers?
 4. Evaluative
These types of
questions usually require
sophisticated levels of
cognitive and/or
emotional judgment.
 Examples
 a. What are the similarities and differences
between the deaths of Ophelia when
compared to that of Juliet?
 b. What are the similarities and differences
between Roman gladiatorial games and
modern football?
 More example
 c.Why and how might the concept of
Piagetian schema be related to the
concepts presented in Jungian personality
theory, and why might this be important to
consider in teaching and learning?
 Example
 On reflecting over the entirety of the play
Hamlet, what were the main reasons why
Ophelia went mad?
( This is not specifically stated in one direct
statement in the text of Hamlet. Here the
reader must make simple inferences as to
why she committed suicide.)
 5. Combinations
 Theseare questions that blend any
combination of the above.
Figure 1. Categories of
Questions
Category 1 Category 2
Factual Higher cognitive
Closed Open
Convergent Divergent
Lower level Higher level
Low order High order
Low inquiry
High inquiry
 some tips on questioning
techniques to enhance active
learning:

1. Ask Challenging Questions

2. Ask Well-Crafted, Open-Ended
Questions
3. Ask Uncluttered Questions
4. Learn to Wait
5. Presentation