Quality Questioning- Module 3

Module 3 Part 1- Quality Questioning Responses

Chapter 1- From the chart on page 9, how will you commit to this cycle of questioning for your future classroom? Why? Justify your answer.

As a teacher I have experienced how impactful questioning can be for students. According to the text, “questioning, thinking, and understanding are actions that create energy and fuel learning.” (Walsh, J.A. & Sattes, B.D., 2005) Early in my career, I experienced this. As I began to shift from one-word responses to open-ended, student directed questions not only did I experience that “aha” moment but so did my students. When my question became, how do you know that is a triangle, explain how you figured that out, why is it not a correct answer. My students learning deepened and became more meaningful. Now they could explain, reason, and justify their thinking. They had ownership of their learning. The chart on page 9 of the text lays out the beliefs, behaviors, and student outcomes of effective, purposeful questioning of students and teachers. One behavior that jumps off the page at me is wait time. And not just wait time for student answers but wait time after a student response. This was new learning for me. Another “aha” moment. I had not considered the benefits of waiting after student responses for them to think through what was said and consider other learning or ideas from the response. I can absolutely see the benefit of implementing this procedure. Giving students this process time can have a huge impact on not only their learning but the learning of everyone in the room. I also want to be more open to divergent questions and conversations in the classroom. While they can lead you off the topic, they can also correct confusions, rich, meaningful conversations, and lead to deeper understanding. The chart on what quality questioning looks like in the classroom provides a wealth of information. It is also arranged in an easy to read format. This is one chart that I plan to come back to and use. 

Chapter 2- Explain how you might use this rubric in designing lessons and assessments in future work. 

I have discovered through successes and failures in the classroom that rubrics are immensely valuable to not only students but teachers as well. The Rubric for Formulating and Assessing Quality Questions in our text is a rubric that I plan to use to ensure my questions are purposeful, content focused, engages student thinking, and has appropriate wording. This rubric very clearly and precisely describes not only how to formulate but also gives teachers a measure in which to use to assess his/her questions. When assessing the purpose of questions, teachers need to ensure that the question ties back directly to the objective, challenges the student to think about the concept and construct a response, and that it has a clear purpose. I will use this rubric to also assess the focus on content of my questions. This will ensure that the questions ensure all students have had the opportunity to learn and that their learning is related to the topic. Quality questions must also ask students to answer high level questions. They must also be structured in a way that is precise and appropriate. (Walsh, J.A. & Sattes, B.D., 2005) As I develop units of study, I will use this rubric to evaluate and score my questions in all four of the domains covered by the rubric. Through the use of quality questions, students can make meaningful connections, extend their understanding of the topic, and synthesize what they have learned. (Walsh, J.A. & Sattes, B.D., 2005) Doing this is crucial to ensuring that I am supporting learning for all of my students. 

Chapter 3- As you review the Alternative Response section beginning on page 86, which response ideas most resonate with your teaching style? Describe how you will implement these in your future classroom. 

My understanding of questioning and how important planned, purposeful questions that are engaging and meaningful are to student learning has increased over my time in the classroom. Through my study of chapter 3 however, I realize that the response strategies I have used recently still promote a recitation response. These include choral responses, signaled answers, and work samples. And while these are not bad strategies to use, I now understand that these alone are not sufficient. As my learning and understanding has deepened, I also realize that my questions need to expand in depth and breadth to allow my students to formulate more meaningful responses, to provide all my students equal opportunities to respond, and to facilitate discussion. With all of that said, one alternate response strategy that I would like to implement with my students next year is the synectics response, specifically four-corner synectics. 

Because I teach in the lower elementary grades, four-corner synectic is a response strategy that I believe would be beneficial for my students and fit my teaching style. I like for my students to have opportunities to move during class. As young students, this is very important to keep them engaged. To implement this, I would put four responses in the room. One way I could use this response strategy at the beginning of a unit would be to post a picture of each season in a corner, ask the students to stand in the corner of their favorite season, have each group share why that season is their favorite. This same idea could also be used when learning about different landforms. The same corners could be used at the end of the unit as a way for students to choose a season and then share something they learned about that season. 

Chapter 4- As you look at the poster, think of classrooms you've been in or lessons you've taught. Consider how establishing these norms could impact student learning. Now bring your thinking to your future classroom. Explain how you might set these norms in your own teaching.

Wait time or “think time” as Robert Stahl suggest is a process that has the potential to have impactful benefits for students and teachers. I have in the past used wait time 1 but have never considered the benefits of a second wait time. One mistake I made with wait time 1 was not explicitly discussing the purpose of wait time with my students. This is why I am really glad the posters were included in the text. Not only do students benefit from visuals but so do teachers. The posters for the steps for wait time 1 and wait time 2 are posters that I would like to create with my students. After we discuss what wait time is and why it is important, I think actually creating these steps with my students would be very beneficial. One reason is because it gives students a voice and ownership in the process. It is not something that they are just told to do, but an expectation that they help develop. Creating these charts with my students will also allow for their words to be visible. It will be worded in a way that makes sense to them. This also gives me accountability. When the students know the expectation and the posters are visible. They can help ensure that wait times are provided. Because I teach younger students, I also think visual cues are needed. These visual cues are something that I would like to develop and use, but I also hope that they are something that the students could and would use as well as they collaborate and have conversations in their groups. I am excited to set this up in my classroom and give all of my students the opportunity to have a voice in the conversation. 

Chapter 5- Review the charts on page 150-151. Which of these responses do you think will prove more challenging in your classroom? Explain how you will purposefully implement this challenging approach. 

Asking purposeful, quality questions is vital to student learning. However, providing the appropriate feedback after asking the right question is just as critical. Teachers have many options when responding to student answers. One of those options is to provide a positive response. (Walsh, J.A. & Sattes, B.D., 2005) This is the response that is easiest for me. The next response type is a corrective response. (Walsh, J.A. & Sattes, B.D., 2005) This type of feedback can be difficult. When students’ answers do not correctly or completely answer the question, the teacher has several options. The teacher can ask a probing question to try and guide the student to understanding. This is where I usually go. I don’t like leaving the student. Sometimes I will stop and have students think about the response, especially if the student was on the right track, and then talk to a partner. After a discussion, I try to go back to the original student to see if he/she wants to add to his/her original response. This is when I will also open it up to the class to respond. I believe when students response reveals a gap in knowledge or understanding or a discrepancy in cognitive processing, teachers have a critical opportunity to respond and provide feedback that can effectively aid that student in gaining the understanding and knowledge needed to fully comprehend the concept being taught. (Walsh, J.A. & Sattes, B.D., 2005) This is an opportunity we must be ready for and take full advantage of. This is why purposeful planning even our questions and for potential struggles is critical. 

Walsh, J.A., & Sattes, B.D., (2005). Quality Questioning:Research-Based Practice to Engage Every Learner. Corwin Press

Module 3 Part 2- Word Cloud

Module 3 Part 3- Micro Board

The Micro Board web tool was a tool that I had not used before this assignment. I found this tool to be very easy to use. I found all the different way to respond, the ability to color code, and bringing able to link ideas and learning together very beneficial. I prefer this note taking tool over Evernote because it was easier for me to use. I can easily see Micro Board being beneficial in the upper elementary grades. I also like that students can share and collaborate with this tool. Micro Board allowed me to get all my ideas and important information in one spot and then allowed me to organize all that information very easily and effectively. 

Module 3 Part 4- 21st Century Tool Review

While searching for web tools that focused on quality questioning, I found two that caught my eye. The first one is Mentimeter. This tool allows teachers to ask questions, create polls, and see responses in real time. But that is just the start. Students can respond to other students’ responses or questions. Teachers can also use Mentimeter to have students create word clouds. Finally, students can submit questions as the teacher is teaching. This tool allows teachers and students to ask questions in a variety of ways and allows students to respond in varied methods. Mentimeter would require some technology knowledge on the teacher’s part but students could be successful with little technology knowledge. I found this resource through a web search. 

The second web tool I found was Flipgrid. Flipgrid allows teachers to pose questions and then students can respond after having time to think. Students can respond in many different ways which gives them the flexibility to respond in a way that they are comfortable with. For example, they can use text, video, and Giphy’s. Students can also respond more than one time. This allows students to comment or pose questions about other student’s responses or to read or hear another response and extend their learning. I really like the flexibility this tool provides to students. Teachers and students can use this tool successfully with little technology knowledge. I found this tool through a search on Twitter.