What A Teacher Must Know When Asking Students Questions

Why Should a Teacher Ask Questions?
Questions are integral parts of a teaching learning activity. It can be understood that a teacher asks questions to students in the classroom. The question is why a teacher should ask questions. There are several reasons why a teacher asks questions:

1. To encourage learners to talk constructively and on-task
2. To signal an interest in hearing what learners feel and think
3. To stimulate interest and awaken curiosity
4. To encourage a problem-solving approach to thinking and learning
5. To help learners externalize and verbalize knowledge learning
6. To encourage thinking aloud and exploratory approaches to tasks
7. To help learners to learn from each other
8. To monitor learning
9. To deepen learners’ thinking level and increase their ability to conceptualize

There are a number of ways of categorizing wh-question type. A simple method is as follows:

1. a data recall question requires the learner to remember facts, information without putting the information to use, for example, ‘What are the four rules of number?’
2. a naming question asks the learner simply to name an event, process, phenomenon etc. without showing insight into how the event is linked to other factors, for example, ‘What do we call the set of bones which cover the lungs?’
3. an observation question asks learners to describe what they see without attempting to explain it, for example, ‘What happened when we added salt to boiling water?’
4. a control question involves the use of questions to modify learners’ behaviour rather than their learning, for example, ‘Will you sit down, Hanif?
5. a pseudo-question is constructed to appear that the teacher will accept more than one response, but in fact he/she has clearly made up his / her mind that this is not so, for example, ‘Do you feel involving in violence was a good thing, then?’
6. a speculative or hypothesis generating question asks learners to speculate about the outcome of a hypothetical situation, for example, ‘Imagine a world without trees, how would this affect our lives?’
7. a reason or analysis question ask learners to give reason(s) why certain things do or do not happen, for example, ‘What motivates some young people to get involved in drug abuse?
8. an evaluation question is one that makes a learner weigh out the pros and cons of a situation or argument, for example, ‘How much evidence is there for the existence of an after-life?’
9. a problem solving question asks learners to construct ways of finding out answers to questions, for example, ‘Suppose we wanted to discover what prompts birds to migrate, how could we go about it?’

NB: Question types 1-5 are more ‘closed’ than types 6-9. Types 1-5 demand shorter answers, less thought and little competence in language use by the learners. Types 6-9 are more demanding.
Questioning Procedures
It is generally a poor method of questioning when the instructor asks questions and allows the entire group to answer in chorus. This method could stimulate a dull class or encourage learners to participate; however it also has some disadvantages. Choral answers permit the learners’ attention to wander, decrease individual thought, and restrict the teachers to monitor feedback from the class.
Mental participation of the learners can be achieved through the simple five part questioning procedure explained below. This rule is based on the psychological principle that when a question is asked and then followed by a pause, all learners will attend to the communication. The nonverbal message (pause) communicates that any learner in the class could be called to for a response. Thus, the attention level of the learner remains high. The technique of framing thus entails:
1. Ask the question.
The teachers should state the question clearly and concisely. If a question is complicated, it may be necessary to rephrase it. It is imperative that the question is stated first before naming the learner to respond.
2. Pause.
After asking a question, pausing is important so that everyone has time to think. Waiting time is essential when asking high-level question.
3. Call on the learner by name.
Learners should be randomly selected to answer the questions so that they try to formulate the answer.
4. Listen to the answer.
A good technique that teachers can use to ensure that the learners are attentive is to ask another learner to respond to the answer given.
5. Emphasize the correct answer.
The teachers could ask probing questions to have the respondents’ response clarified, to support a point, or to extend their thinking.