Question Formulation Technique

(1963) Young boys harassing the Horace Baker family, the first African American family to move into the all white Delmar Village neighborhood of Folcroft, Pennsylvania. Folcroft Pennsylvania, 1963. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/99402534/ .

Title: [Young boys harassing the Horace Baker family, the first African American family to move into the all white Delmar Village neighborhood of Folcroft, Pennsylvania]

Caption on photograph: "Youngsters jeer as moving men tote possessions of the Horace Baker family up the steps of their new home in the formerly all-white Delmar Village development here 8/30. The Negro family finally gained entrance to their new home after two days of demonstrations by whites."

This primary source was selected as a Question Focus by a pre-service teacher, Carla Valquez completing her graduate studies at Virginia Tech in 2018. "What caught my attention was the fact that this photograph was taken in Pennsylvania, a northern state. I would use this source to spark questions about the who and where of "Jim Crow". Overall, this source would be a great visual representation of the Jim Crow Era to show students, especially because there are young kids their age reacting to integration."

Overview

The Right Question Institute has developed the QFT or Question Formulation Technique to help all people ask better questions and participate more effectively in key decisions. When applied to the classroom, students become question-askers, sophisticated thinkers, and self-directed learners. When teachers use primary sources as the Question Focus their students become actively engaged in determining their own path of inquiry.

The Question Formulation Technique is a simple yet powerful strategy to teach students how to formulate their own questions. Learn the Question Formulation Technique today, facilitate the strategy tomorrow, and watch students become more curious, engaged learners. Join the Right Question Institute here.

Example

The QFT may be used at the beginning of a lesson as a way to introduce a concept or bridge the gap between history and the present. It may also be used at the end of a lesson as a summative assessment. The QF, or Question Focus, may be statement such as "Every vote counts" or a primary source such as the image on the left that depicts the life of Anthony Burns, a fugitive enslaved person.

Citation: Andrews, J. (ca. 1855) Anthony Burns / drawn by Barry from a daguereotype i.e. daguerreotype by Whipple & Black ; John Andrews, sc. Boston Massachusetts, ca. 1855. Boston: R.M. Edwards, printer, 129 Congress Street. [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2003689280/ .

Jennifer Gallagher, 2019 Virginia Tech student teacher picked the image of Anthony Burns as a Question Focus"."I like this document because it tells the story of one man, which makes it easier to relate to, but it really addresses the larger issues of antebellum slavery and sectional tensions. I could see using the QF as the hook at the beginning of a lesson.

I really loved learning about the QFT in this tutorial. Coming up with compelling questions is one of my areas of weakness, so I love the idea of having the students come up with the questions. I actually tried this in my class last week, and the questions they came up with were MUCH better than the ones I had been thinking of. I also love the QF routine because I think the students are more invested in discovering the answers when they've come up with the questions."

Watch It

Watch a video from the 2016 Library of Congress Online Conference, Questions are the Engines of Intellect: How to Stimulate Student Curiosity and Questions, in which Dan Rothstein and Andrew Minigan of the Right Question Institute introduces the QFT and shares classroom examples. (Transcript Text)

Read About It

Questions, Frameworks, and Classrooms by John Lee, Kathy Swan, SG Grant, Dan Rothstein and Luz Santana

Write About It (in Canvas Tutorial 11)

What do you understand differently now about students learning to ask their own questions?
Name a primary source from the Library of Congress that would work as a QF (Question Focus) either at the beginning of a lesson or at the end.
Explain why you think the selected primary source would work as a QF.

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