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Overview
Overview
Questioning is more than asking students if they know the answer — it’s about crafting purposeful questions that deepen thinking, surface misconceptions, and stretch understanding. Effective questioning engages all students, promotes dialogue, and makes thinking visible.
🎯 Why It Matters
🎯 Why It Matters
Develops critical and creative thinking
Checks for understanding in real time
Encourages elaboration and justification of ideas
Creates a culture of curiosity and safe intellectual risk-taking
Supports student voice and rich academic talk
A well-asked question can open a door to deeper learning — the pause that follows is where the magic happens.
🧠 Strategy Checklist
🧠 Strategy Checklist
🔹 BEFORE THE LESSON
☐ Plan key questions linked to learning goals and success criteria
☐ Develop a balance of open, closed, and probing questions
☐ Prepare scaffolds (sentence stems, prompts) for student responses
☐ Anticipate common misconceptions and clarifying questions
🔹 DURING THE LESSON
☐ Pose questions that invite all students to think — not just the quick hands
☐ Use wait time deliberately (5–7 seconds is a powerful pause!)
☐ Prompt students to elaborate or justify answers
☐ Encourage peer-to-peer questioning and discussion
☐ Use strategies like cold-calling, no-hands-up, or think-pair-share to increase equity
🔹 AFTER THE LESSON
☐ Reflect on which questions sparked deeper thinking
☐ Gather evidence of student understanding from responses
☐ Adjust future questions based on gaps or misconceptions
☐ Use student questions to shape follow-up lessons
👀 Look-Fors
👀 Look-Fors
Questions are purposeful and linked to learning goals
Wait time is used consistently to allow all students to think
Students respond in complete thoughts and justify ideas
Peer dialogue and follow-up questions are encouraged
All students have opportunities to engage — not just a few
📈Continuum of Practice
📈Continuum of Practice
FOUNDATIONAL
Teacher:
Teacher asks mostly closed questions with few follow-ups.
EMERGING
Teacher:
Teacher uses some open questions and prompts elaboration.
PROFICIENT
Teacher:
Teacher asks well-sequenced questions, uses wait time, and fosters peer discussion.
TRANSFORMING
Teacher:
Teacher creates a culture of inquiry — students routinely question, probe, and extend each other’s thinking.
Student:
Students give short answers and few expand their thinking.
Student:
Students provide longer responses but participation may be uneven.
Student:
Students explain thinking, ask questions, and justify ideas.
Student:
Students own the dialogue, explore ideas deeply, and lead inquiry.
🗃️ Structures
🗃️ Structures
question planning
question planning
Design questions with intentionality before the lesson starts.
Question Laddering: Plan questions that move from surface (recall) to deep (analysis, transfer)
DOK Aligned Prompts: Use Depth of Knowledge levels to diversify complexity
Anticipate Misconceptions: Prepare questions that help uncover and clarify common misunderstandings
Color-Coded Questions: Visually organize questions by level or type for easy reference during teaching
IN THE MOMENT FACILITATION
Use real-time strategies that engage all students and surface thinking.
No Hands Protocol: Cold-call using sticks, wheels, or name cards — structure it with respect and predictability
Wait Time + Think Time: Ask the question, then pause 5–10 seconds before taking answers
Turn & Talk with Purpose: Use a targeted question before opening discussion to the whole class
Multiple Hands, Multiple Voices: Require more than one answer before giving feedback — “Let’s hear two more perspectives”
STUDENT-CENTERED QUESTIONING
Empower students to ask, answer, and build on each other’s thinking.
Socratic Stems: “What evidence supports your thinking?” “How does that compare to...?”
Student-Created Questions: Use QFT (Question Formulation Technique) or sticky note galleries
Backchannel Questions: Digital tools (like Padlet or Jamboard) for anonymous or shy student input
Talk Moves: Prompt students to clarify, build, or respectfully challenge (“Can you rephrase that?” “I’d like to add on…”)
REFLECTION & TRACKING
Help students and teachers reflect on the quality and impact of questioning.
“What Stuck With You?” Exit Slip: Use questions to surface lingering wonderings or clarifications
Class Question Tracker: Keep a running list of powerful student or teacher questions throughout a unit
Self-Assessment Rubrics: Let students reflect on how they responded, listened, or participated in discussion
Video Reflection (for Teachers): Record a lesson and tally question types, levels, and who’s doing the talking
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