1. It’s Good to Talk: Developing Questioning

2. Aims of the Session: Exploring how teachers can use questioning to scaffold higher level thinking: Using questioning to promote thinking What we know about teachers’ questions Generating more questions from children

3. Chicken and Egg! ‘What amazes me is that very often someone will say is ‘oh what’s your favourite colour’, ‘blue’ next question, ‘what’s your favourite football team’, ‘blarr’, you know, and they are one word answers and occasionally we will get a child and someone will say ‘have you got any pets’, ‘yes,I have three guinea pigs and they are called....’ And they’ll fill out an answer, but in general the children I would say a good 75–80% of them, one word answers and they will just do that, question, answer, question, answer. And they won’t expand on anything at all.’

4. YEAR 2 SCIENCE: Growing a broad bean Teacher: What they are going to need? A jar? Children: Yes. Teacher: A paper towel? Children: Yes. Teacher: Water? Children: Yes. Teacher: A label? Children: Yes. Teacher: A pencil to write the label with? Children: Yes. Teacher: Is that it? Children: Broad beans. Teacher: You’ll need a broad bean as well, won’t you? A Paradox: It could be, that the more questions teachers ask the less children say

5. A question of variety! What is the definition of inclusive education? What are the points for discussion raised by inclusive education? What are the implications of inclusive education for your own teaching? What are the implications of inclusive education for all the stakeholders in it? How might whole school policies on inclusive education differ? What are your own beliefs about inclusive education?

6. Bloom’s Taxonomy Knowledge: Recall data or information. Comprehension: Understand the meaning of concepts, instructions and problems. State a problem in one's own words. Application: Use a concept in a new situation Analysis: Separates material or concepts into component parts so that its organizational structure may be understood. Distinguishes between facts and inferences. Synthesis: Builds a structure or pattern from diverse elements. Put parts together to form a whole, with emphasis on creating a new meaning or structure. Evaluation: Make judgments about the value of ideas or materials.

7. Factual Speculative Process What is inclusive education? What are the implications of inclusive education? How have your views of inclusive changed through experience?

8. The form of the question FORMDEFINITIONEXAMPLE Factual Questions which invited a predetermined answer What do I have to mix to make green? What is 5 plus 5? Why do plants have flowers? Speculative Questions which invited a response with no predetermined answer, often opinions, hypotheses, imaginings or ideas Anyone got any ideas what that could mean? Do you think zoos are a good idea? If I made the slope higher, what Do you think might happen then? Process Questions which invited children to articulate their understanding of learning processes/explain their thinking How did you work that out? How do you know that? Can you explain why? Procedural Questions which related to the organisation and management of the lesson Can you all see?

9. The function of a question Recapping Factual elicitation Building on thinking Developing reflection Practising skills Checking understanding What do I have to do to mix green? Recapping Factual elicitation What is 5 plus 5? Factual elicitation Practising skills Why do plants have flowers? Checking understanding Building on thinking

10. Teachers’ Questions

11. building on thinking elicitation checking understanding

12. Teachers’ Questions  The most common form of question was factual; the most common function of a question was factual elicitation  A third of all factual questions cued or elicited a single closed response  17% of questions built on thinking  Speculative and Process questions account for 28% of all questions  More speculative questions in literacy  More process questions in numeracy  Efficacy may be more about the right question in the right place

13. P4C: Year 2-3 children Teacher: Why did the mother think that her baby was best? Child: Because it was beautiful. She thought it was beautiful. Child: She thought it was beautiful because she was the mother. Teacher: What does it mean to be beautiful? Child: It means someone thinks you are lovely. Child: You are perfect... Child: Good to look at. Teacher: Can you be beautiful even if no-one thinks you are lovely? Child: No. You can’t be beautiful if no-one thinks you are beautiful. Child: You can be beautiful inside, you can feel beautiful...

14. Your own use of questions In pairs discuss your own transcript Find examples of effective questions  Why are they effective?  How are they helping children think? Find examples of unexpected answers  How did you respond? Are there any examples of children asking questions?

15. Children’s Questions Can I go to the toilet? Shall I use the blue pen? Are we sitting on the carpet today? ?

16. Generating questions Charles Darwin: Roving Reporter Jade Goody: Take your pick

17. Year 4 Questions about God Who made God? Who is God? How was God made? How old is God? How did God make the world? Why was God made? Is God real? How did He make us? What does Heaven look like? Why is God so special? Why does God make thunder? Why did God make us? Why did God make the devil? Why does God kill us? Why did God make swear words?

18. Building on answers 3 + 4 = 3 – 4 = -3 + 4 = -3 – 4 = 3 + -4 = 3 - -4 = -3 + -4 = -3 - -4 = Confident – What are the main things you need to know to do these sums? How will you establish what is understood or misunderstood? Not confident –Identify questions that will help you with the things you don’t understand In groups of differing ability – use questioning and listening to determine What you know that others don’t know What it is you do or don’t understand Where the lack of understanding is – see if you can fix it

19. Next Network Day Pre-session task: Analyse one transcript from your lessons, finding examples of  Different categories of questions  Examples of misunderstanding  Extracts of talk going well Reflect on the transcripts, noting:  your own questioning style  your own listening style

20. Postscript Teachers have to balance the need to manage classroom behaviour, while pursuing the lesson aims, as well as creating opportunities for up to thirty children to experience meaningful talk that develops their thinking and encourages them to reflect on their learning. This is talk that by its very nature may be slow, tentative and exploratory, requiring sensitive and imaginative handling from the teacher. That it is often successful and engaging is testimony to the skill of classroom teachers