# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
contributed by Lisa Chesser

Using the right questions creates powerful, sometimes multiple answers and discussions. Aristotle said that he asked questions in response to other people's views, while Socrates focused on disciplined questioning to get to the truth of the matter.

Ultimately questions spark imagination, conjure emotions, and create more questions. The questions asked by a teacher or professor are sometimes more glaringly valuable than the information transferred to the students. Those questions spark a thought, which leads to a fiercely independent search for information.

If students are the ones gathering that information then they're the ones learning it and student-driven learning cements lessons into the students' minds making any lesson more powerful with this strategy. Even though the following list of questions are broken into Mathematics, Literature and Science and Social Science, it's really just a set of philosophically challenging questions that should be applied to any learning environment.

The questions are unrestricted and open the mind up to unfettered thought, perfect for innovation and understanding. The sections begin with Mathematical Questions because for the purpose of this list they're the most general and therefore the most useful.

See also our 28 Critical Thinking Question Stems For Classroom Use ($4.50)

Logical Questions

Within the realm of mathematics, there are certain types of questions that build up to those aha moments or topple barriers. Those are the questions that change a learner forever. They change a person because finally, the answers can only be found within.

The addition of philosophical questioning to mathematics enhances critical thinking in every learner. Basic principles of understanding help create solid ground, but questions build powerful architecture with which structures tower over one another.

Reflection & Collaboration

1. What do you think about what was said?

2. How would you agree or disagree with this?

3. Are there any other similar answers you can think of with alternative routes?

4. Does anyone in this class want to add something to the solution?

5. How might you convince us that your way is the best way?

Self-Reflection

6. How did you determine this to be true?

7. Why didn't you consider a different route to the problem?

8. Why does that answer make sense to you?

9. (in response to an answer):...what if I said that's not true?

10. Is there any way to show exactly what you mean by that?

Reasoning

11. Why do you think this works? Does it always? why?

12. How do you think this is true?

13. Show how you might prove that?

14. Why assume this?

15. How might you argue against this?

Analysis

16. How might you show the differences and similarities?

17. What patterns might lead you to an alternative answer?

18. How many possibilities can you think of and why?

19. Predict any number of results?

Connections

20. How does this relate daily occurrences?

21. Which ideas make the most sense and why?

22. Which problems feel familiar? Why?

23. How does this relate to current events?

24. What kinds of examples make this problem workable?

25. What other problems fit this style or example?

Literary Questions

Buried in every story lives a student's own life. Anyone can relate to at least one character or dive into at least one plot twist. But, the more foreign a story, the more important the questions should be.

Students may resist the idea that they can relate to certain characters depending on their ethnicity or economic background, but deep, concentrated questions show students the story really isn't that foreign at all and also guide students to deeper meanings.

The following questions could be applied to any story, no matter how long or short, difficult or easy. Vary them and add to them depending on how the discussion flows.

26. How did any of the characters or events remind you of yourself? Why?

27. How did the character's actions affect you? Explain.

28. If you were this character, how would the story change?

29. What surprised or confused you about the characters or events? Explain.

30. Why do you think the author wrote from this character's view?

31. What do you think the author is trying to accomplish?

32. How is the author thinking about the world?

33. How would the story change from another character's view?

34. Why do you think this story could actually happen, or not?

35. How can this story teach us something about our lives?

36. How do you think the characters resolved the major conflict in the story?

37. How would you have resolved it?

38. How would you change the end of the story and why?

Science and Social Questions

Within the idea of the Scientific Method, the hypothesis stands as the ultimate question. But, there are so many more questions a scientist must ask in order to answer that one question.

The challenging questions, however, make this a universal process streaming into other subject matter and delving into deeper waters. Here are some questions to sink into and use across curriculum as well as within science itself.

39. What's the purpose for this experiment or argument?

40. Would you elaborate on the purpose of this?

41. What issues or problems do you see here?

42. What evidence or data are given that help make this worthwhile?

43. What are some of the complexities we should consider?

44. What concepts help organize this data, these experiences?

45. How can you justify this information?

46. How can we verify or test that data?

47. What details can you add to make this information feel more complete?

48. Which set of data or information is most relevant or important?

49. How is all of this consistent or inconsistent?

50. How am I seeing or viewing this information? Objectively or subjectively? Should I then change my view?
A former Publications Specialist at Florida International University where she also received a bachelor's degree in English, Lisa Chesser left the publishing field to pursue a career in education. In her first three years of teaching Language Arts, she won an Excellence in Teaching Award for helping students achieve 50 percent learning gains. Because she's also a writer, an editor, and an artist by trade, students often take more interest in their learning environment because she teaches them the value of it in the workplace; metacognition This post was first published on openncolleges.edu.au; image attribution flickr user nationalassemblyforwales; 50 Questions To Help Students Think About What They Think

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
50 Questions To Help Students Think About What They Think - TeachThought

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using the right questions creates powerful, sometimes multiple answers and discussions. Aristotle said that he asked questions in response to other people's views, while Socrates focused on disciplined questioning to get to the truth of the matter. Ultimately questions spark imagination, conjure emotions, and create more questions.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Role of Questions in Teaching, Thinking and Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
The Role of Questions in Teaching, Thinking and Learning

# data[].attributes.body
I liked this article because it gives examples of questions that teachers should ask students so that students can ask questions in return.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Criticalthinking.org Copyright ©2017 Foundation for Critical Thinking.

# data[].attributes.headline
How can you incorporate the use of effective questions in a course?

# data[].attributes.subject
How can you incorporate the use of effective questions in a course?

# data[].attributes.body
I really enjoyed this article because it gave different ideas like the THINK - PAIR - SHARE idea. I have always thought that this idea was a great one and very effective.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn how to encourage student engagement by incorporating discussion, active learning techniques, collaborative work, problem-based learning and more.

# data[].attributes.body
This article helps students to understand the different strategies even more in depth.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Ask Better Questions - YouTube Video

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Ask Better Questions - YouTube Video

# data[].attributes.body
TED Talks are always a great resource when trying to learn about anything that is beneficial to education.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Ask Better Questions | Mike Vaughan | TEDxMileHigh

# data[].attributes.body
I particularly like this article because it comes from Marygrove College. This is a college that actually helps people get their masters in Teaching online.

# data[].attributes.body
I LOVED this. I thought this would be a great read for any high school or even college student. I really liked it because it states what is required by the student.

# data[].attributes.body
I really enjoyed this article because it showed what questions are suppose to do and why they are so important.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.subject
The Right Way to Ask Questions in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.body
This article helps with explaining the right way to asking questions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.headline
Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions

# data[].attributes.subject
Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions

# data[].attributes.body
This is a quick break down of many different things that can help students in developing better questions.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Bring TeachThought Professional Development To Your School! 7 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions
by Terry Heick

Questions can be extraordinary learning tools.

A good question can open minds, shift paradigms, and force the uncomfortable but transformational cognitive dissonance that can help create thinkers. In education, we tend to value a student's ability to answer our questions. But what might be more important is their ability to ask their own great questions-and more critically, their willingness to do so.

The latter is a topic for another day, but the former is why we're here. This is part 2 of a short series (can two articles be considered a series?) built around the idea of questions as learning tools. Part 1 "A Guide For Questioning In The Classroom."
8 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions 1. TeachThought Learning Taxonomy
The TeachThought Learning Taxonomy is a template for critical thinking that frames cognition across six categories.

It imagines any learning product, goal, or objective as a "thing," then suggests different ways to think about said "thing"-mitosis, a math formula, an historical figure, a poem, a poet, a computer coding language, a political concept, a literary device, etc. It's designed to promote "whole" thinking about otherwise discrete or disconnected ideas.

1. Function-thinking critically about how a "thing" works

2. Self-Making sense of how the thinker relates to the "thing"

3. Abstraction-Thinking about the "thing" creatively, or in non-traditional ways

4. Parts-Seeing the individual parts of the "thing"

5. Interdependence-Examining how the "thing" relates to other (similar and non-similar) "things"

6. Whole-See the "thing" fully and within context

A literary device-a metaphor example, is usually studied in isolation. This writer uses this metaphor in this way to this effect. Using the TeachThought Learning Taxonomy, a learner would be forced to confront that metaphor in much more diverse cognitive terrain-to think about something in multiple ways for a more complete picture and advanced understanding.

Function -Communicate the metaphor's most ideal utility (how it can and should be used, and why).

Self--Identity what you do and don't understand about the metaphor

Abstraction -Design a "sequel" of the metaphor (not a simile-an extended metaphor would be a good start)

This framework can be used not only as a planning or assessment tool, but to promote students in self-directed learning and self-created questioning and examination. In short, they can use this framework (or a simplified version of it) to create their own questions. Some examples?
Prompt: Parts-Give examples and non-examples Questions: What are 3 examples and non-examples of mammals? What are 5 examples of push-pull factors? What are 3 non-examples of mixed fractions? Prompt: Interdependence-Direct others in using it Questions: How do-or might-others use alternative fuel sources to help create fresh water sources?
Prompt: Explain it differently to a novice or an expert
Questions: How would explain the Pythagorean Theorem differently to a 2nd grader and a college freshman? What would the main difference be?
The downside to using the TeachThought Learning Taxonomy to help students ask their own questions is the relative complexity of the framework, and the extra step of converting prompts to questions. Therefore, it's better suited to late middle school-university settings.

The upside? It can be used in any content area to think deeply about almost anything.
2. Socratic Discussion
A Socratic Discussion, which is also referred to as a Socratic Seminar, is a group learning strategy designed to support students in open-ended examination and extended critical thinking through dialogic terms. In short, students learn together by talking together in an open and student-centered format. These discussions are not teacher-led, but student-led-students talk to one another.

It is a dialectal method of learning inspired by Socrates' iconic teaching methods that depend on a pattern of theory formation, revision, and elimination to arrive at loosely-held "truths." Used strategically, this approach should promote inquiry as learning, and the close examination of one's own beliefs as primary catalysts for learning.
3. Paideia Seminar
A Paideia Seminar is similar to the Socratic Seminar-in fact, it uses Socratic Discussions on the part of the students, combined with a minor but clear role for teachers, to facilitate verbal and critical examination of ideas. From the (a?) Paideia Seminar website, "The Paideia Seminar is an integrated literacy event built around formal whole class dialogue. The purpose for doing Paideia Seminar is to support students' ability to think conceptually and communicate collaboratively."

One of the key differences between a Paideia Seminar and a Socratic Seminar is that within the Paideia format, teachers are "allowed" a role, provided that that role doesn't exceed 10% of the total discussion.
4. The Question Game
The Question Game focuses on "teaching children a kind of thinking which is particularly useful in creative problem-solving-a focused approach to get from a problem to the most effective solution. It is most effective when combined with regular repetition, which solidifies the thought pattern, and with groups, which encourages contributory exploration of alternative responses and creativity."

Its dice-form not only offers a whiz-bang manipulative, but also introduces a level of gamification and playful uncertainty into the process, and its open-ended and universal stems make it practical for a wide variety of classroom applications.
5. Bloom's Taxonomy
Similar to the TeachThought Taxonomy, Bloom's Taxonomy can act as a framework or pattern to funnel content, inquiry, or other learning processes. These use of the taxonomy to create universal stems is one approach as modeled in the following graphic from flickr user enokson.
6. Question Formulation Technique
We'll have more on this soon but in short, the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) is a kind of question brainstorming process based around a topic as a kind of kernel.

In their words of the Right Question Institute, QFT is "straightforward, rigorous process that helps all students learn how to produce their own questions, improve their questions, and strategize on how to use their questions. In the process, they develop divergent, convergent and metacognitive thinking abilities."

For now, you can read more about the QFT here.
7. Universal Question Stems
As seen in the Bloom's graphic, sentence stems and question stems are wonderful tools that can empower students to ask questions by giving them a head-start in doing so.

By using a "stem," a teacher has set the ball on the proverbial tee for the student to smash. Yes, ideally the student asks their own great questions, but what if they can't-or don't think they can? What if they don't? What if they're still learning how? What if they lack the background knowledge in some narrow sect of science or math or whatever, and need a push in the back? Stems can help. (See also 26 Sentence Stems For Higher-Level Conversation In The Classroom.)

Question stems are a more elementary questioning strategy than the Question Formation Technique (see above), but not necessarily less effective. They can be used for younger students, students struggling with a concept, or even "advanced learners" (not a huge fan of this term) as they narrow an open-ended learning experience, or to be used as "bread crumbs" in the case that the teacher is trying to help them arrive at a pre-determined destination. Some examples?
8 Basic Question Stem Examples
Which differences between ____ and ____ stand out to you?

Why does____never seem to____?

How does_____impact____?

How does _____ work?

What's most important about?

What's most simple/complex about ______?

How could you classify____? (And 'Why would you classify____?')

When____, why does____?
8 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions; image attribution flickr user enokson

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bring TeachThought Professional Development To Your School! 7 Strategies To Help Students Ask Great Questions by Terry Heick Questions can be extraordinary learning tools. A good question can open minds, shift paradigms, and force the uncomfortable but transformational cognitive dissonance that can help create thinkers.