Questioning+Strategies

How can teachers foster a classroom culture where student questions guide inquiry and learning?
 * QUESTIONING STRATEGIES**
 * 1) Learners will understand the underlying purpose behind questioning in the classroom as a fuel for investigations and learning.
 * 2) Learners will recognize the importance of fostering a classroom culture that values student questions.
 * 3) Learners will use a variety of strategies with technology, where appropriate, to train students to ask and use questions that promote investigations, higher levels of thinking and deeper understanding.
 * 4) And most importantly, Learners will begin developing tasks that engage students in using questions to guide learning.

In a classroom that values questions, the questions posed by students will be multi-faceted.....at least they should be! Developing a classroom culture where students produce these types of questions does not happen instantly. It must be modeled, fostered, and revisited regularly.
 * Fostering a Classroom Culture that Values Questions**

Take a look at these [|objects]. What questions could you ask? Write them down. In a go-around format, share your questions. What type of questions were asked most often? (30 Minutes)


 * What is an Essential Question?** ([|PowerPoint]) (20 Minutes)
 * Essential questions require you to make a decision or plan a course of action. (Evaluation-highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.)
 * Essential Questions probe for deeper meaning and set the stage for further questioning.
 * Essential questions foster the development of critical thinking skills and higher order capabilities such as problem-solving and understanding complex systems.
 * A good essential question is the principle component of designing inquiry-based learning tasks and WebQuest tasks.

Using the task cards, evaluate whether or not the given task will promote good student questions or not. Choose one weak task to revise so that it will promote good student questions.
 * Evaluating Classroom Tasks** (20 Minutes)

Inquiring Minds learn to Read and Write: Inquiry, Questioning, and discussion Strategies for Promoting Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, //by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm//
 * Techniques for Student Generated Questions** (20 Minutes)
 * [|Chapter 8: Promoting Dialogue-Techniques for Encouraging Deep Thinking and Exchange]
 * Coffee Can Quizzes, Gallery Walks, Walkaorunds, Silent Discussions, Discussion Drama Strategies, Role Played Opinion Quizzes, Meeting of the Minds, Radio show, Party Games, If You Had 5 Minutes......and many more ideas!
 * Be prepared to share one techniques with group.