As I have been going through my notes, I realised that I have recently attended quite a few talks which focused on the topic of questions.
Below are some ideas that I particularly liked and already put into practice!
Sarah Smith and Claire Steele - Challenge and Cognition: Increasing the level of challenge in teenage classes (British Council 2022)
Sarah and Claire talked about different abilities in the classroom and suggested letting students choose questions. The questions are initially covered with chillies and students are invited to choose between four levels spiciness. Teachers are encouraged to ask their students if the chosen question was spicy enough and if they could go spicier!
Sarah Smith and Natalia Bagdavadze - Learning from our students: The role of the learner in developing reflective teachers (ELTRIA 2022)
Ask the learners to reflect and be mindful of a Rose, Thorn, and Bud they have experienced.
Step 1: Define terms for the activity
Rose = A highlight, success, small win, or something positive that happened.
Thorn = A challenge you experienced or something you can use more support with.
Bud = New ideas that have blossomed or something you are looking forward to knowing more about or experiencing.
Step 2: Brainstorm
Give students 30 seconds to a few minutes to sit silently and reflect on their their rose, bud, and thorn. Then give students 5-10 minutes to jot down ideas.
Step 3: Debrief
Share your own rose, bud, and thorn, and then go around the room asking students to share their rose, bud, or thorn.
Annie Altamirano - Assessment for learning: the road to success (ELTRIA 2022)
In her talk, Annie highlighted the importance of planning our questions in advance.
Sarah and Claire also mentioned the importance of planning and suggested moving from closed questions towards thinking questions.
Laura McWilliams and Natalia Bagdavadze - Developing A Creative and Collaborative Classroom (TESOL France 2021)
Their talk introduced the concept of "visible thinking routines" and explored how teachers can use these routines to guide learners' thought processes and help make thinking visible.
They then went on to outline some practical thinking routines.
See Project Zero's Thinking Routine Toolbox
One example of the "visible thinking routines" that I have used is "See-Think-Wonder". This routine helps stimulate curiosity and sets the stage for inquiry. Students are invited to make observations about an object, image, or event, answering these three questions:
Comments