Chapter 5: Questioning Strategies

Chapter 5: Why Ask? Questioning Strategies in the Classroom

           

            I am very fortunate this semester to be in a classroom observing a teacher who is very skilled in questioning techniques.  She teaches both math and social studies.  She covers all 6 levels of Bloom’s “higher-order” questioning as she teaches.  All teachers at the school are teaching using the common core standards which holds teachers accountable for teaching higher-order skills.  She has the students to state facts (level 1-knowledge).  She has students comparing the information to other forms (level 2-comprehension).   She will ask different students who have completed a math problem to show their work on the board then ask students to compare the methodology each student used to arrive at the same answer.  She will then ask students how this can be used in everyday life (application-level 3), and asks them to explain why they feel this solution would be appropriate for that particular situation (level 4-analysis).  She has students to write about what they have learned in their journal and come up with new ways to use the information they have just studied (level 5-synthesis).  Finally, students will share what they have written in their journals and the class will have a discussion where students may ask questions and defend their reasoning/judgment for the entry (evaluation- level 6).

            Effective questioning techniques are essential in the classroom.  I know that right now I am not skilled in this area.  I hope that by the end of the semester, with the observation of such a skilled teacher, I will have improved questioning skills.

Questions:

1.  How do you use effective questioning without absorbing too much time on one question?

2.  What motivators could be used as “hand-raisers” to get students answering questions in the classroom?

Higher Order Thinking Skills Question Templates:

http://www.med.wright.edu/sites/default/files/aa/facdev/_Files/PDFfiles/QuestionTemplates.pdf

Kind of a teacher checklist for questions in the classroom:

http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/asking-questions-improve-learning

Chapter 7: Reflection

Chapter 7:  Getting It Down: Making and Taking Notes Across the Curriculum

            It has been a number of years since I was in grade school.  At that time, we were not offered any help, skills, or instruction in note-taking.  This would have been a great asset for me as I am someone who takes notes verbatim.  I miss many key concepts because of this.  I will continue writing previous notes as the instructor moves on to new information.  I am also a person who needs proficient notes to study, even though I am present and attentive in class.  I feel efficient note-taking skills should be taught in students’ early years.  Reading this chapter is inspiring for me to teach myself, and later my students, practical note-taking skills.

            The internet is such a valuable resource.  I found several “note-taking for elementary students” interactive sites.  I didn’t have the time to go through the sites thoroughly enough to recommend some as I did on the first blog posting. 

            In order to teach note-taking, there are so many questions to consider.  How do you decide what is important? What are these notes going to be used for? Will they be used to take a test?  Will they be used to write a paper?  With so many options to choose from just for organizing notes, as teachers how would we sample each of these in order to reach our student’s diverse learning styles? 

            I realize that I have more questions than content.  This is a valuable skill that I am inadequate in and certainly should become more proficient in order to teach my students.

Questions:

1.  Are there some other helpful ways you have learned or other experiences you have taught yourself that have to do with note-taking?

2.  How early should we begin teaching the valuable skill of note-taking to students? 

Article Review: Effects of Reading--Aloud Styles

Article Review:

"Effects of Teachers' Reading-Aloud Styles on Vocabulary Acquisition and Comprehension of Students in the Early Elementary Grades" (2002) by Brabham, E. G. and Lynch-Brown, C.

            The article we read for this week’s blog submission was written approximately 10 years ago.  I found it interesting that “90% of teachers read aloud for entertainment or enjoyment, not for instruction.”  The article also tells us that only “11%-28% of teachers read aloud to stimulate discussion, build comprehension, impart knowledge, or build vocabulary.”  As part of our elementary education instruction today, we are taught the importance of read-alouds and how to properly employ them in our classroom.  I feel that the teachers questioned for this article probably had not seen or had not been taught to utilize read-alouds.  I would hope and assume that the 11-28 % statistic would be much higher today.  Read-alouds make instruction much more entertaining and interesting while providing more meaningful discussions.

            For the statistical analysis, undergraduate (preservice) teachers were given 2 weeks of training to employ the method of read-aloud to use for the study.  I would think that all elementary education students, as well as current teachers, could benefit from training comparable to this, possibly through a workshop.  It was interesting to see the gain in test scores, in progressing order, from just reading, to performance reading, and interactional reading.  From these results we can see that interactional reading is the preferred method.  This is because we can see that the outcome for student scores in both vocabulary and comprehension are much higher.  This supports the training that we are receiving in our own education program. 

            This article provides statistical proof of the importance of interactive read-alouds.  It motivates me to provide as much interactional read-alouds as possible in my future classroom.

Questions:
1.  Would a larger school sample, not just 5, make a difference in the outcomes?

2.   Since the article shows how well interactive readings improve vocabulary and comprehension, would elementary education students benefit, or want, to have extra training to learn best how to implement them in their classroom?

Chapter 4 and Read-Alouds/Shared Readings

Reading for this week:

1. Handout: "Tapping the potential of teacher read-alouds in middle schools"
2. Book: Chapter 4: Well Read: Promoting Comprehension Through Read Alouds and Shared Readings

            This week's article outlines a good basis for further study on read-alouds in the middle schools.  I find the study to be very limited, not only by the lack of participants, but also by the structure of the questions.  The researchers admit they left the questions vague in order to elicit a range of responses.  This was wise in my opinion, because they could use the wide-ranging information for more specific questioning in the future.  I believe this vague questioning led to more teachers answering that they performed read-alouds when they were actually only reading directions or other like material.

            With that said, I think read-alouds are great for any grade.  I believe that if the teacher picks the right book and has the right approach for a read-aloud, a student of any age will be engaged.  Read-alouds show students how to question, visualize, and make predictions while they read. Reading aloud demonstrates good reading habits. This is something that I plan to incorporate in my teaching, no matter the grade.   

            Chapter 4 in our book also discusses shared readings.  I like this approach, especially for younger students because the children are able to visualize the words as they are read.  They can follow along in the story and look for vocabulary words as they go along.  I still prefer read-alouds because the teacher can add so much to the story without the student being distracted by looking down at the words. 

            I feel that both read-alouds and shared readings are an important part of instruction.  The benefits far outweigh any negatives.  Teachers tend to use these techniques with younger students but I feel that older students would certainly benefit as much. 

Questions:

1.  Is there a rule-of-thumb for choosing a book given that classes have such a variation of reading levels/abilities/interests? (Number of pages, reading level, etc.)  I assume the size of the book would have a lot to do with the amount of time given for the class period.

2.  How often should read-alouds be incorporated into the school week?  Would one read-aloud per day be too much for the student and/or teacher?

Chapter 8 and K&D Handout

I like this quote:

"Writing is how we think our way into a subject and make it our own."- William Zinsser, Writing to Learn

This week's readings:

1. Chapter 8: Powerful Pens: Writing to Learn With Adolescents (text by Fisher and Frey) 
2. Knipper & Duggan Handout: ("Writing to learn across the curriculum: Tools for comprehension in content area classes" by Kathy J. Knipper and Timothy J. Duggan). 

            In reading both the chapter and the article, I was prompted to find out more on several of the strategies mentioned.  There were so many great ideas for introducing students to “write to learn.”   I was so inspired by many of the strategies that I composed a list of resources and attached them to the end of this posting.  If I was introduced to these strategies when I was in school, I know that I would have been more motivated and engaged in learning and in subjects that I did not find interesting at that time. I love the direction that the educational system is heading and I am very excited to play a part in it.

            I had not heard of several of these strategies until this reading.  The biopoem was one of the strategies that I was not familiar with.  This is a great way for students to organize the main character’s important pieces of information from the story or reading. 

            I was surprised to read about “writing to learn in math.”  Math is a subject that you typically think of the teacher working out sample problems on the board and then students do similar problems for homework.  I liked the idea of using book readings and then writing in your own words what was learned in a journal entry (see resource below). 

            After reading both the chapter and the article, I feel confident in teaching write to learn strategies.  Both readings provide great ideas for use in the classroom.  As I said before, I was so motivated in learning more about these strategies that I put together some added resources to help me in the future when I use these in my own classroom.

Questions:

1. How many writing to learn activities would be appropriate during a given week? 
2.  Should all writing to learn activities be graded?  If not, would students take the writing activities seriously?

Expanded Resources:

Chapter 8:Powerful Pens: Writing to Learn With Adolescents 

• To apply the three kinds of knowledge (declarative, procedural, and conditional; additional description at: http://www.readingquest.org/conditional.html)  this site lists several "Strategies for Reading Comprehension" which can be added to the resources found in the Knipper & Duggan Handout (below):  http://www.readingquest.org/strat/  (book pg. 141-144)
• Writing to Learn...  Math:  This is a great resource for writing about math.  It offers math writing strategies and gives book ideas:  http://letsplaymath.net/2007/08/21/writing-to-learn-math/    Science:  Ideas for science notebooks and other subjects can be found at this site: http://www.kindergartenkindergarten.com/science-notebooks/ and many ideas for science and social studies at: http://pinterest.com/whiskeyjack/science/

*Prezi webpage to go with Chapter 8 of our book: http://prezi.com/v0vq6d1qvrak/copy-of-chapter-8-powerful-pens-writing-to-learn-with-adolescents/

Knipper & Duggan Handout: ("Writing to learn across the curriculum: Tools for comprehension in content area classes" by Kathy J. Knipper and Timothy J. Duggan).  Below are some web resources for comprehension tools to help students in writing to learn:

1. A website for word map information and templates included: http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/word_maps/
2. This is an online ABC List for student use.  The site gives an example using animals then encourages students to make a list of their own and suggests trying to use words that are related to each other, like countries, sports words, space words, or friend's names.: http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111282/abclist.htm
3. This website gives a definition, an example, and an online template to fill out for the student to write his/her own biopoem: http://cuip.net/~adarice/cwsite/poems/poembio.htm
4. This is excellent for me, as a future teacher, to understand the strategy of sentence synthesis:  http://www.english-for-students.com/SynthesisofSentences.html
5. Framed paragraphs:  Here is a framed paragraph template about one´s favorite animal. Teachers may print this to hand out to students: http://www.eslprintables.com/printable.asp?id=68384   Here is a template for use after reading a book or story (Framed Paragraph Outlines Character)): http://www.docstoc.com/docs/43818936/Framed-Paragraph-Outlines-%28Character%29
6. A great descriptive site for learning logs: Instructional strategies online:  http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/logs/index.html  Here is a description and a good template for a learning log: http://www.accessola.com/osla/toolkit/How/learninglogs.html
7. Quick Write/Quick Draw is a literacy strategy that gives students the opportunity to reflect on their learning:  This is a useable template with instructions: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson_images/lesson1053/quick_write_draw.pdf  This site has great (useable) examples for quick writes in your own classroom: http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/scholasticprofessional/authors/pdfs/rief_sample_pages_introduction.pdf  A great description of quick writes: http://nrhs.nred.org/www/nred_nrhs/site/hosting/Literacy%20Website/Literacy%20Strategy%20Templates/Quick_Write__description.pdf