iSSues Explorer Social Studies (Secondary) Unit November 2016
Developing Our Students as Informed, Concerned and Participative Citizens
Selection of the Month Effective Questioning — Asking the right questions In this ‘Selection of the Month’, we would like to focus on how teachers can help students learn by asking the right questions. This would be largely dependent on the stage of learning a class/student is currently at, as well as the purpose of asking the question(s). As Social Studies teachers, we ask questions in class on a daily basis. Therefore, it is important to be cognisant of the purpose of the questions we ask as they guide students’ understanding of the issues/concepts being discussed. In planning for lessons that are centred on questions, it is important to remember that questions asked in the classroom must be planned in advance and must be directly related to what you want the students to learn.
concepts previously taught. An example of such a question may include, ‘How does an event such as the Southeast Asian (SEA) games build peace?’ 2. Stimulate Interest Questions that stimulate interest can be asked at the beginning of a lesson, for example, at the sparking curiosity stage of an inquiry-based lesson to help teachers find out students’ prior knowledge about an issue. The questions may be speculative or may invite students to share their past experiences with their classmates. Examples of such questions may include, ‘Where do you think these products originate from’ or ‘What are some Singapore holiday celebrations that you have been a part of?’
In planning for lessons that are centred on questions, it is important to remember that questions asked in the classroom must be planned in advance and must be directly related to what you want the students to learn. While we cannot entirely preempt students’ responses, it would be useful to think of possible student responses and prepare some 3 . D e e p e n S t u d e n t s ’ Understanding follow-up questions that can help Teachers can use analytical and drive the discussion forward. evaluative questions when they R e a s o n s f o r A s k i n g want students to think more deeply about what they have just Questions discussed or to analyse an issue or Here are some reasons why concept more thoroughly. teachers ask questions in class:
Such questions are useful at the 1. Accountability exercising reasoning stage of an These questions are meant to inquiry-based lesson, where check for students’ understanding of students can apply what they have the issue being discussed or learnt to new contexts. Examples