Types of Questions for Real World Application 10/31/16

After reading a blog post by Engineering is Elementary on questioning strategies, I wondered how the intentional use of these types of questions could help us strengthen our scholars' understanding of each phase of the Engineering Design Process. Check out these five effective questioning strategies to help students process, engage and troubleshoot their own problems.

1. LEARNER-CENTERED QUESTIONS

• “Tell me what you are making?”
• “Can you tell me more about your design?”
• “What materials did you choose?”
• “Can you describe the materials you are using?”

2. HIGHER-ORDER QUESTIONS

• “What did you find out in your research?”
• “Why do you think this will work?”
• “Can you think of another solution?”

3. PROBING QUESTIONS

• “Tell me more about what you mean by that?”
• “How did you come to that answer?”
• “Let me see if I understand you. Are you saying . . . ?”

4. EVIDENCE-GATHERING QUESTIONS

• “What happened when you tested your design? What did it do? What did you see?”
• “What do you think is happening? Why do you think that?”
• “What would you change about your design? Why?”
• “What do you think will happen if you make that change? Why?”

5. STUDENT GENERATING QUESTIONS

• What do you need to know about ________________ in order to improve your design? (Examples of the blank could be “wind energy” or “force in motion”.)
• What do you know how ____________ works in the real world that will help you improve your design? (Examples of the blank could be “turbines”, “fences”, “roller coasters”, “bridges”

I also realized that #5 - Student Generating Questions not only aligns directly to the iteration process, but it also applies to the Distinguished category on the T-TESS rubric Dimension 1.4 (The teacher plans engaging, flexible lessons that encourage higher order thinking, persistence and achievement.) In order to reach the Distinguished level, the rubric states that the teacher must design learning that provides: Opportunities for students to generate questions that lead to further inquiry and promote complex, higher-order thinking, problem solving and real-world application.

So.... beyond the fact that developing great questioning skills can deepen student learning, as well as strengthen our own instructional practices, it is also simply an important skill to develop....for life! I leave you with the quote from the book A More Beautiful Question.