UW College of Ocean & Fishery Sciences New TA Orientation 2007 3 Writing Questions to Help Students Learn GOAL • To develop a repertoire of types of questions to use in guiding a discussion and in writing homework or test problems and to generate questions that require students to use a variety of cognitive skills. KEY CONCEPTS • Asking students questions is an effective way to stimulate them to think at various cognitive levels about the course content. • Questions that may be posed about course material vary along a spectrum from rote regurgitation to critical thinking. There is an established taxonomy in the educational literature that is used for evaluating the cognitive level of questions. • It is important to be aware of the cognitive style and level of homework and test questions and to match them to the level of class discussions and student ability. • Asking and answering questions forms the foundation of learning, but classroom research reports that university instructors in science classes use questions only 2.5 % of the class time (on average) and that 80% of the questions asked by instructors and students are at the lowest cognitive levels. • The instructor who has mastered the use of a variety of question types can guide a discussion both to include basic material and to engage student interest. PROCEDURE 1. On the following pages are a list of cognitive skills required to answer questions, and a list of kinds of questions to ask. 2. After reading the material, the facilitator will divide you into groups of about 4 trainees each. Each group will be assigned to study one of the two scientific diagrams included below. 3. Study and discuss the information displayed on the diagram your group was assigned. In your group, write questions about this material at low-, medium-, and high-skill cognitive levels (as modified in the reading from Davis and Bloom below). Try to generate examples of both multiple-choice and short-answer questions (with answers). Enter your work on the work sheet and onto the blank transparencies provided. Example questions are provided below. 4. Groups will share and compare their questions at the cognitive skill levels with the whole class. Use the blank work sheets to record sample questions of other groups. TIPS • The cognitive levels are flexible and meant only as guidelines. Do not expect to understand them fully before you begin. The goal is to get to a feel for them by working with them. • Introduce your question with a context/scenario. • Vary your use of words. Don't just use what, where, who or why, but rather describe, examine, compare and contrast, pros and cons. • Ask yourself: what do I want the students to tell me, or what answer am I looking for? Then write the question as clearly and precisely as you can to try to elicit that answer.UW College of Ocean & Fishery Sciences New TA Orientation 2007 4 ATTACHED READING Bloom, B.S., 1956. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1—Cognitive Domain. Longman, Inc., New York. (Appendix.) Davis, B.G., 1993. Tools for Teaching. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. (Chapter 10.) Levels and Types of Questions (Davis, 1993) (Grouped in pairs for purposes of this workshop) “Vary the cognitive skills your questions call for.” Different questions require different levels of thinking. Lower-level questions are appropriate for assessing students’ preparation and comprehension or for reviewing and summarizing content. Higher-level questions encourage students to think critically and to solve problems. Various researchers have developed cognitive schemes for classifying questions. Bloom’s (1956) system of ordering thinking skills from lower to higher has become a classic: Low-Skill Questions • Knowledge skills (remembering previously learned material such as definitions, principles, formulas): “Define shared governance.” “What are Piaget’s stages of development?” • Comprehension skills (understanding the meaning of remembered material, usually demonstrated by restating or giving examples): “Explain the process of mitosis?” “Give some examples of alliteration.” Moderate-Skill Questions • Application skills (using information in a new context to solve a problem, answer a question, perform a task): “How does the concept of price elasticity explain the cost of oat bran?” “Given the smallness of the sample, how would you analyze these data?” • Analysis skills (breaking a concept into its parts and explaining their interrelationships; distinguishing relevant from extraneous material): “What factors affect the price of gasoline?” “Point out the major arguments Shelby Steele uses to develop his thesis about affirmative action.” High-Skill Questions • Synthesis skills (putting parts together to form a new whole; solving a problem requiring creativity or originality): How would you design an experiment to show the effect of receiving the Distinguished Teaching Award on a faculty member’s subsequent career progress?” “How would you reorganize Bloom’s taxonomy in light of new research in cognitive science?” • Evaluation skills (using a set of criteria to arrive at a reasoned judgment of the value of something): “To what extent does the proposed package of tax increases resolve the budget deficit?” “If cocaine were legalized, what would be the implications for public health services?” “Balance the kinds of questions you ask.” Move from simple questions to those that require more thought. Experienced discussion leaders have found it helpful to develop a typology or inventory of questions such as these: • Exploratory questions probe facts and basic knowledge: “What research evidence supports the theory of a cancer-prone personality?”UW College of Ocean & Fishery Sciences New TA Orientation 2007 5 • Challenge questions examine assumptions, conclusions, and interpretations: “How else might we account for the findings of this experiment?” • Relational questions ask for comparisons or themes, ideas, or issues: “What premises of Plessy v. Ferguson did the Supreme Court throw out in deciding Brown v. Board of Education?” • Diagnostic questions probe motives or causes: “Why did Jo assume a new identity?” • Action questions call for a conclusion or action: “In response to a sit-in at California Hall, what should the chancellor do?” • Cause and effect