Higher-Order Thinking/Questioning in the 6-12 Science Classroom
I am an avid believer that questioning is a key to developing critical thinking skills and I am not alone in these thoughts. Constructionists hold this as their core ideals for developing deeper learning. Constructionist teaching describes a method that asks open-ended questions and engages students in conversation about a subject area. "In this way, teachers can better see which students understand material and if current methods are working. In several studies, students who were taught in this way demonstrated a better understanding of the course material" as featured in the article, Socratic Teacher Questioning in Science Classrooms".
In my quest to master utilizing the questioning strategy in my classroom, I began with reflecting on my personal modeling of questioning in my delivery of instruction. My personal experiences learning science were strictly front loading and evaluation, it was not until my graduate level experiences that my professors exposed me to scientific discourse with journal article reviews each week. It took a lot of practice, and I want to scaffold the necessary skills to effectively use questioning as a tool for learning. My students are asked to design questions for each of the elements in our standards as we address them in each unit. They develop or select Depth of Knowledge level one, two and three questions in my 9th grade Biology class. I provide guidelines, sample questions, sentence stems and provide text or online resources. Their questions are used in class discussions, quizzes, investigations and online study guides for the class. This increases student understanding of how they contribute to learning in the class and as models for future students.
The use of phenomenal-based learning provides a perfect platform to use questioning in daily lessons. Nature is full of wonder and amazement, for example, the sun sets earlier in New York City than it does in Atlanta. Why is this so? Is this true for Seattle and San Diego? What about Venezuela and Argentina? Does this effect agriculture and weather in an area? What questions might my students have that will generate great questions in our discovery of our relationship to the universe? My students and I are challenged in each lesson to use good questions to open conversations and further intellectual inquiry. We engage in deep discussions and I can analyze my students' thinking, relationship with their peers and understanding of the content. Below is an example of a teacher leading a phenomenal-based Earth Science lesson.
Sample teacher questioning in phenomena based-learning activity:
Source: https://quantumprogress.wordpress.com/2010/10/19/learning-from-all-sorts-of-different-backgrounds/
The ultimate goal is to guide our students in becoming the best questioners ever!!! And the major question remains: How do we do it? The answer lies in first working on questioning skills ourselves. It is more difficult than you think to not answer student questions, so practice is key (see example above). Provide open ended essential questions to guide instruction each day. Create a classroom environment that encourages deep questioning. Allow time for students to develop their questions and have them reviewed by peers to build up their confidence prior to evaluation. Remain consistent in your efforts and you will notice that your students will be more than capable of leading a class discussion that includes higher order questioning that remains focused on the content.
Demonstrating Understanding:
Watch the following video on metacognition in the science classroom.
- How will you support your students with asking questions that will lead to greater understanding of the content?
Respond in the comment section below.
