Instructor Questioning Techniques

Questioning technique is important not just for the educator, but also for management, supervisors, and anyone talking to other people. Everyone wants to talk to someone that is actually interested in their thoughts and desires. Ask questions, and listen to the responses, people will appreciate it.

Asking questions is essential not only to check learner progress, but to motivate learners to pay attention. The fact that they may be called on to participate motivates learners to pay attention and they in turn become more actively involved in learning.

Socrates taught us that through powerful questioning techniques, the learner will be able to answer his own questions. Using the Socratic method of teaching shows us the power of active learning. Not only does the learner ask the question, but through debate, intrigue and discussion the learner discovers the answer for himself. He is just not told the answer. This creates pride and motivation in the learner to learner more. It also develops critical thinking skills. With these critical thinking skills the learner will develop in a way that he will research his questions himself, motivated only by his desire to find truth.

The problem with the Socratic Method is that it requires time and it is not well suited for large classes. For instance if an educator starts the questioning technique with one learner and helps him or her discover the answer, many of the learners will feel left out of the discussion.

Below are some questioning techniques that I employ in the classroom:

There are two main types of questions that an Instructor / Teacher / Facilitator can choose from the tool box to help students learn:

Closed-Ended: (also called factual recall questions)

- Requires basic recall of information.

- Might be a one word answer.

- For instance "What year was the Pearl Harbor bombed?" The learner has only one correct answer: 1941.

Open- Ended:

- Cannot be answered with yes or no.

- Asks learners to elaborate or to consider options.

- May require the learner to reflect or draw a conclusion.

- Good type of question to get conversation started and increase class participation.

- For instance "What was the immediate American reaction to the bombing of Pearl Harbor?" The learner has many responses that could be correct: Doolittle's raid, increased American pride and anger, increased armed forces enlistments, etc.

From these two basic types, Educators / Facilitator / Instructors can expand their questioning techniques to include:

Polling / Canvassing Questions:

- Yes / No (closed-ended) questions.

- Forces participation.

- Gives students a sense of belonging.

- For instance: "How many students have family members that enlisted after Pearl Harbor?" This is a good polling question that will give students a "what's in it for me" feeling. Students will realize that Pearl Harbor is important not just for the country, but because my Grandfather was there.

Funneling / Probing Questions:

- Allows for a deeper understanding of the learning objectives. Also called 'drilling down' into the student's knowledge level.

- Funneling Questions use a technique I learned in the military. You start with a basic overview questions such as: "Why was Pearl Harbor was very important to America?" Answer; "increased American Enlistment". Question: "What did the increased American Enlistment mean to the American Homeland?" Answer: Larger Female Workforce. Question: "What did this larger female workforce mean to America?" Answer: "The woman's liberation movement."

Funneling questions allow the learner to build on his answers from previous questions. They can really give the educator insight into the learner's knowledge. However, learners can also build incorrect response due to previous incorrect responses.

HOW to Ask Questions

Asking a well-planned question in the right way can significantly increase the involvement of your learners, and can thus lead to better comprehension.

A technique I teach my instructors is the APPLE technique. It is a proven method in many learning situations, wither it be instructor led, computer based training, or blended learning. Educators / Instructors/ Facilitators need to utilize this technique when asking questions.

Ask the Question (say it just the way you wrote it down when you planned it)

Pause - let all learners think about the question (yes, this can seem like the longest 3-5 seconds of your day!)

Pick a learner to answer the question (not always the first hand raised)

Listen to the answer (and provide some 'effect' word(s) to acknowledge the student's contribution)

Expound upon / explain the learner's answer (or provide a correct answer instead) and generate a dialogue between students and Instructor.