Lesson Content - DeRoma

This lesson will enable informal science educators to gain a better understanding of questioning strategies and the relationship between effective questioning and the development of students’ higher-order thinking skills.

By the end of the lesson participants will be able to:

• Explain the difference between open and closed questions
• Describe three strategies for engaging students in discussions
• Identify questioning strategies in a real life scenario

Participants were introduced to the differences between open and closed questions during a previous Adobe Connect session. Therefore, this lesson will begin with a quick poll to see how much the participants remember from the prior lesson. They will be asked to identify some of the characteristics of open questions.

Following the poll, the participants will view a quick PowerPoint presentation that will briefly review some of the characteristics of open and closed questions. The PowerPoint will also introduce participants to three additional questioning strategies: wait time, probing, and redirecting.

Next, participants will watch a five-minute video clip of a workshop at a science museum. They will be asked to think about the following questions:

1. What types of questions did you notice most often in the clip? Give an example.
2. Did you notice any missed opportunities for deeper level questioning? What might you have asked instead?
3. How much "wait time" does the teacher give before calling on students? Did you notice any examples of probing or redirecting?

After the video, participants will engage in a facilitated discussion. They will share their observations of the video clip and reflect on the engagement of the students in the workshop.

At the end of the discussion, participants will view the homework assignment. Those participants who are interested in additional information will be able to download articles and other resources via a file share pod.