Questioning is a successful and universal pedagogical approach in teaching. Teachers on average, spend 80 per cent of their school day asking questions. A typical teacher asks 300-400 questions a day, however, quantity and quality of questions varies.

Research has shown that the majority of questions asked by teachers are low-level cognitive questions that focus on memorisation and recall of facts, rather than questions which foster deeper understanding.

Questioning is important for two way communication between teacher and pupil. It helps to build understanding, promote high level thinking and draw out of the pupil, what they are thinking. It is through questioning that the teacher can lead her class, interest them in the content of the curriculum and encourage participation. 

Most importantly, questioning fosters understanding. Higher cognitive questions promote student centred teaching. Using thought provoking questions makes young people more aware of their own learning. Giving the chance for feedback about what a pupil understands, and what they do not understand, enhances their understanding of a topic.

There are basically two different kinds of questions that teachers use. Broad questions and focused questions. Broad questions are used to initiate discussion. They require open-ended answers. (Avoid broad questions if you are looking for specific answers). Examples of broad questions are given below:

*What have these two incidents got in common? (open ended answer)
*How would you interpret this result? (evaluative answer)
*What do you think is going to happen next if I add more ink? (Prediction)
*Do you think this was the best way to end the problem? (forming an opinion)

On the other hand, focused questions require more specific answers. Use them successfully to find out the pupils’ knowledge of facts and concepts:

*What is the function of the cilia? (recalling facts)
*What is a verb? (defining terms)
*What characteristics do these things share? (categorising)
*Have you ever seen a similar structure? (Confirming)

If a teacher wants to initiate a discussion, then avoid using specific/focused questions first. Use broad questions from the start and follow up with the focused question.  

Questions can be categorised as convergent and divergent. If we use a convergent question we expect a single or accepted ‘correct’ answer to a question. If there are a number of possible answers, many of which are acceptable to a question, we call the question divergent. Divergent questions are used less frequently in schools.
It is important to ask both convergent and divergent questions; there is a place for both kinds. Teachers, however, should be aware that mainly convergent questions do not develop thinking.  If you want divergent thinking then you need to use divergent questions.

Questioning need not always be directed toward helping students answer their own question.  When a pupil asks a question, it might help to avoid answering the question completely, if you wish to foster thinking or problem solving skills.

Often, postpone answering the question directly, to give a feeling of tension and excitement, but discourage inappropriate questions. If you do not know the answer to a question, admit it.

Questions and answers often become one-way activities. Questions from the teacher and answers from the students. Teachers need to look at the type of questions they are asking and at techniques that they can use to improve their questions. Firstly let us ask - how are questions used? 

*Questions are used to help teachers find the level at which their pupils understand, (or misunderstand) concepts.
 
*They are used to get the pupils active participation in a lesson.  

*They are used to get the pupils to express their thoughts and listen to the answers of their peers. 

*Questions are used to keep the pupils alert and on task.

Secondly let us ask – how are questions asked?  How a question is asked has a huge impact on learning outcomes. It is shaped by the way the teacher uses the question and the way the pupils are encouraged to generate their own questions. How the questions are asked and answered has greater importance than the content of the question.

Successful questioners use various skills when composing and asking questions. They use:

*Phrasing and sequencing - when the teacher asks the question and the pupil understands the response expectation. (No run-on questions required)

*Adapting - when the teacher adapts the question to the ability of the pupil. The teachers uses wording the pupil understands.

*Sequencing - when the teacher asks questions in an order, having planned the pathway of the questions. Each question carefully planned to latch onto the next concept to be taught.

*Balance – when both convergent and divergent questions are used and time is spent with both types of questions. The objectives of the lessons are achieved through balance.

*Participation – when, after the primary questions and initial answers, the pupils are encouraged to expand their answers and support their answers. Discussion of the answers.

*Responding to questions so that the time in the class is used efficiently; keeping the questions from leading off track; using the correct tone of voice when asking the question and whilst responding to questions.

*Thinking-time – teachers need to pause for up to 5 seconds after asking a question to allow the pupils time to think. The teacher also needs to pause after the initial response which comes from the pupils to enable more questions from both sides.

*Student questions – these are of greatest importance – students generate questions which lead to discussion. They listen to each other.

The techniques given here are more or less straightforward. However, teachers often forget to use them regularly. Thinking-time is perhaps the most forgotten technique of all.

It has been found that teachers generally wait less than 0.7 seconds if they think a pupil does not know the answer.

Thinking-time can often make a big difference to teacher-directed questions. A good guide line to this might be to wait for at least 3 seconds of silence after asking the question. The pupils digest the question and then respond. It has been researched that using thinking-time has a positive impact on the attitude of both pupil and teacher.

When teachers introduced more thinking-time for pupils into their classrooms, it was found that pupil’s ‘Don’t know’ responses decreased and the length and accuracy of their answers increased. Furthermore, the volunteered number of responses was larger and the results of the evaluation were higher!

When teachers gave longer thinking-time, it was noted that their questions became more varied and flexible - the quantity of questions decreased while the quality and variety increased. Last, but not the least, higher order questions were asked more frequently.

In 1985, Stahl’s idea of ‘think time’ went further by defining the time as a “distinct period of uninterrupted silence by the teacher and all students so that they can both complete appropriate information processing tasks, feelings, oral responses and actions.” (Stahl, 1994) Let teachers look at their questioning techniques and ask themselves the following questions:

*Do you challenge your students by asking questions?

*Do you arouse the student’s curiosity by asking questions?

*Do you make your students want to know more?

*How often do you use questions as the foundation of new concepts?

*Do your questions encourage students to listen to other student opinions?

*To what extent do your questions require the pupils to interpret, analyse and to think critically.

*Do your questions lead to the discovery of interests or aspects of the students that you were unaware of?

*Do you pre-plan your key questions?

*Do you have strategies for unlikely answers to key questions?

*Do your questions make the students think beyond the simple?

*Do you ask a variety of questions?

*Do you distribute your questions to those who answer and those who do not answer?

*Do pupils talk to each other, or only to you, during question time?

*Do you use thinking-time?

*Do you accept answers in a neutral manner?

*Do you repeat the pupil’s responses?

*Do you encourage the pupils to ask questions?

 
Some things that a teacher can do when asked a question, other than directly answering it, is to repeat the question and paraphrase it.

This serves two purposes: it makes sure that the entire group hears the question and it allows the questioner time to think about his or her own question. When we repeat the question, the pupil might rephrase the answer and in this way he/she is ‘thinking out loud’. Conclusions are often based on this process.

Redirect the question – ask another pupil who might know the answer, to respond. You might redirect it to the whole class. This procedure encourages whole class participation and also implies that peers are a resource for learning.

Promote discussion

Ask probing questions - the intent being to draw the pupil’s attention to things that may be only implied in the answer. Enable the pupil to answer his/her own question. Promote a discussion among the pupils. Usually communication in class is between two people, typically, the teacher and the one pupil, with the rest of the class listening.

Questions are essential for student-centered teaching. Asking pupil’s questions enables them to be aware of their own contribution to the learning process.

It enables feedback about what they know and do not know, and builds understanding. By using techniques, like think-breaks, questioning time becomes a powerful teaching tool. The types of questions that the teacher asks influence how pupils, study, think, read or apply.

If you have high expectation for pupil learning, then the questions teachers ask should match these expectations. Easy questions which give away answers are not contributing to the learning process.

The right question

On the other hand, questions which are too difficult, create feelings of failure and create division between those who know and those who do not know. Effective questions involve learners in the subject being taught.

They should be designed to ask for information. Explained, this means: every question and answer session needs to have a purpose and an information gap to be filled. Questions which do not have a purpose are creating a vacuum.

If questioning techniques are exploited they help pupils and teachers learn. Don’t ask pupils things they already know as it does not satisfy the pupils. Never forget “To question well is to teach well.”