METHODS
FOR ASSESSING QUESTIONING SKILLS
This section of the booklet presents four methods for
collecting feedback related to one's questioning skills.
These include self-review, colleague or peer review,
survey, and student evaluations of questioning. An
instructor can use the information gathered from one or
more of the methods to identify strengths and weaknesses
in her questioning techniques.
Assessment Method page
Suggestions for Viewing Your Videotape
(Call
Instructional Development at (217) 333-3370 to
make arrangements for videotaping your class.)
- Focus your attention on a few aspects of your
questioning techniques which are of particular
interest to you. Select one or both of the
following rating guides to concentrate on while
you view your videotape.
Level
and Types of questions Attending behaviors
Space has been provided at the bottom of each
rating guide for additional comments which come
to mind as you view the tape.
- When viewing the videotape of your lesson take
advantage of the rewind capabilities of the
equipment to replay segments of interest or
importance. One recommendation is to stop the
tape after posing a question. Anticipate the
student response. Continue playing the tape and
compare the actual student response with the
anticipated response. If there was any
inconsistency, try to identify the factors which
may have contributed to the question not working
as planned.
- Consider the following questions after viewing
your videotape:
- How do your observations and data
generated from the Self-Rating Guides
compare with your intended goals and
purposes of your questions?
- Are your questioning outcomes consistent
with your intent?
Using Audiotape Recording to Assess Your
Questioning Effectiveness
Occasionally, people who haven't been videotaped
before feel anxious or reluctant to use this medium to
analyze their teaching. If you feel being videotaped will
create excessive anxiety, thus affecting your teaching,
perhaps a less threatening alternative would be to
audiotape you lesson with a cassette tape recorded.
Cassette tape recorders are unobtrusive and fairly easy
to operate. As with the videotape recorder you can stop,
replay, or fast forward the lesson, focusing upon areas
of specific interest. You should be cautioned that
cassette recorder microphones may be less effective than
videotape recorders when picking up student comments,
especially in larger rooms. Secondly, when listening to
an audiotape you must visualize the nonverbal and
attending behaviors occurring during the lesson. Keep in
mind that in many instances what we think is, or was,
occurring is not necessarily consistent with what did
occur.
Conducting a Mini-lesson
The purpose of peer teaching is to provide you with an
opportunity to apply some of the suggestions mentioned in
this booklet. Applications of these suggestions should
occur in an informal and nonthreatening atmosphere.
WHO IS INVOLVED?
You (the instructor) and one to three professional
colleagues who have volunteered to provide you with
support and assistance in analyzing and refining your
teaching skills.
WHAT AND WHY?
Identify a few specific goals or questioning skills
you wish to incorporate into a short 10-20 minute lesson
which will be presented to your colleagues. Your
colleagues help by:
- Discussing your goals or objectives with you.
- Participating as learners during the lesson.
- Organizing their observations.
- Analyzing your questioning feedback.
- Providing constructive feedback.
- Helping you develop a strategy for making your
instruction more effective.
WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOUR COLLEAGUES?
Some of the ideas and approaches you will be testing
may also be new to one or more of the group. Through
active participation and exposure to these concepts, your
peers may learn more about their own teaching.
AVAILABLE OPTIONS
There are three ways peer teaching can be conducted:
- As traditional peer teaching: one instructor
presents a lesson to a few colleagues.
- As videotaped peer teaching: the same framework
as above, except the lesson is videotaped to
provide you with an additional source of
feedback.
- Same as #1, or #2 but led by an educational
specialist from the Center for Teaching Excellence.
Anyone interested in making arrangements for options
#2 or #3 should contact the Center for Teaching Excellence at (217) 333-3370.
SUGGESTIONS FOR USING THE PEER TEACHING CYCLE
Pre-Teaching Conference
The pre-teaching conference provides you with an
opportunity to meet with your peer group and communicate
your goals and the procedures to be followed. Awareness
of your goals will help each participant focus upon how
well your goals are reflected in your teaching. Group
members can also suggest ways in which they may provide
feedback related to your specific goals.
Teaching Session
Plan your presentation to take between 10-20 minutes.
Remember, this is a "mini-teaching" exercise.
Plan accordingly. Select and focus upon only a few
suggestions presented earlier in this booklet. Encourage
your group to participate as if this were an actual
learning situation. Discourage role playing.
Analysis
After completing your mini-lesson, allow yourself a
few minutes to jot down some notes concerning your
impressions and analysis of the lesson. These impressions
will later be shared with the group.
Each member of the group should complete the feedback
form presented below and summarize his observations
according to the specific goals discussed during the
pre-teaching conference.
Mini-Lesson Feedback
Directions: Respond to each of the statements
below by writing next to the statement the number
which most closely corresponds to your
observation.
- = Not Applicable
- = Not Adequate
- = Somewhat Adequate
- = Adequate
- = Very Adequate
I. Demonstrates Skill In Asking Appropriate
Levels and Types of Questions.
- Asked questions which were at an
appropriate level for the material being
covered.
- Questions followed a logical pattern.
- Questions served a purpose.
- Asked questions which required students
to think at various intellectual levels.
II. Demonstrates Skill in Phrasing Questions
and Handling Student Responses.
- Allowed adequate wait-time after posing
questions.
- Demonstrated active listening skills
(e.g., eye contact, head nodding) when
interacting with students.
- Reinforced student responses.
- Avoided interrupting students during
questions or responses.
Use this space to write strengths and
weaknesses you observed in the instructor's
questioning techniques.
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
Conference/Critique Session
During this session you and the group share your
observations and analysis of the lesson. Try to:
- Focus on the predetermined areas of concern,
e.g., levels and types of questions, phrasing
questions.
- Focus on a few areas, not many.
- Focus on positive as well as negative aspects of
the lesson.
- Support observations with data taken from the
lesson (quotes, critical incidents).
Post-Conference Planning
The purpose of this session is to provide you with
time to reflect upon comments made by the group and
compare them with your own observations. You should
decide which feedback is most useful and incorporate that
information into a plan or strategy for a future lesson.
You might consider using a continuing series of peer
teaching exercises, each growing out of a preceding one
and leading to the next. By following this cycle,
information and data generated from one session may be
applied to another.
COLLEAGUE VIDEOTAPE REVIEW
The purpose of colleague videotape review is to
provide you with additional expert perspectives about one
of your videotaped lessons. Colleagues in your area of
academic interest can be a good source of helpful
information.
WHO IS INVOLVED?
You (the instructor) and one to three colleagues who
will provide you with assistance in analyzing a videotape
of your classroom teaching.
WHAT IS INVOLVED?
Arrange to have a videotape made of your classroom
teaching. Ask your colleagues to view the tape and
provide you with their impressions. They can expect to
spend approximately an hour observing the tape and
another hour discussing and reviewing with you selected
parts of the tape.
WHAT IS IN IT FOR YOUR COLLEAGUES?
Some of the ideas and approaches you will be testing
may also be new to one or more of the group. Through
active participation and exposure to these concepts, your
peers may learn more about their own teaching.
PROCEDURAL OPTIONS:
- You should ask your colleague(s) to concentrate
on specific aspects of your lesson chosen from
the Rating Guides presented earlier. The Rating
Guides for each category can be completed by your
colleagues as they view your videotape.
- If more than one colleague is looking at the
tape, they may want to get together before
meeting with you to organize their comments, save
time and avoid redundancy.
HOW?
If you call
Instructional
Development of the Center for Teaching Excellence at (217) 333-3370 you can make
arrangements for videotape and playback equipment. If you
wish, the staff can also suggest colleagues who may be
willing to watch your videotape.
The following survey can be used to provide you with
quick and efficient systematic information concerning
students' perceptions of the
"questioning/interaction" atmosphere in your
classroom.
SURVEY ON QUESTIONING
Directions: Respond to each of the statements below
by circling the response which most closely corresponds
to your observation.
- How would you characterize communication in your
class?
a. As an uninterrupted lecture by the
professor?
b. As a lecture where members of the class
sometimes raise questions about the material
being presented?
c. As a lecture where the professor and/or class
members often stop to discuss the material being
presented?
d. Other. (Specify on back)
- I feel free to ask questions when I do not
understand a point the instructor is making.
a.
Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
- The questions presented to the class are
generally:
a. Too difficult
b. About right
c. Too easy
d. Other (Specify on back)
- During the class, the instructor asks questions
to determine if we understand the presentation.
a.
Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
d. Not applicable
- The instructor adjusts the presentation based
upon student feedback during the lesson.
a.
Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
d. Not applicable
- The instructor misunderstands student questions.
a.
Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
- The instructor answers questions clearly and
concisely.
a. Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
- The instructor is patient with students who ask
questions.
a. Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
- Do you feel comfortable responding to questions
in this class?
a. Usually
b. Sometimes
c. Seldom
d. Not applicable
Using ICES Questionnaire Items to Assess Your
Questioning Skills
The following set of ICES (Instructor and Course
Evaluation System) questionnaire items can be used to
assess your questioning skills. The items are presented
with their original ICES catalogue number. You are
encouraged to include one or more of the items on the
ICES evaluation form in order to collect students'
opinions of your questioning skills.
- 33--How much time was allotted to classroom
questioning and discussion?
- Too much - - - - - Too little
- 328--Did the instructor raise challenging
questions in class?
- Yes, Often - - - - - No, Seldom
- 329--Questions presented to the class to generate
discussion were generally:.
- Too specific Too vague
- 331--The instructor asked open-ended questions..
- Almost always occurred - - - - - Almost never
occurred
- 333--The instructor was receptive to differing
viewpoints or opinions..
- Yes, quite open - - - - - No, didn't want them
- 336--Did the instructor clarify student ideas by
inflection (e.g., said "Do you mean...).
- Almost always - - - - - Almost never
- 341--During presentations, did the instructor
check on students' understanding?.
- Almost always - - - - - Almost never
- 354--The instructor listened attentively to what
class members had to say..
- Always - - - - - Seldom
- 359--How often did the instructor understand your
comments or questions?.
- Almost always - - - - - Almost never
- 363--The instructor corrected student statements
without further discussion..
- Almost always occurred - - - - - Almost never
occurred
- 366--The instructor thoroughly answered students'
questions..
- Almost always - - - - - Almost never
- 379--The instructor was condescending toward
students.
- Strongly agree - - - - - Strongly disagree
- 390--There was a positive interaction between
students and instructor.
- Almost always - - - - - Almost never
- 391--The atmosphere in the classroom seemed:
- Relaxed and friendly - - - - - Tense and
unfriendly
- 392--The instructor promoted an atmosphere
conducive to work and learning.
- Strongly agree - - - - - Strongly disagree
- 401--Students were free to interrupt
presentations if points needed clarification..
- Strongly agree - - - - - Strongly disagree
- 467--For this course rate the importance of
student class participation.
- Very important - - - - - Not important
The information resulting from self, peer, or student
review of your lesson is not easily interpretable. We
recommend that you analyze your student or peer comments
by looking for particular response patterns. For example,
you may have a problem with your questioning ability if
your students and colleagues cannot identify the purpose
or goal of your questions, have trouble understanding the
questions, or fail to answer questions as anticipated.
some common patterns observed when using ineffective
questioning techniques are provided below. Beside each
pattern are suggestions for improvement. The list is not
meant to be exhaustive. Instead, it offers some practical
suggestions for improvement and should stimulate your
thinking of other suggestions.
| Patterns |
Suggestions |
| Answered Own Questions/No
Student Response |
- Allow for sufficient wait-time.
- Call on non-volunteers; students may have
become dependent upon you to provide
answers.
- Perhaps your questions are too difficult;
make an effort to reword the question by
breaking down the concept into smaller
more manageable parts.
- Make sure you are heard and understood by
everyone.
|
| Student Responses Consistently
Incorrect, Vague or Off-Target |
- Formulate questions prior to class,
anticipating the range of possible
student responses.
- Be sure the wording or phrasing of the
question requires responses consistent
with the purpose of the question.
- Avoid asking multiple questions or vague
"what about..." type questions.
- Use familiar terminology when phrasing
questions.
|
| "Yes/No" or One-Word
Student Response |
- The opening words of a question
frequently determine the level and type
of student response. If you want to avoid
one word responses, avoid questions
beginning with the following words which
tend to elicit one-word responses:
are;
can; do; does; have; is; would.
|
| Interpreting or Cutting Off
Student Responses |
- Listen to student responses. Demonstrate
active listening skills by maintaining
eye contact and reinforcing student
contributions.
- If you are going to ask questions during
class, be courteous and patient enough to
listen to student responses. Students may
be less willing to participate in the
future if they have been treated rudely.
|
| Same Students Answering All the
Time |
- Avoid depending upon the same few
students to answer questions all the
time. Their responses may not necessarily
be representative of the larger group.
- Tactfully thank them for their continuous
contributions, and ask for other
volunteers.
- Call upon non-volunteers in a friendly
non-threatening manner.
|
CONTENTS
- Foreword
- Levels and Types of
Questions
- Bloom's Taxonomy
- Lower and Higher Level Questions
- Open and Closed Questions
- Planning Questions
- Interaction Skills
- Physical Setting
- Instructor Attitude
- Calling on Students to Maximize Participation
- Wait-Time
- Handling Student Responses
- Responding to Student Questions
- Methods for Assessing
Questioning Skills
- Videotape Self-Review
- Peer-Review
- Colleague-Videotape Review
- Survey on Questioning
- Student Evaluation of Questioning Skills
- Suggestions for Interpreting Collected
Assessments
- Assistance Offered by Instructional Development
- References
|
Faculty services