Updated: 16 June 2021
Category: Mains
Contributor: Danielle Hinton, HEFi (adapted from Barkley & Major, Interactive Lecturing : A Handbook for College Faculty pp. 176-177)

What is it?

Instead of the awkward silence after you ask your large class "any questions"? reframe the challenge as an opportunity to model good practice and provide students with an opportunity to develop their questioning skills.

Indicative Preparation time: 5-10 mins
Indicative Cook Time: variable
Difficulty level: Easy
Groups Size: all students
Learning Type: Learning to learn, critical reflection

Ingredients

Instructions on a PowerPoint slide
Method to collect questions
- verbal
- Padlet or Google Doc

Method

At appropriate points in a lecture period spot and display a PowerPoint slide titled Write a Question Time. On the slide display sentence stems and explain the
- purpose of the activity (to practise composing questions)
- the length of time for composing
- how you will be taking X number of questions*
Students compose their questions on paper, laptops / mobiles
Students share their questions with the tutor, eg

- tutor asks for 2-3 volunteers depending on time
- students put all their questions on a Lecture Padlet and the tutor selects one or two to answer and comment on more generally

Write A Question Slide with sentence stems

Variations

Barkley and Major suggest

Give several answers and ask students to write a question for each answer
Ask students to partner with a student next to them to write questions
Use a topic group as the basis to focus student questions

Additional Reading / Information

Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational outcomes (Complete edition). New York, NY: Longman.

Barkley, EF. and Major, CH (2018) Interactive Lecturing : A Handbook for College Faculty, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bham/detail.action?docID=5254245

Illinois State University, College of Education. (n.d.). Revised Bloom’s taxonomy question starters. Retrieved from https://education.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/casei/5-02-Revised%20Blooms.pdf

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