Questioning

Asking good questions:

asking good questions takes practice

good questions require more than one word answers

good questions are specific, concise and easily understood

Types of question to use

Open questions

invite people to speak freely. They often begin with `why?', or `how?', or `tell me?'. They give no indication of what answer you want to hear so they are good for exploring reasons, beliefs, etc. `How did you decide your strategy?' `What do you remember about ...?' `Tell me what you have done so far?'

Closed questions

invite a yes/no type answer. They often begin with `when?', or `which?', or `Did you?'. They are useful for establishing facts but yield little information beyond that and too many give the impression of a cross examination so use in moderation. `Did you understand the lecture?' `When did you start on this problem?' `Do you understand?' A closed question can be useful if followed up by an open one to explore the matter further. `Have you come across this type of problem before?' `Yes' `How did you approach it then?'

Probing questions

are very useful open questions that pursue a line of thought, following up an answer with a further question. `Why do you think that approach didn't work?' `Could you tell me more about your reasoning on that?'

Clarifying questions

are useful when you are not sure what someone means. `When you say you have tried everything, what techniques have you used?' `I'm not quite clear what you mean - can you explain a bit more?'

Asking poor questions:

can confuse rather than elucidate the problem

can alienate the student

can decrease the students' confidence

Types of question to avoid

Leading questions

suggest the answer you are expecting to hear and so doesn't generate a meaningful response. `I expect you are able to manage now, aren't you?' `So now I have explained it, you are OK, are you?'

Multiple questions

ask someone to respond to two or more ideas in one question. These are confusing and people tend to answer only one of the questions anyway - generally the one they prefer to answer. `Tell me how you are doing; does it make sense; did you understand the lecture; have you got stuck anywhere?'

Limited choice questions

ask someone to choose an answer from the selection offered. This is unsatisfactory because the list is probably incomplete and unhelpful. 'Are you having difficulties because you didn't understand the lecture or did you miss it altogether?' `Did you choose this technique because it worked for the last problem or did someone else suggest you try it?'

Laden questions

are a particular form of leading question that carry some sort of assumption. The other person may not agree with the assumption you imply, and if it is critical of them, may well become defensive. `Did you forget to do the work or just not feel like it?' `Don't you ever think for yourself?'