Assessment Through Questioning

Last week I spent most of the instruction time observing my cooperating teachers (CTs), focusing on what type of questions they ask, how often, and how do they handle incorrect answers. Last weekend I spent time reflecting upon those lessons and generated a few questions of my own for my CTs. Those questions included

·         How can I use questions during a lesson to accurately assess each students understanding?

·         How should I structure my questions so it is clear to students what I am asking?

My CTs gave a variety of responses, which include:

·         During a chapter review, the teacher asks a question and each student, using a small whiteboard or chalkboard, writes down his or her answer and on the teachers signal flips up their board for her to see. This allows the teacher to see who understands what concept. In addition, if the class is taking longer than expected to write down their answer she knows that is a topic that needs to be covered again.

·          When a student does not understand the teachers question or needs extra help they will ask probing questions and help them dissect the question into smaller, more manageable pieces.

·         When planning for a class discussion, create some questions about the material using Bloom’s Taxonomy. By doing this they are ensuring that a variety of questions are being asked and they can then quickly assess at what level the class understands the material.

All of these responses are valuable and leave me eager to try them in my own lessons. Although they leave me with more questions, such as

·         How can I use these and other questioning techniques to ensure that all of my students are engaged in the lesson?

·         How can I ensure the students know what kind of answer I am looking for?

·         How can I break large questions down for students and use those questions as a guide to the correct answer?

This assignment has allowed me to see the creativity needed to generate effective questions. I have also learned that through work and practice my questioning skills can become second nature. A few questions that could be asked in a middle school math class to monitor student progress are

·         How did you arrive at your answer?

·         What is similar/different about multiplying mixed numbers and multiplying fractions?

·         What information are we given in the question? How can we use that information in solving the problem?