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Curriculum Issues: Artful Inquiry: The Use of Questions in Working With the Gifted
Joyce VanTassel-Baska Gifted Child Today 2014 37: 48 DOI: 10.1177/1076217513509621 The online version of this article can be found at: http://gct.sagepub.com/content/37/1/48

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GCTXXX10.1177/1076217513509621GIFTED CHILD TODAYGIFTED CHILD TODAY

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COLUMNS

Curriculum Issues
Artful Inquiry: The Use of Questions in Working With the Gifted
Joyce VanTassel-Baska, EdD1

Abstract: Research suggests that inquiry-based strategies

are the most effective modes of delivery in working with the gifted students. The characteristics of the gifted reveal a strong basis for understanding the power of question-asking as a part of differentiating curriculum. This article describes three different models of questioningGuilford, Bloom, and Pauland how they provide multiple pathways for challenging the gifted through their content learning.

hierarchal in orientation, moving students from lower to higher level thinking. Others are more circular, moving from one higher level question to another, often not bothering to use lower order questions as a bridge. Other models deliberately exploit different kinds of thinking, moving from convergent to divergent to evaluative. One model that combines both a hierarchal approach and different types of thinking is the following four question strategy, based on the work of J. P. Guilford (1967): 1. Cognition: What is the name of the nuclear plant in Japan that was compromised by the tsunami? 2. Convergence: What factors accounted for the series of explosions that rocked the plant? 3. Divergence: If you were a worker assigned to the plant, how would you react to the crisis? 4. Evaluative: In your opinion, should nuclear energy be promoted as an energy source, given its demonstrated danger? Why or why not?

Keywords: questioning, gifted education, differentiated

curriculum

esearch suggests that inquiry-based strategies are the most effective modes of delivery in working with the gifted on a differentiated curriculum. While higher level inquiry processes are effective with all learners, the research in gifted education suggests they are crucial for promoting learning in this population (VanTassel-Baska & Brown, 2007). One of these inquiry approaches is question-asking, a deliberate strategy to promote thinking of different types and levels. Why is questionThis model is popular with teachers because it provides an asking so important? One might argue that it serves important easy structure to use for exploring any topic of interest yet still human functions such as stimulating thinkensures that 75% of the questions ing, providing clarification for both thinking will be higher level and represent ESEArCH and action, and offering the means by different types of thinking that SUGGESTS THAT which we can search for meaning and wonallow for critical and creative der about possibilities. responses. INQUIrY BASED The characteristics of the gifted reveal a The use of Blooms taxonomy in strong basis for understanding the power its newest iteration (Anderson et al., STrATEGIES ArE THE of question-asking as a part of working 2000) is also a common tool to effectively with them. The following chart employ in framing questions from MOST EFFECTIVE MODES (see Table 1) delineates the characteristic lower to higher levels. As a result of OF DELIVErY IN and the corresponding aspect of using the taxonomy, questions questioning that matches it. emerge that move the learner from WOrKING WITH THE Thus, question-asking is a critical a basic understanding of a text to a component of promoting artful inquiry higher level appreciation for GIFTED ON A among gifted learners. It is a strategy that multiple interpretations. An calls for teachers to organize questions in example of a set of cluster DIFFErENTIATED deliberate ways in order to elicit high-level questions follows, using the CUrrICULUM thinking. Some questioning may be Shakespeare play Hamlet as the organized through models that are example:

DOI: 10.1177/1076217513509621. From 1College of William and Mary. Address correspondence to: Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska at the Center for Talent Development at the College of William and Mary, 427 Scotland Street, Williamsburg, VA 23185, USA; email: jlvant@wm.edu. For reprints and permissions queries, please visit SAGEs Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav. Copyright 2013 The Author(s)

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Table 1. Characteristics of the Gifted Matched to Features of Question-Asking. Characteristics Natural curiosity Rage to know and find out Wide information base Strong thinking capacities Enjoyment of real-world problem solving Feature of Question-Asking The desire to inquire about the world The articulation of what needs to be known The potential database on which questions might be explored Questions that focus on higher level thinking The motivational spark for conducting researchthe enterprise framed by questions

Knowledge (What is the plot of Hamlet?) Comprehension (What does the plot contribute to our understanding of the play?) Application (How does Hamlet demonstrate his hatred of his uncle in the play? Can you cite evidence for this?) Analysis (What comparisons may be drawn between Ophelia and Hamlet? How are they similar yet different in words and actions?) Synthesis (What are the major themes in the play and how are they communicated? Cite three quotes that best sum up these themes for you.) Evaluation (What is your assessment of Hamlets delay in killing his uncle? What would have happened if he had done it earlier in the play do you think?) Creation (Create a scene with dialogue among key characters to provide insight into Hamlet as one of the following: indecisive, suicidal, jealous.) A third application of questioning may be made, using the Paul Model of Reasoning. One way of using this model for question-asking might be to take a current issue and explore the various facets of it. An example follows: The issue: World-wide economic recession/depression Concepts: What concepts allow us to understand the state of the world economy? Purpose: Why do we need to study the state of the economy? What is its role in our lives? Point of view: What perspectives inform our understanding of this crisis? How do economists perceive it, business people, the lay public? Assumptions: What assumptions have countries made about the nature and duration of the recession? What evidence exists to test these assumptions? Data and evidence: What evidence would convince you that the recession is ending? From what data sources may we procure that evidence?

Inference: What conclusions do we draw from the evidence about the impact of the recession/depression on a countrys well-being? Use your own country as an example. Consequences and implications: What are the implications of world-wide economic stagnation? In the short run? In the long run? Questioning may also be useful as a tool in promoting metacognition and self-reflection. If we encourage students to reflect on their own learning as a routine part of the process, they will develop habits of mind that advance their thinking and motivate them to clarify their understanding about different issues and topics. The basic questions that guide problem-based learning provide a reasonable template for the process of conducting research: What do we know? What do we need to know? How might we find out? As students continue to pursue their research, questions that require them to consider their progress such as What new understandings do I have now? and What do I still need to understand? and How long will I need to finish the project and what additional resources will be required? begin to emerge. The more that students can generate their own kinds of questions, the more successful inquirers they will become as questions serve as a guide to the individual learning process. Finally, questions can be constructed that promote interpretative inquiry into a phenomenon without the use of a deliberate model. Our interest in weather patterns, for example, might lead us to question several aspects of what we do not understand through pointed convergent questions that get at the unknown: What causes hurricanes to become more or less intense as they travel? Why do hurricanes change course? What prevention methods are most effective and why?
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Conclusion
The use of deliberate questions is a critical strategy for getting gifted students to learn about their world in more complex and in-depth ways. It provides multiple pathways for challenging the gifted through their content learning. It enhances their thinking by deliberately focusing attention on issues and problems that require solution in the real world. Questions can be improved by using a model for construction as models provide the scaffold for specific types of thinking. However, higher level questions that probe ideas or issues not fully known also provide an important entry into meaningful thinking for the gifted. The late Mortimer Adler used to opine that one good question could carry a seminar for an hour. So it is not the number of questions that matter, but the having of good questions that elevates and enhances the learning process for students.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

References
Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R., Airasian, P. W., Cruikshank, K. A., Mayer, R. E., Pintrich, P. R., . . . Wittrock, M. C. (2000). Taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Blooms taxonomy of educational objectives. New York, NY: Longman. Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. VanTassel-Baska, J., & Brown, E. (2007). Towards best practice: An analysis of the efficacy of curriculum models in gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 51, 342-358.

Bio
Joyce VanTassel-Baska, EdD, is the Smith Professor Emerita at The College of William and Mary in Virginia where she developed a graduate program and a research and development center in gifted education. Formerly, she initiated and directed the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University.

Conict of Interest
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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