QUESTIONING SMARTS: SKILLS AND PROCESSES FOR DEEPENING UNDERSTANDING

With Shaikh Ghazi

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Presenter: Shaikh Ghazi Place: ETA HRD Why: Interpersonal Skills Workshop When: March, 18, 2013 So What? Relevant information for every Participant as well as the Leader of the program

QUESTIONING SMARTS

Why

is questioning important? How do we build curiosity and wonder? How do we teach students to question effectively? How does questioning build understanding?

QUESTIONING SMARTS

Isnt thinking enough?

Nomuch thinking is done in an unquestioning manner.

Arent thinking and questioning the same thing?

Noquestioning infuses thinking with purpose.

QUESTIONING SMARTS
How can we develop a culture of inquiry?
Invite, value, and celebrate questions Model effective questions Teach observation skills Teach questioning strategies Let kids own the questions Create the desire to learn Establish a community of learners Examine our personal learning networks

OTHER IDEAS:
Post the best question you were asked each day Find and post questions in magazines Post quotes that mention questions Celebrate questions Bring in any indistinguishable 3-D object Examine, sketch, record, create ?s, how do we find answers?

Personal Learning Network

other media
other SLMS

books

ME
news people

blogs

Internet

QUESTIONING SMARTS
How can we encourage strategic questioning?

Play! Have fun!

Use games such as 20 Questions, Jeopardy, Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Hot Seat ReQuest DeBonos 6 Thinking Hats Not a Box Fortune Teller/Question Quiver/Cootie Catcher

REQUEST PROCEDURE

Students develop three different levels of questions: Ask questions by examining an article/survey On the line: How many people were polled? Between the line: Is focus a factor in unsafe driving? Beyond the line: How many people die each year from using cell phones while driving? Manzo, 1969

WHAT IS IT?
A photo-it could even be a historical photo Use film clips, cartoons, posters, quotes A box of objects or a collection of photos Are there connections? What are they? This can work for K-12

from:http://citadelofstars.blogspot.com/

Carols example: size A Gimble

Carol Kuhlthau says in Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century: Inquiry Learning is a SOCIAL process and does not happen in isolation. This doesnt mean group work. When students talk to each other, REAL learning develops.

GROWN UP DIGITAL BY DON TAPSCOTT

Carol says this book is a must SLJ says teachers will enjoy it Dont just throw technology into classrooms Cut back on lecturing Focus on life long learning Use technology to get to know each student Empower collaboration among students Do not teach to the test Use technology to reinvent yourself

QUESTIONING SMARTS
From a students perspective, they want: To use social networking tools and new technologies Choice of project To work with friends Field trips and real experiences To tackle real issues that are meaningful to them

QUESTIONING SMARTS
The best assignments offer: Choice Social opportunity Real world audience and purpose Valuing the process through assessment Teachers and librarians involved with design, resources, question development, and assessment

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Research/Inquiry Assignments: Students cant ask great questions unless they have background knowledge. Use a question builder as a stimulus for question generation. Use focus words to elevate research: discover, compare, uncover, examine, function, capacity, connection, correlation, pattern, cause, relationship, result, outcome, implication, significance, consequence

POWER UP YOUR INQUIRY

http://edleadershipretreat.wikispaces.com/file/view/Questioni ng+Handout+DAY+1.doc

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Students should consider these guiding concepts as they build their inquiry questions: What am I really curious about? Why do I want to explore this topic? What do I know already? What do I need/want to find out? How will I make sense of the data I uncover? Who will my audience be? How will I know Ive done a good job?

QUESTIONING SMARTS

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (Dweck, Carol, Ph. D. NY: Ballantine, 2006) Growth Mindset |
I can learn from brilliant. my mistakes.

v.

Fixed Mindset / \
Im dumb. Im

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Fixed Mindset:
Desires to look smart Avoids challenges Defensive Gives up easily Feels threatened by the success of others Thinks their own effort is fruitless These people may plateau early and not reach their full potential.

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Growth Mindset:
Tendency to learn and embrace challenges Is persistent in the face of setbacks Uses effort as a path to mastery Learns from criticism Finds lessons and inspiration in the success of others These people reach a higher level of achievement despite their ability.

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Bottom line:
Fixed mindset: risk and effort might reveal inadequacies. Growth mindset: Failure is a gift. Risk and effort are what makes you smart and talented.

Good news: You can grow your mindset.

QUESTIONING SMARTS
What does mindset have to do with questioning and performance in school?

A student who is not afraid to take a risk will be more likely to ask questions. A student who does poorly on an assignment, project, or test who has a growth mindset, will put in more effort to improve performance. Maximum effort and willingness to take a risk will improve performance in sports and physical education classes.

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Teacher/Librarian Collaboration

Factors that inhibit success: Lack of time Confusion about roles Poorly designed assignments from: Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century by C. Kuhlthau, L. Maniotes and A. Caspari

QUESTIONING SMARTS
Teacher/Participant Collaboration Factors that enable success: Constructivist mindset Team approach to teaching Competence in design process Commitment to developing information literacy

RESOURCES
http://edleadershipretreat.wikispaces.com/ Q Tasks: How to Teach Students to Ask Questions and Care About Their Answers by Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwaan Building Info Smarts by Carol Koechlin and Sandi Zwaan

MORE RESOURCES:

Librarians as Learning Specialists by Allison Zmuda and Violet H. Harada (a must) Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination, and invigorates the soul by Stuart Brown Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, Ph. D. Learning to Question, to Wonder, to Learn by Jamie Mc Kenzie Puzzle Them First by Angelo V. Ciardiello Its Critical by David Booth

Thank you!