A questioning classroom: 13 techniques for teachers

At the heart of every good story is a big question begging to be answered – and the classroom is no different.

Questioning in the classroom is also about curiosity and wonder; educational questions pique learners’ interests and pinpoint gaps in their existing knowledge which ache to be filled.

Indeed, Socrates reportedly claimed that questioning is the only defensible form of teaching.

And so in this five-part series, we will explore ways of placing questions at the heart of lessons to create “a questioning classroom”. Why? Because a questioning classroom leads to:

• Increased student engagement and curiosity: Asking questions taps into students’ natural curiosity and encourages active participation in the learning process. When students are given the freedom to ask questions, they become more engaged and motivated to explore topics in depth.
• The development of critical thinking: Questioning promotes critical thinking skills by requiring students to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise information to arrive at meaningful answers.
• A greater depth of understanding: Through asking questions students can delve deeper into subjects, uncovering underlying concepts, connections, and complexities that might otherwise remain unexplored.
• Increased ownership of learning: When students generate their own questions, they take ownership of their learning, leading to a sense of empowerment and increased self-directed learning.
• The development of problem-solving skills: Questioning encourages students to approach problems as challenges to be solved. They learn to develop strategies, seek solutions, and persist in the face of obstacles.
• Lifelong learning: A questioning mindset nurtures a habit of on-going learning beyond the classroom. Individuals who are comfortable asking questions are more likely to seek-out new information and continue learning throughout their lives.

Creating a questioning classroom is not easy, however. There are several challenges to overcome, including:

• Balancing exploration with curriculum coverage: While open-ended questions encourage critical thinking, a degree of structure is often necessary to ensure students cover essential content. Striking the right balance between exploration and curriculum requirements can be challenging. In a structured curriculum, there might be time constraints that limit the extent to which all questions can be explored fully. This can lead to a need for prioritisation. Consider how you can use questions to help you cover the curriculum rather than divert from it.
• Varying levels of engagement: Some students might be more willing to ask and answer questions than others, potentially leaving certain individuals disengaged or hesitant to participate. Consider how you can engage quieter students and those reluctant to take risks.
• A lack of foundational knowledge: In certain subjects, students may lack the foundational knowledge required to formulate meaningful answers. Some guidance and initial instruction might be needed. Consider how you can assess and activate prior knowledge before engaging in questioning and how you can fill gaps in prior knowledge where they exist without slowing learning down.
• The need for direct instruction: While encouraging independent thinking and questioning is important, direct instruction from teachers is still vital to ensure that students are asking relevant and productive questions. Consider how you can manage the flow of information through teacher explanations and modelling and help students to become increasingly independent while harnessing the power of questions throughout the process.

Creating a questioning classroom: A five-part SecEd series

• Part 1: 13 techniques for teachers: This article
• Part 2: 38 Socratic questions for your teaching: Published November 8
• Part 3: Encouraging debate and discussion: Published November 15.
• Part 4: The purpose and timing of questions: Published November 21.
• Part 5: Practical questioning techniques: Published November 28.

Matt Bromley has also appeared on an episode of the SecEd Podcast focused on great teacher questioning in the secondary school classroom. Find this episode here.

What does a questioning classroom look like in practice?

To get us started, here are 13 questioning techniques to consider embedding into the daily lives of your learners – we will explore many more during this series.

1. Open-ended questions: Pose open-ended questions that encourage students to think deeply and express their opinions. These questions often begin with words like "why", "how", or "what if?" They allow for diverse responses and promote discussions.
2. Socratic questioning: Employ the Socratic method by asking a series of probing questions that guide students toward discovering knowledge through classroom talk. This method fosters critical thinking and encourages students to analyse concepts from various angles.
3. Question-Response-Evidence-Explanation: Encourage students to provide detailed responses by using the QREE framework. After answering a question, students provide evidence from the text or their own experiences, and then explain their reasoning.
4. Think-pair-share: Present a question to the class, have students think about their responses individually, pair up with a partner to discuss their ideas, and then share their thoughts with the larger group. This strategy encourages collaboration and diverse perspectives.
5. Brain-storming questions: Start a lesson with a brain-storming session where students generate questions related to the topic. This not only activates prior knowledge but also guides the direction of the lesson. Thinking of questions that need to be answered also piques students’ curiosity and thus fosters intrinsic motivation.
6. Entry and exit tickets: Use questions as entry or exit tickets. At the beginning of a class, ask a question related to the previous lesson to gauge understanding. At the end, ask a question to assess what students have learned during the current class.
7. Reflective questions: Incorporate reflection into the learning process by asking questions that prompt students to consider their learning experiences, challenges, and progress.
8. Problem-solving questions: Present real-world problems and ask students how they would approach solving them. This strategy encourages application of knowledge and critical thinking skills.
9. The Harkness discussion method: Arrange classroom furniture in a circle and encourage students to lead discussions by posing questions to their peers. This student-led approach promotes active participation and peer-to-peer learning.
10. Bloom's Taxonomy: Utilise Bloom's Taxonomy to ask questions at different cognitive levels, from basic recall to complex analysis and evaluation. This helps scaffold learning and allows students to engage with content on multiple levels. It is important to engage all students in all levels of the Taxonomy, not use it as a means of differentiation.
11. Formative assessment: Use questions as a form of on-going assessment to gauge student understanding during a lesson. Adjust your teaching based on their responses to ensure everyone is on the same page.
12. Role reversal: Invite students to take on the role of the teacher by allowing them to pose questions to their peers. This promotes leadership skills and a deeper understanding of the curriculum.
13. Visual aids and stimuli: Use visuals, videos, or real-world examples as stimuli to generate questions. This approach can make unfamiliar concepts more relatable and engaging and turn the abstract into the concrete.

Back to basics

Those are just some starter suggestions – we will unpack many more questioning strategies in this series. But first let’s go back to basics. There are, broadly speaking, two types of question at our disposal in the classroom: closed questions and open questions.

Closed questions

Closed questions are a type of questioning that typically require short, specific answers. They can be valuable as a form of assessment in the classroom when used appropriately. Here are six tips for using closed questions effectively for the purposes of assessment:

1. Quick checks for understanding: To gauge students' comprehension of basic concepts – especially useful for assessing factual knowledge, terminology, and basic recall.
2. Identifying misconceptions: If multiple students provide the same incorrect answer, it is an indicator that a particular concept needs clarification or reteaching.
3. Focused assessment: To assess specific learning intentions, making them particularly useful for assessing whether students have mastered particular facts or skills.
4. Objective marking: Closed questions yield clear-cut, easily comparable answers. This can simplify the marking process and ensure consistency in evaluating student responses.
5. Practice and drill: Closed questions are often used for practice and drilling, helping students reinforce their understanding of foundational material.
6. Building confidence: Success in answering these questions can motivate students to engage more deeply with the subject matter.

As powerful as closed questions can be, it is important that we balance them with other assessment methods that encourage open-ended responses and critical thinking. This provides a more comprehensive picture of students' understanding.

It is also crucial to consider the context of an assessment: closed questions are more appropriate for assessing foundational knowledge or reviewing previously covered material rather than assessing complex, creative, or application-based concepts.

When using closed questions as a form of assessment, we need to provide feedback on incorrect answers to help students understand their mistakes and learn from them. This can guide future learning and improvement.

Closed questions can be used in both formative and summative assessments. In formative assessments, they can guide instruction and help students track their progress. In summative assessments, they can ensure that students have grasped essential concepts.

When asking closed questions, we need to be clear and precise in our wording to avoid ambiguity or trick questions that might confuse students.

Closed questions can take various formats, such as multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, or matching. We need to choose the format that best aligns with the learning objectives and the content being assessed.

Open questions

Open-ended questions are an excellent way to encourage deeper thinking, critical analysis, and meaningful engagement among students in the classroom. Here are nine ways to use open questions to foster deeper thinking:

1. Encourage critical thinking: Open-ended questions require students to think critically and consider multiple perspectives before formulating their responses. This promotes a deeper understanding of the topic.
2. Promote discussion: Open questions often lead to rich discussions where students share their thoughts, ideas, and interpretations. This collaborative environment encourages active participation and the exchange of diverse viewpoints.
3. Explore complex concepts: Open-ended questions can help students to explore complex or abstract concepts. They encourage students to delve into the nuances and intricacies of the subject matter.
4. Pique students’ curiosity: Open questions stimulate curiosity and make students eager to explore and discover more about a topic. The intrinsic motivation that results can drive students to seek additional information beyond the classroom.
5. Develop communication skills: Responding to open-ended questions helps students develop their communication skills as they try to articulate their thoughts clearly and persuasively.
6. Connect to real-world applications: Open questions can challenge students to apply their knowledge to real-world scenarios. This bridges the gap between theoretical concepts and practical applications.
7. Differentiate learning: Open questions allow for diverse responses, catering to students with varying levels of prior knowledge and different perspectives/lived experiences. This promotes a more inclusive classroom environment.
8. Foster reflection: Open questions can be used to encourage students to reflect on their learning journeys by asking questions that prompt them to consider how their views and understanding have evolved over time.
9. Build higher-order thinking skills: Open-ended questions align with higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, evaluation, and synthesis, because students must engage deeply with the content in order to provide thoughtful responses.

A chain of open-ended questions that build upon one another can lead students through a process of exploration and discovery. Students can be asked open questions that present challenges or dilemmas and that elicit a discussion of pros and cons.

It is important, after asking an open-ended question, to give students ample time to process and formulate their thoughts before responding. This encourages more thoughtful and comprehensive answers.

By incorporating open-ended questions into the classroom, you can create a classroom environment that values critical thinking, creativity, and exploration. These questions inspire students to think beyond the surface, fostering a deeper and more meaningful understanding of the subject matter.

Next time

Next time, we will explore ways of using questioning to foster critical thinking and encourage classroom debates, including open, dialogic, and Socratic questioning.

• Matt Bromley is an education journalist, author, and advisor with 25 years’ experience in teaching and leadership including as a secondary school headteacher and academy principal and multi-academy trust director. Matt is the lead lecturer on a national initial teacher training programme as well as a school improvement advisor. He remains a practising teacher. Matt is the author of numerous books on education and co-host of the award-winning SecEd Podcast. Find him on X (Twitter) @mj_bromley. Read his previous articles for SecEd via www.sec-ed.co.uk/authors/matt-bromley