Below are our tips for this week. Remember, we are not the end-all, be-all! We are just teachers sharing our
ideas with you. Feel free to modify strategies you receive from us to fit you and your classroom!
====================================== Classrooms that Spark!
======================================
Light the Fire of Learning!
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================================= Education World New Teachers Column
===============================
Education World
New Teacher Column
This is my column on Education World. The current featured topic is "Managing the Quagmire of Disillusion". I hope you enjoy it!
============= Weekly Tip
=============
Using Bloom's to ask Questions
We are constantly asking questions in the classroom. Who discovered America? What year did the Pilgrims land? Where is Egypt on a map? What was the
setting of the story? What are the events that led to World War II? Many, if not most, of our questions stay in the realm of Knowledge, Comprehension,
and Application. After all, we need to check for understanding throughout a lesson and what better way than to ask those basic questions of Who, What, Where,
When, and How?
Yes, these basic level questions are important. As we discussed last week, our students must have those basics before they can begin thinking at the higher
levels. Unfortunately what usually happens is that we stop at checking for understanding and don't require our students to go above and beyond. After all,
most of our standardized assessments are concerned solely with those lower three levels. In addition to this our time is limited with the amount of
information we must cover throughout the school year. Still, our students need more from us. They need us to arm them with the ability to go above and beyond
the basics. They need the ability to take information to a higher level. Many of them will be required to do so when they enter college and/or the work
force. It is our job to help prepare them for that next stage in their life.
So, let's take a look at how we can make this happen in the classroom. Hopefully you have that quick reference sheet with the levels and the verbs found
under each level from last week. This is the tool that will help you move from those basic questions to the higher level questions. If you did not receive
last week's newsletter, Click Here to View and print it. Keep that reference
sheet handy and you might also want to create a poster of this information as well, as I encouraged in the last newsletter. So, when might you use this?
1. Question before, during, and after direct instruction.
2. Question before, during, and after a textbook reading.
3. Question before, during, and after a novel/story reading.
Go ahead and ask your usual questions, but then take a look at the reference sheet to ask at least one question at a higher level. I would strongly suggest
that in the beginning you plan out some of these higher level questions during your lesson planning. It will give you more time to develop the question and
think through whether it will help you reach your learning objectives. The higher levels of Blooms can be difficult to use when creating a question, so don't
despair. The more you use them, the easier it will become to think of these kinds of questions. Start with asking one or two with each lesson/reading. Don't
overwhelm yourself and your students by asking mostly higher level questions. Start out with the basics and then move up the ladder. Keep in mind, though,
that asking a synthesis or evaluation type question may not be appropriate at all times. This is one reason why I encourage you to think through these
questions during the lesson planning stage.
For example, you may find that when introducing a new topic on Monday, you are asking mostly Knowledge level questions. Then as you progress through the
unit/lesson, you begin asking more Comprehension and perhaps also Application questions. Once you've passed through these levels, you may then begin asking
the Analysis and Synthesis questions and end with some Evaluation questions. In essence you are progressing through the levels over a course of a few days or
even weeks depending on your lessons and units. At the same time, with other lessons you may find yourself and your students ready to move into the higher
levels almost immediately.
Also, keep in mind your students' abilities as you plan your questions. Do you have a student or two who you know have already mastered the basics of this
lesson/ topic? Perhaps you should plan a few higher level questions for those students to keep them engaged rather than bored. Are you working with students
who are all at a very low level? Then you may want to spend more time making sure they master the lower three levels and ask a higher level question or two
near the end of the unit as a way to challenge them. With lower level students do not assume that they cannot answer any questions asked at a higher level.
They can. Instead, give them more time to think over their answer. Allow students to write, type, or dictate their answer over a period of time rather than
off the cuff. Give them more think time when asking for oral answers during a discussion or reading. In contrast, require higher level students to provide
answers for analysis, synthesis, or evaluation type questions extemporaneously. Challenge them to think quickly, when the situation calls for it.
Below are some sample types of questions for each level:
Knowledge
How would you describe...?
What is...?
Who was...?
When did...?
Where is...?
Comprehension
How would you compare...?
What is the main idea of...?
How might you rephrase what happened in your own words?
Can you explain...?
What happened in...?
Application
How might you solve this equation?
Demonstrate how the character might have...
Illustrate a timeline of...
What other way might you choose to...?
How would you organize...?
Show...
Analysis
How would you classify...?
What ideas justify...?
What can you infer from...?
What motive is there to...?
What evidence can you find to...?
How is _____ related to _____?
What are the parts/elements of...?
Synthesis
Develop a theory about....
What would happen if...?
How might you revise...to...?
Imagine what might happen if you combined ___ and ____.
What could you invent that would...?
What conclusion can you draw from the following facts...?
Evaluation
Based on what you know, what would you recommend...?
What is your opinion of...?
Defend the actions of ...
What information would you use to prioritize the following...?
Which is better, ____ or ____? Why?
Criticize the actions of ...
How might you verify that____ is correct?
What do you think of....? Why?
These are just a few questions that might be developed from key verbs under each category. Remember that it will be easier to develop these questions as you
pre-read the textbook, resource material, or novel/story for your lesson than trying to come up with questions off the cuff. As you become more familiar with
using Bloom's to help you develop meaningful questions, you may find yourself asking higher level questions without thinking too much about it. You will also
find your students better able to answer those questions.
Next week we will talk about Bloom's Taxonomy and reading strategies. For now, I'd like to challenge you to look over your lesson plans for next week and
develop some higher level questions that you can ask your students throughout one or more lessons. This challenge is not just for ELA, Science, and Social
Studies teachers, but for Math, PE, Art, Health, Computer, and all other teachers as well. No matter what you teach, I strongly urge you to develop, at the
very least, one question from each of the higher three categories for your lessons next week.
Want to respond and share questions you've developed with a particular topic under the different categories? Respond to this email and we'll combine them
all together in our Idea Share!
====================== Inspirational Thought
======================
Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the
teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive
acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that
position.
~Bertrand Russell (1872 - 1970)
====================== Thoughts for Reflection
======================
Think about the types of questions you normally ask during your lessons? How might you characterize these questions? Which level(s) might you place them?
Would you say that you ask mostly lower level, higher level, or an equal amount of both? Why? Should higher level questions be asked at every opportunity?
Why or why not? When do you feel higher level questions should be asked? Why? Do you feel you can recognize which of your students need the higher level
questions for the different units you teach? How might you be able to identify these students so that you can better meet their needs? Which of your students
would you say tend to need higher level questions? Are you meeting their learning needs? Why or why not? How might you better meet these needs through your
questions? How might you implement asking higher level questions to your lower level students? How do you think this might benefit those students? Look at
your lessons for next week. Where might you be able to insert some higher level questions? Take some time to read over your resources materials, whether
newspaper articles, textbook, internet sites, or notes to present, and develop one or two higher level questions to be asked either during or after your
direct instruction and/or reading.
=========== Feedback
===========
Want to respond and share questions you've developed with a particular topic under the different categories? Respond to this email and we'll combine them
all together in our Idea Share!
------------------------------------
These thoughts and ideas are brought to you by Emma McDonald co-author of Survival Kit for New
teachers AND the AWARD WINNING Classrooms that SPARK. Find us at
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