Week 2: Ask a Series of Probing Questions October 26th, 2023

 In Chapter Two of Rigor by Design, Not Chance, Karin Hess focuses on the importance of student development and asking questions that drive student curiosity, engagement, and discussion in the classroom. Often, these questions can optimize learning skills and use metacognition to advance learning for students to use in different areas of life. “Rather than search for that one perfect question to guide your lesson, consider how a series of questions will create a learning pathway to deeper understanding” (Hess, 2023, p.33). 

Hess discusses three different strategies to engage students to ask questions for a deeper level of thinking and understanding such as:

1. Question Sequencing: The idea of creating a series of questions that build upon each other, integrating DOK (Depth of Knowledge). Asking students for their perspective on the context and how it relates to the text, students will start the sequence of developing deeper thinking, even at home! 

2. Socratic Questioning: Modeling what students need to know/look for before engaging in student-led discussions. Students lead the conversation and use textual evidence to support their reasoning. Encouraging a supportive environment and “no wrong questions or answers” as long as they can back it up! 

3. Genius Hour: This allows students to use classroom time to work on projects that they are interested in or answer questions creatively. Usually using level 1 DOK questions. 

As for these strategies integrating into my classroom, I believe this is one of my favorite things to do with my students. Engaging them into a deeper level of thinking by asking their perspective of what they think the author means and putting themselves in a character’s shoes. What would they do differently? What if Percy never went to Camp Half-Blood? Just some examples and having students change the story and compare it to the author’s original story.

Hess also describes closed and open-ended questions that can be critical to expanding student knowledge. Closed questions are designed to have typically one correct answer, but it does not mean it is easy to answer and fall into DOK levels 1 and 2. Open-ended questions push students to think outside the box and uncover underlying meanings. “Open-ended questions can also help students fill in the gaps in their foundational knowledge” (Hess, 2023, p. 37). 

The last intriguing question strategy is something called the Actionable Assessment Cycle. This cycle has six different stages that discover the essential next steps to advance student learning to deepen knowledge and learning ability. 

1. Clarify learning targets: Provide students with clear learning objectives that incorporate questions that spark engagement, raise questions, and support their learning processes. 

2. Embed short-cycle formative tasks into instruction: These questions offer students to consider background knowledge and can often tap into emotional engagement. 

3. Uncover thinking and document evidence of learning: Peer discussion helps support a collaborative environment where students share their thinking freely and respectfully with others. This is often where Socratic seminars are used to demonstrate these principles.

4,5: Interpret evidence and frame feedback and determine the following steps to advance learning: This strategy actively engages students to self-assess, self-reflect, and set goals for their learning targets. 

6. Use performance tasks to assess transfer and deepen learning: This allows students to demonstrate their understanding thus far by actually presenting their work by either building, creating, writing, or performing these skills. 

(Hess, 2023, pg. 40-50)

To learn more about open-ended questions, I researched the importance of them and how to improve my knowledge about how to construct them. “In this case, the questions, especially at the university level, should be at a level of difficulty that can test students' critical and analytical thinking skills so that they could respond with extensive arguments to support their views and lead to the ability to make decisions”(Husain, H et al., 2012). This is where I find similarities between the Rigor by Design and How to Construct Open-ended Questions article. No matter the age differences, it is vital to find questions that push the level of understanding that tests critical thinking skills and for students to expand their knowledge. This article also provides a spectacular example of the difference between close-ended and open-ended questions. Refer to the picture below:

This describes the difference in questions and how it drives students to think more about the task at hand. (Husain, H et al., 2012). 

My final thoughts about researching open-ended questions: it is clear that this improves communication, encourages depth of knowledge thinking, and helps students build a connection between the natural world and the text. “generate critical and analytical thinking skill, it should be widely and generously used in quizzes, assignments, projects, etc. so that lecturers can improve strategies and processes of teaching and learning” (Husain, H et al., 2012). If we can lead students to think critically and develop questions that require a deeper level of thinking, students will develop these skills and will start to do it on their own. 

References

Hess, Karin. (2023).  Rigor by Design, Not Chance: Deeper Thinking Through Actionable Instruction and Assessment. ASCD ASSN SUPERV CURR DEV, 2023. 

Husain, H., Bais, B., Hussain, A., & Samad, S. A. (2012). How to Construct Open-ended Questions. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 60, 456-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.406

Hess,