The Art of Questioning

THE ART OF
QUESTIONING
Introduction
We use it in our daily life
Conversations. And yet many, either use it
carelessly or fail to see its possibilities for
promoting effective learning. Some very adept
communicators demonstrate a high level
of skill in gathering information from others.
Uses
1. To stimulate to think
2. To motivate
3. Questions can be used effectively to arouse and
hold the interest
4. To diagnose difficulties
5. To discover interest
6. To develop the ability to evaluate and organize
materials or experiences.
6. To aid relate pertinent experiences
7. To focus attention on the points.
8. It helps to organize thinking in a logical way.
8. To develop new appreciations and attitudes
– Questions can be used to help modify, clarify or
expand ideas relating to appreciations and
attitudes.
9. To provide drill or practice.
10. To encourage the application of concepts.
Characteristics of a Good Question
1. It is simple and clear
2. It is definite
– Permits one answer
3. It is challenging & thought – provoking
– It stimulates students to compare, evaluate, draw
conclusions & appraise results.
4. It is adopted to the age, abilities and interests
of the audience
5. It requires on extends response
Techniques of Questioning –
questioning requires skills
1. Questions should be asked in a natural and well – modulated
voice.
2. Ask the question first & then wait for the audience to think
about it before calling on a someone to answer the question.
3. A sufficient number of questions should be asked to
stimulate students to activity.
4. Prevent from repeating questions. (to challenge attention)
5. Questions should be equally distributed so that the majority
can take part in the discussion.
6. Avoid starting to any mechanical system of fielding question
to the class, such as alphabetical order, row by row etc.
7. Ask questions that are really interesting and thought –
provoking.
Techniques in Handling Students
Response
1. One should make every effort to show on appreciative attitude
towards students’ answers.
– One should refrain from giving sarcastic comments to wrong
answer.
2. One should never allow wrong answers slip by.
3. Correct answers of students should be followed with encouraging
remarks by the teacher.
4. Clearness in every point expressed by the students should be
insisted upon by the teacher.
5. Answering in concert should be discouraged.
6. One should be encouraged to answer in a loud and clear voice.
7. encourage to answer in complete thought units and grammatically
correct statements.
8. refrain from making the students in his record book during the
class recitation.
Types of Questions
• Close Ended Question
Which require yes or No in answer/
Which can also require to be selected in few options.
Venn (2004) advises that a closed question can be
recognized easily because it starts with words of phrases
like:
• Do...
• Is...
• Can...
• Could
• Will...
• Would...
• Shall...
• Should..
.
• Open Ended Question
These question require longer answers in detail
Venn (2004) advises that open questions are more likely to
start with words such as:
• How...
• Why...
• When...
• Where...
• What...
• Who...
• Which
• When...
• Where...
• What...
• Who...
Major Types of Questions
So far, we have looked at 2 types of questions:
open and closed. Other more advanced types of
questions include the following:
 Probing/clarifying Questions
Reflective Questions
 Direct Questions
 Hypothetical Questions
• Probing/Clarifying Questions:
In reality, these are open or closed questions that
serve to build on the person’s previous answers,
comments and responses. They use information
already established in order that we can explore
further. These questions also demonstrate to the
person that they are being actively listened to.
Some examples of probing questions include:
Tell me more about that?
What happened next?
What did you do next?
How did that happen?
Can you tell me why?
What do you mean?
• Reflective Questions.
Reflective questions or statements are really
comments made before another type of question,
which serve to soften the questioning as well as
demonstrate to the speaker that they are being well
and truly listened to. They typically constitute a
short summary of what the other person has said,
and may also be considered as a type of
paraphrasing.
Student: It’s just that I’m feeling really under pressure with
the placement at the minute, and then I slept in this
morning and just managed to make it here in time, even
though I missed the bus and had to walk all the way in.
And it was raining…
Practice Educator: It sounds like you had a bad morning.
You were saying that you are feeling really under pressure
with the placement? (Reflective question)
In what way are you feeling under pressure? (Probing
question
• Hypothetical questions
Hypothetical can be an excellent way to
encourage your student to reflect on issues
through thinking through previously unconsidered
options. They are also often used in interview
situations to test the creativity and mental agility of
prospective students or employees.
 What other points would you consider if your client was
older?
 What other questions would you ask your patient if they
also presented with shortness of breath?
 If I could arrange an extension on your final report, how
would you feel about presenting the workshop?
 If you had extra funding for the department, how would you
improve on current practices?
Direct questions
• Direct questions can be either open or closed
questions. However, they tend to have the
following characteristics:
1. When posing a direct question, you always
use the name of the other person
2. You pose the question as an instruction.
Tell me Asia, .......
Explain to me Azam ..... etc
The following checklist summarizes the relative advantages of
each (Adapted from Venn, 2004).
Type of Question Use
Open Questions For more information
Closed Questions For specific information or a yes/no
Probing Questions For added detail
Reflective Questions To get the other back on track
Hypothetical Questions To get the other to think/reflect
Direct Questions An instruction to get attention

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