Ask Better Questions

I received surprisingly little training on how to ask questions, considering how many darn questions I asked!

Creating Better Research Questions

Once students have a topic they’d like to research, how do we help them form more interesting questions?

Four Types of Questions You Can Ask

Asking questions is such a basic tool of teaching, yet how many of us have ever been taught to ask good questions? In this opening to a series about questioning, we’ll explore how to get students asking each other questions.

Introducing “Criteria” To Students

Teaching our students to identify the criteria behind a decision will make them better decision makers and help them understand others’ points of views.

Upgrading Questions with Key Words

How adding a single “key word” can upgrade your questions to a whole new level.

Evaluating Characters on a Graph

Here’s an idea to integrate two-dimensional graphing with deep character analysis. Use the right characters, and you’ve got an exciting debate on your hands. Plus, it leads to a beautiful product that’s perfect for Open House.

Group Investigation: Lessons Built on Curiosity

John Dewey’s Group Investigation is a favorite model of instruction of mine. It’s simply built on curiosity!

Ask Creative Questions

Is this the message I want to give to my gifted students? “Follow the directions?” This is a room full of students who are creative, flexible, divergent thinkers. These are the future Noble Laureates, inventors, and revolutionaries. Let’s allow them (or better yet: force them) to exercise their creative muscles.

How I’d Change this Question from my Textbook

Here are a dozen ways to transform a not-so-critical-thinking question from one of my district’s textbooks.