Switch course ▾
Session 1. Questions That Raise Thinking
Objective. Turn recall questions from the textbook into a ladder of questions at several thinking levels, and use wait time and follow-ups so that more pupils think out loud.
Most classroom questions ask pupils to give back what they have just heard. That is useful for checking facts, but it leaves the reasoning part of their minds idle. A simple ladder of questions on the same content lets you ask for explanation, comparison and judgement without changing the textbook. This session shows how to build the ladder, how to make sure pupils can really climb it, and how to give them the time and the follow-up they need.
Key ideas
The question sets the thinking
- Pupils usually answer at the level of the question. A recall question such as 'What is the capital of ...?' gets a recall answer, and nothing more is asked of their minds.
- Recall questions are not bad. Pupils need facts to think with. The problem is a lesson made only of them.
- Check your own habit: in your last lesson, how many of your questions had one short correct answer?
A ladder of thinking levels
- Bloom's revised taxonomy has six levels: remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, create. It is a ladder of kinds of thinking, not a ladder of difficulty: a hard recall question is still recall.
- For daily use, group them into three rungs: Know and explain, Use and take apart, Judge and make.
- Example on one topic, cotton: 'Name two regions that grow cotton' (know); 'Why does cotton need irrigation?' (explain); 'Compare two causes of the shrinking Aral Sea' (take apart); 'Which cause matters most? Defend your choice' (judge).
Build a ladder from a textbook question
- Start with the textbook question as the bottom rung. Keep it: it checks that pupils have the facts.
- Write one question on each higher rung about the same content. Useful openings: 'Why ...?', 'How is ... different from ...?', 'What would happen if ...?', 'Which is better, and what is your reason?'
- Test every rung: can pupils answer it with what they know? A question about something they have never met is not higher thinking, it is a guess.
Give thinking time and follow up
- Higher questions need more time than recall. After asking, wait at least 3 seconds; for an 'evaluate' question give 30 seconds of silent thinking, then 1 minute in pairs, then take answers.
- The first answer is a start. Follow up with 'What makes you say that?', 'Can you give an example?', 'Does anyone see it differently?'
- Accept a wrong but reasoned answer with respect; the reasoning is what you can work on.
One topic on four rungs
Higher questions need knowledge underneath
A question on the 'judge' rung is only fair if pupils have the facts to judge with. If Grade 7 pupils have not met the causes of the shrinking Aral Sea, asking which cause matters most will produce guessing and silence. Climb in order: first make sure the facts are secure with a recall question, then ask for a reason, then a comparison, then a judgement.
This is why the ladder keeps the textbook question at the bottom. It is not a lower-quality question; it is the floor that the others stand on. A good test for any higher question is to ask yourself: could a pupil who read this page carefully answer it with a reason?
Who answers, and who thinks
When you ask a question and take the first hand, only one or two pupils think. To make most of the class think, change what happens before the answer: give silent time, then pair talk, then call on a pair, not a volunteer. Mini-whiteboards, paper slips or a show of fingers let every pupil commit to an answer at once.
Keep a quick note of whom you call on across a week. Many teachers find the same five or six pupils answer. Calling on a pair after pair talk lowers the risk for shy pupils because the idea belongs to two people, not one.
Examples from the classroom
From a list to a choice
Scene. Dilnoza teaches Grade 5 in Samarkand. The textbook asks pupils to list four Uzbek fruits. She keeps it, then adds: 'Why does apricot grow well here?' and 'If our school garden had space for only two trees, which two would you choose and why?' Pupils talk in pairs for one minute. Eleven of 28 pairs give a reason that mentions sun, water or what the family eats.
Insight. The recall question is kept as the floor, and one judging question makes pupils use the facts.
The three-second pause
Scene. Aziz teaches Grade 8 history in Tashkent. He usually asks 'Why did the Silk Road towns grow?' and takes the first hand within a second. This week he waits, counts to three on his fingers, and then asks pupils to turn to a neighbour for one minute. He hears nine different reasons instead of one, including trade tax and caravanserais.
Insight. Wait time and pair talk widen who thinks, without making the question easier.
A question that was too hard
Scene. Malika teaches Grade 6 science in Bukhara. Her 'judge' question is: 'Is solar power better than gas for Uzbekistan?' Pupils are silent, because they have no facts about either. She steps down one rung and asks them to list one advantage and one problem of each from a short reading, and then asks the judging question again. Discussion starts.
Insight. When a high question fails, check the knowledge underneath before blaming the pupils.
Common pitfalls
- Making a question longer or harder and calling it higher-order, when it still asks only for recall.
- Asking a judging question about content pupils have not yet met.
- Taking the first raised hand every time, so the same pupils do all the thinking.
- Moving on after the first answer instead of asking 'What makes you say that?'
Climb the Ladder
- Read the sample textbook passage and its six questions in your Activity Kit (Grade 7, the Aral Sea). Alone (5 min): mark each question K (know), E (explain), T (take apart) or J (judge).
- In pairs (15 min): choose one recall question and build a ladder of four questions on the same content, with at least one question on the 'judge' rung. Check each rung against the passage.
- Swap ladders with another pair (10 min). Answer the top question aloud as a pupil would, with a reason. Tell them if the question was answerable from the passage.
- Alone (10 min): fill in your classroom action task in the kit: which lesson, which ladder, and how you will collect evidence.
Your facilitator will guide you through this activity in the session.
Questions to discuss
- Which rung was hardest to write for, and why? What did you need to know about your pupils to write it?
- Was the top question answerable from the passage, or did it need outside knowledge?
- What will you do in the first 10 seconds after asking the top question in a real class?
Reflect
- What share of your questions in a typical lesson are recall, and are you comfortable with that?
- Which pupil in your class rarely answers? What question might open the door for them?
- Which lesson next week has a natural place for one question on the 'judge' rung?
Try it tomorrow
- Choose one textbook question for tomorrow and write one question on each rung above it, then check each against the page.
- Ask your top question only after 30 seconds of silent thinking and 1 minute of pair talk, and call on a pair.
- After class, tally the questions you asked by rung (Know, Explain, Take apart, Judge) and aim for at least three above Know.
Further reading and links
Keep the recall question, then climb: explain, take apart, judge, and give pupils time to think.