Cohort Facilitation Guide

Questions That Facilitate Taking Action

5hrprerequisite

This facilitation guide is designed for those leading cohort groups who are taking or have taken Danielson PD modules through Pennsylvania’s PD Center. Please be encouraged to steer your cohort group toward discussion that is most appropriate for your particular environment and needs.

In the table below, you will find guiding or essential questions related to the module content and applications in the left-hand column, and potential discussion points in the right-hand column. The last column of the table shares Pennsylvania-specific resources that might be of use or interest to the cohort group.At the end of this guide, you will findthe alignment(s) between Danielson’s Framework for Teaching and this module as well as correlations to the Framework for Leadership, should any groups wish to explore those connections further.

Guiding Questions / Possible/Guiding Responses
How can peer questioning and reflection strategies help students analyze their own thinking about information and advance overall understanding of new content? /
  • Teaching students how to be good questioners results in improved critical thinking. Formulating questions requires students to think critically about the content, identify the main ideas, identify relationships, and connect to prior knowledge. This inquiry model is a metacognitive process in which students ask and answer thoughtful questions that allows them to continually check their understandings.
  • Having students pose and answer questions that address students’ own lack of understanding, specific gaps in knowledge, and particular misconceptions. Because such a questioning and answering activity is personally meaningful to them, students are more likely to be making the kinds of mental connections between concepts that are more memorable for them.
  • Providing opportunities for students to reflect on learning and to regulate the learning process should be built into the learning day. Students can be encouraged to:
  • predict outcomes to determine the information they need,
  • evaluate their own work to determine how their strengths and weaknesses came into play as they worked,
  • self-assess as they reflect on their learning and skill development,
  • question themselves and others relative to their thinking, work processes, and need for assistance,
  • select and engage in strategies which further their learning (independent work, cooperative teams, activities which engage their preferred learning style),
  • follow their line of thinking as they seek an answer,
  • discuss ideas with peers and their teacher to help clarify their thinking, acquire new ideas, and identify holes in their understanding,
  • critique one another in constructive ways, and
  • revise their work based on personal reflection and the input of others.
  • Utilizing activities which help students identify, access, and apply their own strengths encourages student self-awareness, which is critical to setting realistic goals. Activities such as journaling and discussion encourage students to engage in the metacognitive process.
  • Modeling the processes associated with strategic decisions, self-evaluation, and analytical thought contributes to a classroom climatethat encourages self-awareness.

How can a scaffolded approach to questioning facilitate both higher-order thinking skills and taking action based on new understanding? /
  • Student understanding is often limited by:
  • Lack of prior knowledge and/or experiences related to the subject matter
  • Not knowing critical vocabulary
  • Limited knowledge of related key concepts and associated information
  • Using scaffolded questions to facilitate learning.Questions that require students to engage in higher-order thinking by manipulating information (e.g., “How would you rewrite the paragraph from the point of view of …?” “What factors would change if ...?”), paraphrasing ideas and definitions (“Suggest a new title for this story”, “Retell in your own words”), and comparing and contrasting (“Compare and contrast [characters/events/attributes/etc.]...”) can be designed to help advance individuals’ understanding.
  • Asking well-crafted open-ended questions should probe student responses, require them to validate their answers, encourage observation, and generate more questions.
  • Posing divergent questions to the entire class will elicit many varied responses, encourage participation, andcreate a shared responsibility for learning.
  • Taking action is represented in Row 3 of the Questions for Life model. The thought processes of Idea and Prediction generally precede the questions which result in Action. Ideas and Predictions often happen in concert with one another; ideas are generated and outcomes are predicted simultaneously.
  • Asking idea questions causes speculation. Idea questions provoke options, changes, possibilities, and opportunities to revise or improve something. Idea questions ask students to take information they have gathered (through Rows 1 and 2) and consider how that information can be used in new and creative ways.
  • Asking prediction questions causes students to hypothesize orforecast what might transpire. Consideration of the effects of their actions takes place when students predict.
  • Taking action can take many forms; students may utilize a variety of methods to show outcomes of their learning. Questions shouldbe asked that encourage perceiving, analyzing, appraising, and evaluating the action being performed. Learners may conclude that they need more information or a new insight may be revealed which may cause them to revise their action.

How can enhancing student inquiry and improving questioning strategies advance overall student learning? /
  • Using active learning strategies in the classroom provides the following benefits:
  • Students whose teachers emphasize higher-order thinking skills and hands-on learning activities outperform their peers significantly.
  • Students who engage in active learning on a weekly basis outperform those who engage in active-learning instruction on a monthly basis.
  • The most effective classroom practices involve conveying higher order thinking skills, active learning, and engaging in hands-on learning activities.
  • Implementing various active learning strategies, including scaffolding, contributes to effective, memorable learning experiences. Here are some additional active learning methods:
  • Socratic Seminars are formal discussions centered around a common text. A leader poses open-ended questions to which participants respond. Participants listen closely to one another, engage in critical thinking, offer their own thoughts, and respond to those of others. The goal is for students “to help one another understand the ideas, issues, and values reflected in a specific text” by developing shared meaning.
  • The Preview, Question, Read, State/Self-Recite, and Test (PQRST) method is a five-step process for studying a reading assignment which helps students improve their understanding and ability to recall what they have read. The PQRST study method allows the reader to reflect on what was read and find personally significant content.

*What questioning techniques do you use to ensure critical thinking? /
  • Providing opportunities for students to create and ask higherlevel questions and engage in active learning activities.

What PA-specific online resources are available that enables you to determine questions that facilitate taking action? /
  • PDE Guiding Questions for Principals and Teachers (p.6)

  • PDE Guiding Questions for Learning Support (p. 7)
  • SAS Sample Resources specific to higher order thinking resulting from questioning
  • Science Fair Handbook: Scientific Method
  • Focus on Order and Properties

Primary alignment between Questions That Facilitate Taking Action and the Framework for Teaching:

  • 3b: Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques

Correlations between Questions That Facilitate Taking Actionand the Framework for Leadership:

  • 1c: Builds a Collaborative and Empowering Work Environment
  • 1e: Celebrates Accomplishments and Acknowledges Failures
  • 2b: Ensures a High Quality, High Performing Staff
  • 2d: Establishes and Implements Expectations for Students and Staff
  • 2e: Communicates Effectively and Strategically
  • 3a: Leads School Improvement Initiatives
  • 3b: Aligns Curricula, Instruction, and Assessments
  • 3c: Implements High Quality Instruction
  • 3d: Sets High Expectations for All Students
  • 3e: Maximizes Instructional Time
  • 4c: Supports Professional Growth

* Modified from Guiding Questions: Conversations Between Principals and Teachers © Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2013.

1