Questioning as Part of Oral Communication

Questioning as Part of Oral Communication

    Students learn how to formulate questions early on in elementary school. They usually start off by learning the "5 W's" (Who? What? Where? When? Why? and How?) that are considered when posing a question. Students then learn that there must be a question mark immediately following a question, as well as intonation used when verbally asking a question.  

(Walker, S., 2011). Questioning.

 Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1OqBwuj

     Students often times shy away from asking questions in the classroom as they feel they will be judged by others (not understanding concepts the first time around, etc.). "Edutopia" provides detailed information regarding how to encourage students to ask questions. 

How to Encourage Questioning: 

1. Make It safe (no judgment)
2. Make It "Cool" (learning process; become "smarter")
3. Make It Fun (positive) 
4. Make It Rewarding (good feeling)
5. Make It Stick (becomes routine)

(Arena, C., 2011). Blooms Taxonomy. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/21oZzii

In exploring a resource called “Practice and Research”, which can be found on the Edugains website under the “questioning” category, I found a clear and concise list of what questioning means:

• exploring, wondering and investigating
• asking questions to clarify, probe, extend thinking and challenge ideas
• collaborating with peers to pose questions and seek answers
• using different types of questions to meet learning goals
• self-questioning as a means of self-assessing
• understanding how questioning shapes thinking and learning
• seeking divergent perspectives

  Once students familiarize themselves with asking questions, the later grades transition towards formulating "good" questions and questions geared towards research. A great resource to use when introducing question formulation is from "The Science of Learning", which offers six guiding steps (students can follow individually or through collaboration when formulating questions).

Question Formulation Technique (QFT):

1. Find a focus - A prompt that serves to focus student questions so they can explore more expansive ideas (specific inquiry and thinking). With clear, direct thoughts, they focus their thinking; students begin formulating and posing questions around this idea.

2. Brainstorm -Students formulate as many questions as possible. At this point, they are asked not to judge the quality (evaluate) of the questions, nor pursue any answers. Record questions exactly as stated and rephrase any statements or comments into a question. This is much like the classic “brainstorming” process, where ideas are generated in a free, uninterrupted flow.

3. Refine -The students work with the questions they have created, reformulating them as open- and closed-ended questions. They categorize them and make them clearer, more focused and more apt to yield the desired answers. Ex. brainstorm list- closed or opened-ended questions; identify advantages and disadvantages of each type of question and rephrase at least one of each type keeping in mind to reflect how those changes affect the depth, quality, and value of information it will elicit.

4. Prioritize- The teacher helps students select their top three questions and use them to zero in on the most important aspects of the material (provide rational).

5. Determine next steps- Students and teachers together review the priority questions and make decisions about how best to use them for learning. The questions can be used to drive experimentation, further reading, research and/or discussion.

6. Reflect- The teacher and students review their questions in the context of the six steps they have worked through to produce them. “Making the QFT completely transparent helps students see what they have done and how it contributed to their thinking and learning. They can internalize the process and then apply it in many other settings.” Ex. What did you learn about the topic so far?

(Jackson, S., 2013). Ask Good Questions. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1A0iimy

     Another great resource that can be used when teaching students how to formulate questions is the Inquiry Chart which can be further explained at "Read, Write, Think". The basic function of this inquiry chart is to organize students' thoughts and to make them aware of the question making process. 

I-Chart Strategy (3 stages):

1. Planning, in which students will:

• Identify the topic
• Form questions
• Construct the I-Chart (or use provided printout)
• Collect materials needed for inquiry

2. Interacting, in which students will:

• Explore prior knowledge
• Share interesting facts
• Read and reread

• As a class or individually, instruct students to begin forming questions about their topic(s) (this can be an extension of the “W” column on the K-W-L Chart, if you chose to use this organizer).  These questions are placed in the top row of the  I-Chart Printout, one for each column (Question 1, Question 2, etc.).

3. Integrating/Evaluating, in which student will:

• Research
• Compare
• Summarize
• Report

(Simon, C., 2011). I-Chart. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1h9ktzD

      Understanding how to formulate questions is a key skill required for growth in learning, especially when conducting research. This video resource is quite detailed and provides students with an in-depth break down of what is involved in the creation of a "good" research question. It may be a tad wordy for a grade five class, however, depending on the class, sections of it may be suitable.

Curriculum Connections:

This resource addresses many expectations in the Ontario Curriculum. I believe that questioning addresses these overall expectations:

1. Listen in order to understand and respond appropriately in a variety of situations for a variety of purposes (after questions have been formulated, they need to be asked and answered)

2. Use speaking skills and strategies appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes (language used in the questions, intonations, pauses, etc.)

3. Reflect on and identify their strengths as listeners and speakers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in oral communication situations (what needs to be improved in the formation and delivery of the questions)

Looking more closely at the grade five oral communication in literacy curriculum, specific strands related to this resource are 1.3 Comprehension Strategies and 1.4 Demonstrating Understanding. Questioning can be applied and used in different ways, hence it will fulfill different specific expectations. Teachers will find this resource to be helpful when providing instruction regarding questioning. It guides teachers on how to teach the concept effectively and can be used in a discussion type manner. For instance you may want to start the lesson off by referring to a topic that the students have been working on and that “now we need to formulate questions in order to find out more”. Anchor charts can be made as a class displaying what questioning means as well as the six steps outlining the process involved. You may also want to take a different approach and begin by asking the class what they think questioning is and then use the resource as a base. I think teachers will also find this resource useful in that it allows for independent as well as collaborative work. 

(Pink, D., 2015). Einstein. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1XsBzvb

Student Connections:

   In observing the students in my grade five placement class, I have noticed that their overall language and literacy skills need improvement, however, they are reasonably successful at formulating general questions. I would use many of the resources mentioned above if we were to conduct a research project so that students would come to understand that the question they come up with is essentially the driving force (answer) to their entire project. For example if the class is researching the spread of the flu, what questions would elicit the most information packed responses. After introducing the task, if the students already have a good understanding of what questioning is and its importance, I would skip over the definition and project on the smartboard the six steps (QFT). I would then transfer them to chart paper and hang it up in the classroom for them to consult at a later time. Depending on how the students are working I would consider having them work collaboratively for steps four and five, possible even six. These six steps would not be covered through process in one lesson, rather over two days or dependent on how in-depth of an assignment you would like.

Narrative Writing-Purpose and Audience

Introducing Narrative writing

(Kieth, K., 2015). Plot Elements.
 Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1WSTGVE.

               Narrative writing can be defined as a story based on real or imaginary events that are linked to a series of sequential actions. This form of writing is quite commonly seen throughout elementary and is the basis/starting point for students to develop their writing skills. As students move up in grade, the length and detail of their stories will most likely increase. As in most stories, narrative writing must have a beginning (introducing themes/story-line), middle (description of action, rising action, conflict, climax, falling action), and end (concluding action/resolution). It must also have the following elements: plot, characters, and setting. Posters such as the ones displayed below are handy tools to have hanging around the classroom for students to consult throughout the course of the year.

(Connell, G., 2014). Leads. Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1YAdcda.

Video Resources

         "Focabulary" is a video resource that focuses on the elements of a story. I think that this video would be beneficial to use as an introduction to narrative writing as it is quite catchy. This video would most likely prove to be engaging and the rhythm may help students remember the elements more effectively.

           This video is slightly more "low-key" than the previous one as it uses soft music and explores each element more in-depth. I find this resource to provide more information as well as easier for students to follow. When teaching a lesson on narrative writing, I would one of the two videos that I thought would be suitable for my group of students, Presenting both videos to the class is not a terrible idea either, as it is good to review concepts more than once!

Rockin Resources

(Olivieri, P., 2015). Audience.
Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1MoQjRv

                A great resource that focuses on narrative writing is a blog from Pinterest called “Rockin Resources”. This blog is very inviting with its uses of colourful patters and pictures. It also provides links along the side that tie in with writing by grade. The author of this blog Ms. Olivieri (teacher), provides clear step-by-step feedback of how and what she does and then supplements with pictures to show an example of what the step looks like after the processes have been completed. The importance of purpose and audience in regards to narrative writing is also touched upon in this resource. The curtain image displayed below is an example of a structure that Ms. Olivieri uses to remind students to consider why and for whom they are writing for. This structure would be inserted into language notebooks and then the students would fill in the space with their response. I found this to be an engaging method as well as a good opportunity to differentiate instruction (students choose who their audience is).

(Olivieri, P., 2015). Audience.

Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1MoQjRv

Student Connection

              Through learning the different elements involved in narrative writing and keeping in mind the purpose and audience, students have limitless possibilities to let their creativeness flow. The process of narrative writing not only allows students to pursue topics they are interested in, but also allows them to improve their spelling, sentence structure, punctuation, and so forth. I have witnessed the grade five students at my placement write narratives based on a haunted house (Halloween), and some of the ideas presented in their writing were pretty adventurous to say the least! 

(Olivieri, P., 2015). Audience.

Retrieved from http://bit.ly/1MoQjRv

Curriculum Connections

I would connect narrative writing with respect to purpose and audience to the grade five curriculum document. It covers the overall expectations "1. generate, gather, and organize ideas and information to write for an intended purpose and audience and 2. draft and revise their writing, using a variety of informational, literary, and graphic forms and stylistic elements appropriate for the purpose and audience". It can also be connected to a specific expectation 1.1 which is Purpose and Audience and states that “students will be able to identify the topic, purpose, and audience for a variety of writing forms (e.g., a poem or song on a social issue for performance by the class; a formal letter to the teacher outlining their opinion on eliminating soft drinks from the school vending machine; an article explaining the water cycle and including a flow chart, for an online student encyclopedia)”. For instance students would have to be able to explain the purpose and audience selected as well as demonstrate it through the choice of language used.

Synonyms, Homonyms, and Antonyms Introduced

Introducing Synonyms, Homonyms, and Antonyms

       Synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms are word forms that are taught early on in elementary school, roughly around grade two. By definition, a synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language. For example, shut represents the same action as close, and therefore is a synonym. A homonym is a word that is pronounced the same, but has one or more different ways of being written. For instance a group of homonyms are to, too, and two; they sound the same when pronounced, but are spelled differently because they have different meanings. An antonym is a word opposite in meaning to another. Examples of antonyms would be hot and cold, big and tall, and so forth.

  Synonyms. (2015). Retrieved from

           http://amzn.to/1MjFCyy

Video Resource

      A fantastic resource to use as an introduction to synonym, homonyms, and antonyms is a video called “Digital Story” and can be found on the “Watch Know Learn” website. Firstly, this resource is in video format, which as we are seeing is increasingly valuable not only to visual learners buy to all learners. Visual tools keep student more focused and engaged, which is imperative for learning! The resource itself uses bright, captivating colours, and is well organized. There is no music in the background which is good so it does not distract students from the content. This video is especially useful not only because it is visually stimulating, but also because it incorporates words and pictures to better convey meaning through examples. I feel that this video would be of great use as an introduction to the synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms as it provides some of the basics and ones that are the most commonly used. I would suggest presenting sections at a time so that the educator is able to pause it and further clarify or add more examples. This also provides students with the chance to participate by thinking of other possibilities. This video is geared towards students who are eight to twelve years of age, as these word forms are built upon across several grades.

   Antonyms. (2015). Retrieved from

 http://amzn.to/1RCkAzf

Worksheet and Game Resource 

      I also believe that it would be beneficial to construct a list or anchor chart as a class to practice concepts being learned. This activity allows for general assessment, whereby the educator can get a sense of who is understanding the concept and who requires more instruction. I would also use posters with the concept rule and hang them up in the classroom as a reminder for students. Having artifacts in the classroom where students can consult them at any time is important and promotes independent learning. Once students have grasped the concepts, a fun and interactive resource that I would explore as a class is a game called "Word Frog". I would start by modelling how to play the game and after a few examples, if time permits and it is suitable for the class, I would allow pairs or small groups to work together on a device such as an IPad (if available).If using technology in the classroom is not a suitable choice, I would move onto worksheets which can be found at “K12 Reader”. 

Homophones. (2015). Google Image.

Why Synonyms, Homonyms, and Antonyms?

        Synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms are a necessary part of language and literacy as they play a key part in reading as well as writing in later grades. Learning different synonyms is especially important for reading as students can use this knowledge to figure out unknown words. For instance if a sentence read, “The boy rapidly ran past me to greet his friends knocking me over, how rude”. At the grade two level students may not recognize the word “rapidly”, but may realize that the root word is “rapid” and know that it means fast. Once a connection is made, they are able to make more sense of what is happening in the sentence, increasing their comprehension. 

Worksheet. (2015). Google Image. 

Curriculum Connection 

       Synonyms, homonyms and antonyms can be connected to the Ontario Language and Literacy Curriculum, through a specific expectation for grade two; reading unfamiliar words "predict the meaning of and quickly solve unfamiliar words using different types of cues, including: semantic (meaning) cues (e.g., familiar words, phrases, sentences, and visuals that activate existing knowledge of oral and written language". This expectation is seen to be addressed by synonyms, homonyms, and antonyms in the video, worksheets, game resources and so forth as it teaches students words with similar meaning as well as opposites allowing them to make sense of a sentence even if they do not know or understand a specific word. Antonyms can also help when reading because if you know one do not know a word, but you do know it’s opposite, you have a good chance of figuring out the meaning of the unknown word. For instance if the sentence read, “This puzzle is challenging”, the student may not know the meaning of “challenging”, but remembers that simple the homonym (opposite) of challenging and can infer that challenging means difficult.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) Explored

           Project-based learning, commonly referred to as PBL, and is often used by educators within the school system. We have all, in some way or another participated in activities driven by PBL, often without our knowledge! Personally, I was not aware that PBL even existed, let alone know what it was used for. Luckily, Google brought a simple video to my attention that briefly explained what PBL is, how it is used, and why it is important. The video I am speaking of is located below so feel free to get a general feel for the topic as I will be exploring PBL further in this post!

            

       The Buck Institute of Education (BIE) defines PBL as being a teaching method in which students gain knowledge and skills by working for an extended period of time to investigate and respond to an engaging and complex question, problem, or challenge. In other words, PBL works to provide a wide variety of choices that interest students so that productivity is increased, while receiving the benefits of completing tasks that fulfill curriculum expectations. According to the BIE, there are eight essential project design elements associated with PBL and they are:

      ·         Key knowledge, understanding, and success skills
      ·         Challenging problem or question
      ·         Sustained inquiry
      ·         Authenticity
      ·         Student voice and choice
      ·         Reflection
      ·         Critique and revision
      ·         Public product

     These elements are further explained on the BIE’s website as well as recommended articles that are related to the topic of PBL. The BIE is a great resource as it provides a vast amount of information, many of which are available as literature, videos, and/or are interactive! One resource that was linked through the BIE which I found to be quite interesting was that of a PBL rubric. A rubric is presented ready to use and there is a brief description about why and how to use it in teaching PBL. I found this to be a helpful tool for teacher candidates like myself, as well as in-service educators who may require some guidance.

Old vs. New Learning. (Wiener, 2015).
Retrieved from http://ideaschoolsnetwork.com/tag/problem-based-learning/.

      PBL has been slowly emerging in the school systems more and more each year, so much so that there are mass seminars being held across the world! PBL World is an example of a gathering of people who teach, learn, and discuss PBL on behalf of the BIE and in doing so, expand the opportunity for students to succeed in the classroom. It is important to remember that PBL is a universal tool, and therefore is not subject specific. It is time to focus on teaching material that is relatable in the twenty-first century; captivates the interests of students and by allowing them more freedom, creativity is unleashed resulting in thought provoking work!

     Edutopia is another useful resource that houses many articles and links to other resources. A particular post that focuses on how to personalize PBL is especially useful. The post is “6 Strategies to Truly Personalize PBL” and is written by Andrew Miller, an educational consultant and online educator. The post itself outlines specific strategies associated with PBL and provides a description of each, allowing for a more in-depth understanding of how it pertains to the classroom. The strategies mentioned are:

 ·         Know the whole child

·         Scaffold questioning

·         Know and align the standards or outcomes

·         Build the infrastructure

·         Assess often

·         Get out of the way

These six strategies are necessary to ensure that the implementation of PBL in the classroom is beneficial to students and that success is indeed achieved at the end of the activity. Generally speaking, success would be the result of students learning core ideas and values and understanding how to apply them to a task, as well as overall knowledge gathered on the topic explored.  In addition, this post relates to the principles for Media Studies outlined in the Ontario Curriculum, as it provides endless opportunities for students to use different mediums in order to complete a research project. For instance, by following the six strategies found in this post, you allow students to explore web based resources instead of just written texts. My one caution would be to take the strategies listed as a general guide when applying them to research tasks, and would adjust accordingly dependant on age group and subject matter. For instance, if you give too much freedom, the topic could become too broad or not relatable to a core concept.

Education World is another great resource for educators that provides lesson plans and helpful guides on how to incorporate PBL in the classroom. There are also a whole host of project suggestions and ideas that are appropriate for different grade levels which is really great. Also, this resource has lots of other interesting information on assessment and classroom management which is handy to have, especially for teacher candidates who are new to the profession and are in need of some guidance.

As an application of PBL in a grade five class, I may provide them with a guiding question such as "What environmental and other factors contribute to the development of asthma in Germany (the place can be tailored to sync up with material being learned in Geography or other subjects)?" I would then have them work in groups of two to four and require them to find information using a book/literature, video, online article, and any other form they choose. I would then proceed to show them the time line of what should be done by when and how feedback will be given. It will be up to the groups to decide how they will be dividing the work. I then would remind them that they are free to express their research any way they choose. Some suggestions I would provide are word processed, power point/prezi/pow-toon presentation, a video, or a recording. A presentation may or may not accompany their work, it depends on the time frame among other factors. 

By proving a guiding question that is relatively interesting to the class (prevalence of asthma is quite high), it engages them and keeps them focused. Also, giving freedom across how the information is compiled and presented plays to different learning types, which allows students to absorb the information in the way that is best suited for them. As seen through my structure, some guidance is needed to ensure that key elements are covered for assessment reasons (links between gathering and interpreting information through various media forms). 

PBL is here to stay so it is important for educators to be well equipped with the right tools so that we are able to provide the best opportunities for our students to be successful at whatever they do. Since PBL is applicable to all areas of study, it is classified as a core concept and therefore is easily translated to real life situations. Preparing students to collaborate effectively and explore interests will teach them how to follow their passions and work well with others in the process! PBL is virtually the same around the world, varying slightly due to interpretations, but for the most part, it is the same. Technological advancements also make PBL easier to integrate in the classroom and adds a much needed “fun” aspect to learning!