QUESTIONS and QUESTIONING
Areas to cover:
a. A good question
b. Qualities of a good question
c. Characteristics of a good question
d. Classes/types of questions
e. Development of different questions as examples
What is a good question?
A good question is framed in a clear, easily understandable language,
without any vagueness.
Students understand what is wanted from the question even when
they don’t know the answer to it.
Good quality question should be:
1. Relevant. A good question is relevant. It focuses on recall of
only the material required.
2. Clear. A good question is framed in a clear, easily
understandable language
3. Concise. A good question is usually crisp and concise.
4. Purposeful. A question without a definite purpose has no value.
What makes a good quality question?
The quality of a question often depends on the context in which it's
asked.
For example, good quality question asked should aim at helping
students (the respondents) to learn something.
Characteristics of a good question
1. Purpose
A good question is one that you have a good reason for asking,
and the information expected from the answer should guide you
in the effort you're trying to accomplish.
2. Clarity
Good questions require no questions to understand. They should
be self-evident rather than ambiguous and open to
interpretations. For example,
"When do you usually finish with work?" (wrong question)
3. Simplicity
Good questions are often simple—not in that they're easy to
answer, but that they ask the respondent to focus on only one
topic at a time.
4. Relevance and good timing
A good question should not seem random. Rather, it should be
apparent to the respondent why you're asking the question. Try to
remain on topic. If it's necessary to change subjects, consider
signalling the change by announcing that you'd like to discuss a
separate matter.
5. Neutrality
Good questions are free of bias, allowing the respondent to answer
without suggestion or guidance from the asker. Neutral questions
are more likely to produce honest answers rather than conclusions
that the asker wants to hear.
Often, biased questions begin with phrases such as:
"Do you think it's true" or "would you agree," which suggests to
the respondent how they should answer.
Good questions usually avoid that kind of language and seek the
respondent's true opinion.
6. Insight and engagement
Good questions can inspire great answers because they often
encourage the respondent to consider a topic more deeply.
Such questions often ask why something is or how it works, forcing
the respondent to think critically and analyse possibilities rather
than repeat facts. Insightful questioning can also help you
professionally.
Eg. Are you looking for a job now? (Not engaging)
Yes/No
TYPES OF QUESTIONS /CLASSES OF QUESTIONS
The ability to ask effective questions is a learned skill. As with any
skill, it helps to know how to improve. Here are some types of
questions teachers ask:
Closed Multiple questions
Open, Focal questions
Convergent Leading
Divergent, probing questions
Loaded questions
1. Closed Questions
A closed question is a question which can be answered with a
specific response, such as, ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Closed questions are often
used by teachers to check understanding by asking students to
recall specific, factual information.
Examples:
Are you over 18 years of age?
What year did Malawi attain independence?
Do you like chocolate?
2. Open Questions
An open question is opposite to a closed question in that it cannot
be answered with a simple static response, such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Instead, there are multiple potential responses that could be
provided by students.
Open questions can be used to check understanding, but they are
more often used to promote critical thinking. Student responses are
usually more detailed and varied which supports greater discussion
and debate.
Examples:
Why do you enjoy your humanities lessons so much?
What is the main purpose of government?
Why are superhero movies so popular?
3. Leading Questions
A leading question is one which encourages and prompts the
student to answer in a particular way; based on the way it is
framed. This type of question is used when there is a desired and
favourable response that the student should reach, but the student
is not able to get there independently. They are usually framed in a
way which supports and guides the student towards a favourable
response.
Examples:
Can you identify any problems with this philosophy?
Can you think of any other ways to achieve this?
4. Probing Questions
Probing questions are asked to seek more information on a
particular topic. They are usually used as follow-up questions to
encourage students to enhance, clarify or justify their thoughts.
Examples:
What made you come to that conclusion?
What impact will that have?
What might be missing from your previous answer?
5. Focal Questions
A focal question requires students to choose and justify a
specific position on a given topic. This type of question is asked
in a way that forces the student to choose a position, usually
whether they agree or disagree, and to provide logical reasoning
to explain why they have chosen that position.
Examples:
Would you think everyone should move to plant-based diet? If
so, why? If not, why not?
Do you believe in the theory of evolution? If so, why? If not,
why not?
Do you think democracy is the best philosophy for
governments? If so, why? If not, why not?
6. Loaded Questions
Loaded questions use assumptions and suggestion to impose views
and opinions on the person answering the question.
A loaded question can be framed positively or negatively and both
will influence the student’s response. However, a teacher could
consciously use a loaded question to deliberately trick students into
agreeing with an assumption before then exposing the assumption
as incorrect or worthy of challenge.
This approach can be used to encourage students to question
assumptions and other people’s views and not to blindly agree with
everything they are told.
Example
Given that the internet is extremely bad for children, what do
you think could be done to improve it?
Does anyone actually agree with this terrible idea?
This is an excellent experiment which proves this theory, does
anyone disagree?
7. Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple choice questions are used to give students options for
answering the question. They will typically be lower order
questions with one correct answer amongst a set of incorrect
answers.
However, variations can be used, for example, where students are
required to identify more than one correct response from a list or
to identify the odd one out. There is also the ‘all of the above’
approach which is quite commonly used.
Providing options for students makes this type of question highly
accessible for students and makes it easy for every student to
respond.
Examples:
i. What is the capital city of Malawi?
(a) London
(b) Lilongwe
(c) Blantyre
(d) Madrid (one correct answer)
ii. Which of the following statements is true? A lesson plan…
(a) derived from a syllabus;
(b) developed from a scheme of work
(c) helps a teacher to assess students;
(d) guides a teacher in delivery of a lesson (more than one
correct answer)
