Questioning – peer observations

Mark has shared some reflections from the peer observations undertaken by his group:

LJH observation of MAY

I observed Mark during a questioning session with 7s6, in which he was asking students to identify different word types within a sentence. His focus was on establishing routines around no-hands up/not shouting out (they’re a very keen bunch!) and on involving all students in the discussion.

Mark started by putting the first question he wanted to ask on the board. This ensured that during the paired discussion time that the students were given, students were focused on exactly what they were being asked. The paired discussion time seemed to be very important. It allowed students to reason through their answers and to feel confident when they were randomly selected to answer.

During the session, Mark ensured that all students were involved. For those who were maybe less confident than others, Mark warned them that they would be answering the next question, giving them time to prepare their response.

As the session went on, Mark targeted his questioning to specific students and where some more complex answers were required, he rephrased the questions so that students could arrive at the correct answer.

Overall this was a really successful questioning session which engaged all students. Mark is now going to explore different techniques (such as lollipop sticks) to help with the random selection of students as well as thinking about the timing of a questioning session so that all routines remain in place.

NKS – observation of EJC

Liz was questioning Year 12 students. They needed to recap prior learning in order to answer a more challenging A Level question. Liz had pre-prepared all her questions and they were presented on her PPT. Students had some difficulties recalling information in order to answer the questions, but Liz was able to reframe the questions and to offer scenarios and examples. This ensured that students were eventually able to answer the questions without the teacher needing to give the answers. This questioning built up to a more challenging question in which students had to embed their existing knowledge to hypothesise likely answers. For this, Liz allowed paired discussion to take place prior to students answering in a whole class discussion. This enabled them to discuss and evaluate their responses in a more confident and supportive way.