TLL Library

"Question: What Makes a Good Question?"
Vol. VIII, No. 1, October 1995

This "Teach Talk" column was motivated by and draws upon material found in the new edition of The Torch or the Firehose? A Guide to Section Teaching published last month. Written by Professor Arthur Mattuck of the Mathematics Department, The Torch or the Firehose? has become an invaluable guide not only for recitation instructors, but for faculty teaching small classes and lecturers with recitation sections attached to their courses. The Torch or the Firehose? is arranged according to the "most common problems" instructors face, so it’s not surprising that the second chapter (after one on classroom interaction) is devoted to the process of asking and answering questions.

Questions are the instructor’s stock in trade. Just as the desire to get an answer to a thorny, troubling, or intriguing question starts the researcher on his or her way, the need to know the answers to questions (if for no other reason than they’re likely to be on the test!) sparks student learning. At the heart of the business of producing knowledge--wherever that takes place--is the process of posing questions and looking for answers.

Instructors can use questions successfully even in large lectures and certainly should give students an opportunity to ask questions of them during the hour. In smaller classes and recitations, questions can be a fundamental building block that shapes the content and structure of the class and helps manage the way the material is assimilated. This means that how questions are asked and answered has broader implications that go beyond mastering the content of specific course material: Instructors also need to model the process of framing an inquiry and organizing the search for a solution for their students. The way the question and answer process is handled can affect the climate in the classroom as well: It can promote cooperation or competition, and it can drum up or dampen down student enthusiasm for the subject at hand.

The craft of asking and answering questions is one that is built upon several different skills: phrasing and sequencing questions effectively; responding to questions so that class time is used efficiently; keeping questions from leading into digressions (unless those digressions are a worthwhile investment of the students’ time and energy); using the right tone and delivery when asking questions or responding to them; dealing with the personalities and methods of interaction of your students as questioners and respondents.

In the spirit of "practicing what you preach," this "Teach Talk" attempts to answer ten commonly asked questions about using questions; the next "Teach Talk" will cover fielding responses and answering questions.

What do I do if I don’t know the answer to a question?

This is often the number one concern of instructors, especially new faculty. Fortunately, it’s an easy one to respond to. The safest answer is to say simply: "I’m sorry I don’t know the answer to that question, but I’ll find out." However, as Urban Studies Professor Mark Schuster points out, once the question has been asked in public, it must be answered in public. In other words, it’s not enough to get back to the individual student who asked the question; you need to answer the question for the entire class, preferably the next time it meets.

What makes a question effective?

A good question is relatively short, clear, and unambiguous. Ask only one question at a time. Pouring out a string of questions (even if they are on the same topic) is likely to confuse students, who often won’t know where to begin an answer.

Pay attention to the responses you get because they will tell you much about how effectively you have phrased the question. Sometimes when students don’t respond or respond poorly, it’s because the question has been worded either too vaguely or too broadly. It may help to think backwards: Begin with the answer you want to get and then devise a question that will lead to that answer.

What are the different kinds of questions I can use?

Researchers and teaching experts have devised a number of different "typologies of questions," but perhaps the best way to categorize questions for science and engineering classes is to think of them along a continuum of relatively closed or relatively open questions.

Closed questions ask for a very specific answer. In The Torch or the Firehose?, Arthur Mattuck describes "Are-you-with-me?" questions (relatively closed) that ask the students to supply some detail of a problem that is being discussed ("and the derivative of sin x is?").

Open questions require more thought. ("What would happen if the force were reversed?") There may even be a range of potentially good answers--you can ask students to judge which ones are better than others or which one is best . Then ask them to justify their choices. If you are asking a more complex question that requires calculations, write key elements on the blackboard or prepare an overhead transparency that provides necessary information.

One general piece of advice: Be careful about asking a question that is too easy. At best, your students may feel it’s not worth answering; at worst, they may feel insulted at having been asked a question with an obvious answer.

Should I let the course of the class dictate the questions I ask, or should I plan out questions ahead of time?

Both. While you need to be flexible enough to allow questions to emerge spontaneously during discussion, you should also prepare questions ahead of time based on the key points you want to make in that class.

Think, too, about the range of answers you are likely to get to your questions and plan your response to each. This will help guarantee the answers you get won’t take you off on a tangent. Having anticipated the responses, you can determine how to get back to the business at hand in the most efficient way possible.

Should I "cold call" students?

When you "cold call," you ask students to answer a question even if they haven’t volunteered. While cold calling can increase the level of anxiety in a classroom, one of its benefits is that it gives students the chance to practice speaking while under pressure, a skill that will be important to them in their professional lives. You can also "warm call" by asking a question of one or two students and then giving them five minutes to frame a response while you discuss something else.

Each of these techniques has its strengths and drawbacks. However, their success will be enhanced if you:

• Establish a norm early in the semester and stick to it. (In other words, don’t start cold calling students after midterms!)
• Keep track of which students you have called on when so that you can be fair in your calling pattern. Ideally, you will come to know some of the strengths and weaknesses of each of your students (e.g., Sally is good at calculations; Mark tends to think intuitively and globally), so that you can play to their strengths when calling on them.
• Help students save face by responding to wrong answers with tact and generosity.

A Note on Resources:

• Teaching Engineering by Phillip C. Wankat and Frank S. Oreovicz (available online in its entirety (PDF, 1 Mb) or in sections); and
• The New Professor’s Handbook: A Guide to Teaching and Research in Engineering and Science by Cliff I. Davidson and Susan A. Ambrose, published by Anker Publishing/Jossey-Bass. Besides covering teaching, it also provides guidelines for the other responsibilities new science and engineering faculty members face, including: obtaining funding, writing papers, and delivering talks.




Next "Teach Talk": Fielding responses and encouraging questions.