The Art of Inquiry: Questioning Strategies for K-6 Classrooms

by Nancy Lee Cecil

Asking questions is one of the most essential functions of teaching. In this book, the author shows teachers how to develop both their own questioning skills and those of their students. The author explains how to model provocative, open-ended questions, and provides many useful teacher- and student-directed questioning strategies. From these, children learn how to ask questions that enable them to construct their own meaning from what they read and experience. The book is divided into two sections. Part I identifies the many types of questions and the thinking skills they promote (such as knowledge, comprehesion, analysis, and evaluation), and discusses how to foster the free flow of questions and anwers. Part II provides practical questioning strategies and activities (for example, Polar Opposite, Think Aloud, and Self-Instruction) that stimulate the highest critical and creative thinking skills. The author also shows how asking the right questions can help children understand content, learn to ask effective questions of themselves, and make clear connections between diverse thoughts.

Genres: Education

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Wei Yang · Rating 3 out of 5]

教学和提问是不可分割的两个部分。一个有效的课堂，教师需要用不同层次的问题引导学生思考，并且培养学生提问的能力。我们最终的目的是提问没有“正确”答案的问题，培养学生的批判和创造能力。这本书分为连个部分：第一部分主要论述提问的价值和原则；第二部分则探讨提问的策略。我认为第一部分的内容较为重要，教师在阅读和理解后，可以将提问的原则运用到自己的教学当中。第二部分则展示一些实际的策略和情境，有助于第一部分的理解。若合适的话，第二部分所提出的策略也可直接运用到课堂上。总体而言，这本书的理论部分是很好的参考材料，策略的部分则多有重复，建议重点阅读适用的部分。