Make Just One Change: Teach Students to Ask Their Own Questions

EDZU 9858 (3 credits / 45 hours)

Location: Online
Instructor: Danielle Tauriello

Start Date: 03/13/2024
End Date: 04/16/2024

Course Syllabus

During the first half of this course, educators will investigate and understand why it is important to teach their students to ask questions. During the second half of this course, educators will learn how to effectively incorporate the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) into their classrooms. The QFT is a powerful tool that addresses the urgent need to improve education for students in struggling schools as well as improving education for those who already excel at answering questions, but not necessarily asking them. Research shows that learning to ask questions leads to improved learning outcomes, greater student engagement, positive relationships between student and teacher, new avenues for dialogue and inquiry, and more ownership of the learning process. Utilizing this technique can make learning possible for all students.

Teachers enrolled in this course will...

Know

• the steps of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT).
• what student and teacher will do in each step of the QFT.
• the three thinking abilities (divergent thinking, convergent thinking, metacognition).
• the similarities and differences between a traditional prompt and a Question Focus (Qfocus).
• the four rules for producing questions.

Understand

• how to help students refine, prioritize, and reflect on their questions.
• how the three thinking abilities are brought together in the QFT.
• the importance of closed- and open-ended questions and how students learn to change their questions fromone category to the other as needed.
• how the ability to ask questions leads to new ideas, new inventions, better solutions, and a more fulfillinglearning environment for students and teacher.
• that promoting questioning can be a building block for creating productive relationships that benefit ourentire society and our democracy.

and Be Able To

• Improve student learning, including those who already excel at answering questions, by designing lessons that:
• help students learn how to generate their own questions that guide their own learning.
• promote greater student engagement.
• give students more ownership of the learning process.
• increase student achievement, build new relationships between learner and teacher, and open avenues fordialogue and inquiry.