Divergent and Skeptical Thinking

In the article “Divergent and Skeptical Thinking: Questioning Strategies for Deeper Learning”, Sarah Johnson gives two very simple, yet challenging questioning strategies you can try in your classroom this week!

Here are some examples of these two questioning strategies:

1. Use divergent rather than convergent questions.
Math: What different strategies can we use to solve the word problem about proportions? Write a step by step process to teach someone your “way.”

ELA: What are some of the similarities between the issues facing ethicists today and the issues that Victor Frankenstein faced and finally acknowledged in reference to the monster he had created?

Science: What adverse effects is population growth having on animals’ habitats?

Social Studies: Which constituents are most likely to embrace the new health care act? Which constituents are most likely to prefer the Affordable Care Act? What are the issues and life circumstances that drive the two groups’ beliefs?


2. Ask questions that propel students to analyze skeptically, not cynically.
ELA: In what ways is the book meant to be taken literally? In what ways is it meant to be taken metaphorically? What did the author achieve in her use of magical realism as part of the story’s development?

Science: What funding sources were used to fund this research? Are there any biases that might have played a role in the findings? Explain.

Social Studies: While many feel that city leaders were at fault, are there any natural features, cultural norms, or weather patterns that might also have influenced the city’s ultimate demise?

Math: Take a look at the problem on the board.What strategies do you think this person used to answer this problem? Do you think the answer is correct? Why or why not? What would you do differently if you believe the problem is incorrect? Explain how this person achieved the answer if you believe it is correct.

What Bridget and Brooke say about these questioning strategies:
We think that this is a perfect opportunity to really nail down Criterion 2.1: Quality of questioning. These types of questions also help us get to know our students just a little bit more than we did before because they encourage emotion and critical thinking. This can also be a great opportunity to address any misconceptions and assist students in clarifying their thinking with one another. Talk about student talk opportunities!

Four More Strategies from "17 Ways to Combat Learned Helplessness in the Classroom" By Sarah Tantillo
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Tantillo says :

9. You should teach hand-raising. Really.

IF: You ask questions during class discussions without modeling hand-raising…

THEN: Students are likely to call out. While this might not seem like a management or assessment problem, it can become an ENGAGEMENT problem because some students – especially quieter ones – feel intimidated by those who tend to call out, so they share their ideas less often if calling out is the norm.

SO DO THIS INSTEAD: Model hand-raising to ensure that students raise their hands to answer. Ensure you call on multiple students – or better yet, let students know the expectation is to call on another student when they are done to continue the discussion without you driving it!

Bridget and Brooke say:

• While we totally agree that letting students shout out responses can cause a lack of student engagement or inequity, we also think that you can solve this through no-opt out strategies, such as giving students a couple  of minutes to write their thoughts and share with a partner, and then cold-calling on them. Then EVERYONE gets an equal chance to speak.
• Giving all an equal chance to speak would address 2.3, Substance of student talk, and 2.2. Expectation, support, and opportunity for participation and meaning making (Exemplary = All students have the opportunity to engage in equal talk).

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10. Encourage students to try out their best answers

IF: You ask open-ended questions without adding, “There is more than one right answer”…

THEN: Students might believe there is ONE right answer, and they don’t know it for sure, so they will not take the risk of trying out a possible answer.

SO DO THIS INSTEAD: Say, “There is not one right answer” more often to invite students to take more risks and participate without fear of being wrong. [See note above about having students build on one another’s answers.]

Bridget and Brooke say:

• We love this idea, which ties both with the substance of student talk (2.3) and the quality of questioning (2.3). We also love the idea of eliminating the question, "Do you have any questions?" and replacing it with "What questions do you have?" Giving students a couple minutes to share questions will then allow easy answers to be answered  by a peer or can help shy students gain the confidence to share their questions.
• Another idea, one we learned from Kathy Whylie, is to respond to students who say, "I don't know" with, "Well, what would you say if you DID know?"  Amazingly enough, many students will respond to that question, as opposed to the original.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

11. Use your questioning to promote inference and explanation.

IF: You ask students to guess what word you’re thinking of (which you think they should know)…

THEN: Students will call out random guesses until you give them enough hints to say the right word. Or they will say nothing because they don’t know what you’re talking about.

SO DO THIS INSTEAD: Stay away from guessing games like, “What word am I thinking of?” Tell them the word, tell them that you think it’s important, and ask them why you think that. Focus less on recall questions and more on using information/clues to infer and explain.

Bridget and Brooke say:

• Too often as teachers, we try to direct students to one answer. When they start to guess, we say things like, "Well, that's not what I was thinking" or "I guess that could also work," and, without meaning to, we imply that the student's answer is less worthy than the hidden one in our brain.  Instead, as Tantillo says, avoid the guessing game altogether, AND try not to have one answer in your mind. Praise students who come up withh out-of-the-box and credible responses.
• This hint aligns with 2.1, Quality of Questioning.

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12. Make sure they wrestle with new learning

IF: You introduce new concepts or definitions by requiring students to copy down notes…

THEN: Students will not necessarily grasp or retain this information because they have not had to wrestle with it. Copying down definitions does not teach students how the concept works or how to use it. Telling is not teaching.

SO DO THIS INSTEAD: When introducing NEW content, give clear examples of the phenomenon (e.g., two bold-faced examples of “metaphor,” explained), then ask students to INFER from those examples what the phenomenon appears to be and how it seems to work. There is not one right answer.

Bridget and Brooke say:

• This is our favorite one of all, especially the "telling is not teaching."  New learning that requires us to ponder, puzzle, and struggle is new learning that we recall later. Asking students to make a prediction, take a pretest, do a KWL chart (What do I know? What do I want to learn? What did I learn?), solve a problem independently without guidance--all of these help students care about and remember the learning to come, as they now care more deeply about what they will learn..
• TPEP Criteria 2.2, "Expectation, support, and opportunity for participation and meaning making" asks that teachers "provide support for a variety of engagement strategies and structures that facilitate participation and meaning making by students."  Following Tantillo's hints above will help you to nail the criteria!

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