Taking a closer look at walk-through data, 3b Questioning and Discussion Techniques --Waukesha North HS

As part of our school improvement plan, I wanted to continue to provide information regarding our classroom walk-through data collection efforts.

During classroom walk-throughs  at Waukesha North High School we are collecting evidence from  2e Organizing Physical Space, 3a  Communicating with Students, 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques, 3c Engaging Students in Learning, and 3d Using Assessment in Instruction.

For this month, I am highlighting 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques.  Below is a report out from the beginning of the school year until January 9, 2014.

The information in the bar graph provides information on how our practices are moving towards proficient ("3") and distinguished ("4") levels in the classrooms in Domain 3b at Waukesha North High School.

Classroom throughs October 2013 to January 9, 2014:  

Amount of Observations:  232

First 20 minutes of class:  36%

20-40 Minute Mark:  43%

Last 20 minutes of Class:  21%

Here are the specific elements that are considered when evaluating for component 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques:

• Quality of questions/prompts

• Discussion Techniques

• Student Participation

 Rubric: 3b Using questioning and discussion techniques

What are observable actions of a level 3 or 4 classroom, 3b Using Questioning and Discussion Techniques?

• Questions are of high cognitive challenge, formulated by both the teacher and the student
• Questions have multiple possible answers or approaches, even though there is only one correct answer
• Discussion happens without teacher taking the lead role (ex. Socratic Seminar)
• High levels of student participation are evident
• The teacher asks the student to justify their answer
• The teacher asks every student to write a response to a question and then has them share it with a partner or with the class
• Students invite comments from their classmates during discussion
• Students are asked to comment on classmate's responses to questions

What are your strategies for using questioning and discussion techniques with students? Please log-in to share a comment.