Module Design Format:

Name of Module: “You Want a Better Answer? Then Ask a Better Question!”

Topic(s): Use of questioning in the classroom; Designing questions that allow students to think in different ways; Encouraging and developing higher order thinking skills in young adolescents

Course: Middle School Theory / Structure / Philosophy; Best Practices for Teachers of Middle Level students (Elmhurst College)

Designed by: Brian B. Kahn

Duration: 1 semester - 1 unit course / app. 45 hours of contact

Brief Description:

The idea behind this module is to introduce/reintroduce practicing and/or preservice teachers to the art of designing and asking meaningful questions in the context of the middle school classroom – the primary aim being to develop higher-level thinking skills in young adolescents. This unit will be taught in the context of the middle school course but will be using social studies methodological considerations as a base as well as strategies for the integration of both visual and dramatic arts.

Description of Learners: The course is taken by both preservice and practicing teachers at Elmhurst College – it is required for certification for teaching middle school along with the adolescent psychology piece. Many teachers who have been in the classroom for some time are now required to return to school in order to complete these requirements. The bulk of the students will be undergraduates who want to “play it safe” and get their middle level certification even though most will tell you that they really do not intend to work at that level.

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Goals: The overall goal is to introduce students to the art of questioning and to help them learn new strategies to develop more critical thinking skills in their students. While this module will be a unit within the middle school course itself, it will be based upon social science methodologies. In addition, the actual content of the activities will focus on the visual and dramatic arts.

Objectives:

• Students will develop a more comprehensive understanding of Bloom’s Taxonomy as an educational tool/device
• Students will learn how to design and “categorize” questions that will enable their students to better move from one level of abstraction to another
• Students will learn to implement a number of social science teaching methodologies including the careful examination of primary and secondary source documents
• Students will experience and learn to appreciate the importance of integrating both visual and dramatic arts into the context of their teaching experience
• Students will be introduced to and have the opportunity to practice “the Five Ways to Enrich Any Unit” within the context of the social studies (incorporating reading instruction, higher-order thinking, construction activities, simulations/role-playing, music and drama

Instructional Strategies: group brainstorming, large group discussion, cooperative group work, “Carousel” technique

Assessment: Students will be required to complete a number of “products” as a result of these activities including a Bloom’s Flip Chart, lists of questions based on the Carousel activity, a list of web sites showcasing primary and secondary source documents

Resources/Materials Required: large easel paper, construction paper, markers, scissors, poster set (Women of Courage), posters of World War II government-sponsored art (recruiting posters, Rosy the Riveter, etc.)

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EXPLANATION & RATIONALE

This module is intended to assist teachers/preservice teachers in better understanding the how and why of developing better question skills, the ways in which these skills can enable students to better higher-level thinkers, the ways in which primary and secondary source history documents can enrich the understanding of a particular time in history, and the importance of exposing their students to the visual arts and dramatic interpretation of historical events.

This will take place within the context of a Middle School Best Practices course (certification course) in which proven teaching and learning strategies for young adolescents are emphasized. Middle level educators understand the great importance of assisting their students develop higher-order thinking skills/strategies and the fact that one such avenue to this end concentrates on designing, developing, and implementing meaningful question and answer sessions. This will allow students to better move across the various levels of abstraction (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, application) and to develop the ability to think on a higher order.

The art of questioning is often taken for granted – it just comes naturally or it is just something that all teachers do. Question design, when based upon Bloom’s Taxonomy, allows teachers to stretch the boundaries of their thought, to think about issues and topics from various levels of abstraction, and to develop more and better strategies for applying their new knowledge. We also know that well thought out questions assist teachers in eliciting the answers they want as well as giving students the opportunity to expand their boundaries of thought – to be able to better understand the very nature of knowledge and its uses.

Visual and dramatic arts serve many purposes in the classroom. They have the potential to enrich the particular learning experience be it history, science, reading related. It stimulates thinking, it encourages students to develop their other learning modalities (psychomotor skills), it exposes them to a whole different understanding of self-expression, it gives them the opportunity to develop their creativity, it provide them with a strategy for interpreting the meaning of any number of primary and secondary source documents (which are essential in order to have a greater understanding of any historical era).

Ideas for Classroom Activities:

• Instructor will develop and implement a whole group, question and answer session focusing on interpreting a number of examples of poster art (WW II govt. sponsored art). The questions will be designed in advance and will be based upon the levels present in Bloom’s Taxonomy. Several examples from each level will be used. Students will be asked to keep a running tally of the “types” of questions asked by recording the “helping words” they hear (What color? How would you estimate? Compare and contrast – etc.) At the close of the session, students will be introduced (or reintroduced) to the actual taxonomy and the ways in which it can serve as a teaching tool.
• Now that they are familiar with the topic, some practice is in order. Students will be asked to create/construct their own “flip-chart” – which will allow them to see at a glance the levels of Bloom’s, the type of question they want to ask, the words that can assist them in asking this question.
• Students will participate in a “Carousel” activity in which they move from one station to another designing a new level of question at each stage. The stations will be built around a poster from the “Women of Courage” poster set which is a collection of photographs of African-American women and a description of their lives and their contributions to our society and the time period in which they lived and thrived. Students will travel in groups – this is a “cooperative activity” of sorts and will decide upon the question to be asked based upon the specific level. Each station will represent one of the 6 levels, poster paper will be located next to the poster, students will write down their group response, they may not use a question that has already been recorded – thus the activity gets more and more challenging as the class moves around the stations.
• Drama activity – improvisation – one act plays based upon the poster of “Rosie the Riveter”. Brainstorm themes which students see in the poster, ask students to pick a theme and think of (visualize) a scene which might play out based upon this theme (who would be in the scene, how old are they, when did this take place, what is the conflict present, what were the attitudes of those involved, what is their “tone of voice”) – have them come up with an opening line for the improvisation - ask for three students to volunteer their thematic ideas – choose one of the themes and bring up a group based upon the number of roles present - assign roles and begin the improvisation – lastly, get the class to analyze what happened – what was going on – what kinds of questions were raised – what issues were brought to the scene – Now the entire class can discuss these specific issues in relation to the big picture – the issues which abounded at the national level during that particular time in history.

Next step?

This kind of activity has lots of possibilities for outside assignments/projects – students would create their own Questioning activity based upon a particular content area – students would create an activity for the classroom which included both integration of the arts and critical thinking skills – the lesson plan and possible demonstration could be the final product for such a task.

In addition, further modules could be created with such an arts integration theme in the context of this middle school course – inquiry learning, cooperative group instruction, etc. – each focusing on a “best practice” for working with this age level. Special attention could be given to finding ways to bring in many forms of art – old and new – “art” that adolescents might relate to better – media images – video/computer generated art, etc.