?  Questions  ?
Asking Good Questions

Question Type:  Level 1:  Knowledge Thinking Questions

Knowledge Questions Memory level questions are those to which you will most likely find answers in sources such as books, web sites, and other reference materials. Asking this type of question provides background for the subject. These questions bring forth simple reproduction of facts, formulae, or other items of remembered content.  Thought processes involved while asking and answering these questions are naming, defining, identifying, designating, or giving yes/no responses.

who, what, where, when, name, define, list the steps

Who developed the planetary model of the atom? What did Vincent van Gogh do after he stopped working at his family's    art gallery? Where was the First Constitutional Convention held? When did Richard III reign?

Question Type:  Level 2:  Convergent Thinking Questions

Convergent Thinking Questions Convergent thinking questions are those which represent the analysis and integration of given or remembered information. They lead you to an expected end result or answer.  Thought processes involved while asking and  answering these questions are:  explaining, stating relationships, and comparing and contrasting.  They usually start with:

Why...How...In what ways...

Why was Richard III considered an evil king? How does gravity differ from electrostatic attraction? In what ways does Roman drama compare to the heroic epics of Indian literature?

Question Type:  Level 3:  Divergent Thinking Questions

Divergent thinking questions Divergent thinking questions are those which represent intellectual operations wherein you are free to generate independently your own ideas, or to take a new direction or perspective on a given topic.  Thought processes involved while asking and answering these questions are predicting, hypothesizing, inferring, or reconstructing.

Divergent thinking questions usually begin with these words or phrases:  Imagine...,  Suppose..., Predict... If...then...., Can you create...

Can you imagine ways that soccer typifies Mexican culture? Suppose that Caesar never returned to Rome from Gaul. Would the    Empire have existed? What predictions can you make regarding the voting process in Ohio? How might life in the year 2100 differ from today? The computer corrects spelling. Is it then unnecessary for third    graders to take spelling    tests?

 

Question Type:  Level 4:  Evaluative Thinking Questions

Evaluative thinking questions Evaluative Thinking questions are those which deal with matters of judgment, value, and choice. They are characterized by their judgmental quality. Thought processes involved while asking and answering these questions are valuing, judging, defending, or justifying choices.

Evaluative thinking questions usually begin with these words or phrases:  Defend, Justify..., Judge..., What do you think about..., What is your opinion about....

What do you think are the advantages of solar power over coal-fired    electric plants? Justify President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. Why would you vote for____? What do you think of capital punishment for drug dealers? What do you think of capital punishment for drug dealers?

Questioning categories copyright Angelo V. Ciardiello, 1998. Copyright 2002, St. Andrew's Episcopal School, Austin, TX
Created by Barbara A. Jansen, Librarian/Technology Coordinator,
Upper School.
Modified by Westminster High School with permission 01/25/2005.
Modified by Marvin Ridge High School (Cheryl Tunno) with permission 09/01/2008.