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Questioning What are they and uses? Classification & Socratic Questions Open and Closed Chunking Information seeking and probing Leading and Hypothetical Using in class

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Questioning What are they?
Questioning has a long and successful history in training. The technique has a long and illustrious history dating back 2,500 years to ancient Greece. Socrates was the master and his style is still extensively used today. He used questions to clarify issues, check assumptions, identify contradictions, seek information and generally extend thinking boundaries. The questions started with words such as who, what, where, when, why, which and how. It is interesting that even in todays classes, up to 50% of class time is used for questioning.

Fig 13.01 Master of the Question! What are they used for? Questions can be used to: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Seek information, Clarify information, Seek reasons for, Challenge ideas, Seek connections between ideas, Probe issues, Test assumptions, Test strength of feeling, Identify and encounter feelings and attitudes, Stretch the creative matter, see Right Brain /Left Brain File.

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Questioning Question Categories.
Questions have now been categorised by what they seek to achieve. 1. . 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Socratic questions. Open and closed. Chunking/funnel up. Chunking/funnel down. Information-seeking. Probing questions. Rhetorical questions. Leading questions. Hypothetical questions.

Socratic questions. Socratic questions have been outlined above and it is recommended that you spent a few moments researching the style by undertaking a Google search with the words Socratic questioning. There is a close resemblance between his, Socrates, style and probing questions.

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Questioning Open and Closed Questions.
Open questions are those that allow the person respond with quite an amount of information. Typical examples are: 1. . 3. 4. 5. Give me as many reasons why..? Tell me more about. Expand on your idea of Why did you select those standards? Explain exactly when you got the idea.

Uses Opening a conversation Finding detail Allowing the trainee expand his/her ideas Expression of assumptions Explanation or rationale of an approach or process

Closed questions are questions in which the response is one word, often yes or no, then , now, 1812. There is no space for more detail. Typical examples are: Are you happy with the .? How many litres are used in ? Is it true to say that .. ? Can I trust you ? Is your judgment always right ? Uses Testing understanding Getting exact information Measuring knowledge of the basics Forcing a firm answer

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Questioning Chunking questions.
Two positions are present: (1) there is a large idea with many constituents; and (2) there are many small ideas building up to a large idea. The chunking strategy involves either segregating out the elements from which it is constructed or reassembling the pieces into the larger construction. Its called chunking down if you are segregating out small ideas. Chunking up is used when you are querying from the small pieces to the large. Lets take a simple example, the car. It is a complex structure made up of many parts. Chunking down is examining the car to identify its parts, functions etc. and segregating them out, say, for individual examination. Chunking up is identifying the parts and querying how they are assembled into a greater structure. There is a similarity between this and the behaviours Analysis and Synthesis. See: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, B. Bloom et al. Other terms used in this approach are funnel up and funnel down questions. Typical examples of chunking up questions are: 1. Which elements make up the concept of..? . How are rising demand and falling prices linked? 3. When you join poor staff relationships with low productivity and high absenteeism, what does this tell you about the business? How would you develop a plan to tackle the problem. 4. We need to make better gross margin figures. What factors are linked to this and what do we have to do?

Fig 13.02 Chunking down

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Questioning
Typical examples of chunking down questions are: 1. Your business has a gross margin of $100,000. Which features are considered in this ratio? . Based on the graph of the daily output supplied by management, what are the effective component parts? 3. If the engine is not working well, which systems of the motor would you immediately suspect when analysing the problem? Chunking Up Broad understanding of the problem Going from the more abstract Constructing the bigger picture Identifying any gaps in the knowledge Getting to the detail Analysing issues Chunking Down Broad understanding of the problem Identifying the links Structuring ideas Dissecting the bigger picture

Fig 13.03 Chunking up!

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Questioning Information-seeking questions
In this case, the trainer is seeking information to determine whether the trainee can remember the content, understand and justify connections, analyses, creations, options and decisions. In this category, both open and closed questions can be used. Typical questions in this category are: 1. What are the rules governing demand? . Tell me more about the way you handled the problem. 3. Explain the ideas that guided you to select the red one. Uses Checking that the trainee understands the core subject matter Offering trainee an opportunity to speak out and discuss Checking understanding and ability to relate theory to practice Checking trainees thinking processes Indicating to the trainee that you are listening

Probing questions test the trainees complete understanding of knowledge that has been acquired, used and reconstructed. The trainer can probe for basic understanding, knowledge of detail, assumptions, connections of ideas, opinions, unquestioned beliefs, questioning the evidence or reasons, justification, conclusions of a study, consistency of the elements and rationales. Typical probing questions are: 1. State clearly and exactly what you mean? . In the last session you were of the opinion that .. Why have you now changed your position? 3. If the theory states that the demand will fall with rising prices, how is that in the case of some goods rising prices stimulate demand? Explain the contradiction. 4. Explain how this is in harmony with the theory? Uses Getting the trainee to be precise Forcing the trainee to connect ideas across theory and reality Helps thinking on the feet Encourages the trainee to be critical of his/her own work

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Questioning Leading questions
The leading question has the answer almost built into the question. If the trainer is trying to assist the trainee (a) see a connection not yet seen or (b) making the answer obvious; this question type should be avoided in most instances. Typical leading questions are: 1. If the class agrees that this is the situation, do you not agree that they must be right? . It is said that the car was travelling very fast. Can you explain this? 3. Do you agree that poor morale is not caused by the bosss drinking. Hypothetical questions These questions are asked out of interest and may be used as triggers to have the trainee consider something a little more closely. It can be a stimulus for further thought. Some examples are: 1. Suppose this were not the case. What would you do? . If you had played the tall player on the small guy, couldnt you have won by a huge margin? Instead, you lost. How do you explain this? 3. I really and truly believe that if the wind had been in our favour we would have won, can you see any reason why we lost?

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Questioning Use in the Class
There are several ground rules regarding asking questions in the classroom. Better results can be obtained when they are followed. 1. When asking a question, ask it clearly and accurately. There should be no double questions built into one question, . Avoid hypothetical questions. 3. You may nominate a person to answer the question, called nominate and ask. 4. You may ask the question and let it hang for 3 to 4 seconds before seeking either the class or an individual to answer it. This is called ask and nominate. 5. Distribute the questions evenly. Do not always ask the same few people. 6. When a question is answered, be ready with follow-up or supplementary questions based on the answer. 7. Follow-up or supplementary questions can be probing or open questions. You are advised to have a reservoir of questions for each circumstance you have planned within the program. They are as useful to you as feedback as they are learning devices for the trainee. Simple Strategy Every trainer should have a very simple strategy for asking questions in any situation. The same ground rules apply to those chairing meetings. The following is such a strategy. Questions to check understanding of the technology Questions to have trainees explain in their own words all manner of subject matter Questions to use in resolving focussed technical problems. Questions to have trainees justify positions.

Fig 13.04 Question Banks

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