Although I have strayed from educational topics, and concentrated more on the sports posts, there are some aspects of learning that remain near and dear to me. Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to attend a class at James Madison University - one dealing with the grading and teaching of the new GED Extended Response questions. These will take the place of the essay, which was part of the exam from 2002-2014. It's a different type of writing, but one which requires knowledge of three skills - comparing and contrasting two different viewpoints (Language Arts), knowledge of an enduring topic and the ability to add prior knowledge (Social Studies), and the ability to write a short experiment or identify and explain the elements of an existing one (Science). Currently, there is not an extended response for Math, but it is forthcoming.
As I thought about developing a teaching method for my GED students, the one element that continues to flow through my brain is that students (at all levels) need to develop the ability to ask the right questions. Here's a little something I recently wrote for a class on Teaching Writing to Transfer (to other subjects).
As a
fledgling college English instructor and current author and journalist, one of
the writing and transfer topics to which I have paid the most attention in
recent years is questioning.
In theory, having the ability to
develop proper questions about a topic is a key function to master. It forms
the backbone needed to engage in the writing process. As a researcher, having the
ability to ask the proper questions about one’s topic is necessary, as it helps
the writer to find the information that is most pertinent to support the
hypotheses. In a persuasive essay, foreseeing the questions that detractors may
ask, and formulating the answers to support one’s argument is an essential part
of building a successful platform.
There are several ways to examine
the topic of questioning. In journalism, for example, young reporters learn of
the five W’S (Who, What, When, Where, Why) and H (How?) and the importance of
answering as many of these questions as possible in a lead (lede) paragraph of
less than 40 words. While finding the answers is important, the five W’s and H
form the simple baseline to a story after the writer has answered those
questions. However, for the audience that reads newspapers and magazines, these
answers, written at a seventh-grade reading level, are sufficient for this
genre and audience.
However, there are other genres, as
well as other types of audiences. While thousands of people may read a
newspaper article, at times, the instructions for an assignment note that the project is
intended to be viewed by an audience of one. Therefore, the line of questioning
will be altered to meet the needs of the audience.
Objective
As a correctional teacher, my
concern was that the deletion of the essay from the 2014 GED test had de-emphasized essay writing as a required skill. In its place, the extended
response has been installed to show students’ writing ability. In truth, the new response will require the student to write plenty of material, but not necessarily in the five-paragraph format that they learned.
One way to determine the level of
questions, which need to be determined before engaging in a writing assignment,
is to review Bloom’s Taxonomy. The Taxonomy addresses five levels of questioning.
They are:
1. Knowledge
– having the ability to recall specifics and universals about a topic. Generally
known as a rote recollection of the answers to questions addressed by the 5 W’s
and H.
2. Comprehension
– having the ability to process knowledge in a manner that is not a verbatim response,
which was learned previously.
3. Application
– being able to use abstractions in concrete situations. Depth of knowledge is
introduced at this level.
4. Analysis
– the breakdown of a situation into its component parts.
5. Synthesis
and Evaluation – having the ability to put together elements and parts about a
topic to form a whole, and then being able to make value judgments about the
method.
Knowing
one’s audience and understanding the depth of knowledge that is required to optimally
plan and organize a writing assignment at the college level are the two
components necessary to becoming a competent college writer.
With
this concept in place, my objective is to explain the importance of developing
questions when writing in the various genres that a college student should be
adept with using. A good example of question writing ability came up in a reading, when “Whitney” was given an assignment to “select a critical
article [from a shared class text on the Harry
Potter series] and develop three questions about the article that encourage
analysis and discussion. (Hassel and Giordano, 2009). This is a viable example
of a college assignment, and typical of the critical knowledge which a college
English student should possess when writing in different genres.
The
aim for teachers should be to discuss pedagogical strategies to help the college student
become better with the questioning method as it is utilized in the writing process.
To enhance one’s ability to form credible questions as a young writer is a
skill that will transfer to other writing courses, including journalism,
speechwriting, narrative and expository writing, as well as to answer extended
essay response questions on standardized and formalized tests such as the GRE
and a state bar exam.
Readings for the Teacher
Presently, I am recommending at several articles on this subject. At present, this list includes:
1) The
Effects of Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to Align Reading Instruction with the
Virginia Standards of Learning Framework for English - Crews, C. F. Pro Quest
LLC, 2010. A study that examined the
effects of aligning the Virginia Standards of learning (SOL) framework with
Bloom’s Taxonomy on Student Achievement.
2) Repeatedly
Answering Questions that Elicit Inquiry-Based Thinking Improves Writing-
Radhakrishnan, P, Schimmack, U. & Lam, D. Journal of Instructional
Psychology, 2011. Participants practice
the skill of asking questions about a journal article. Inquiry improves writing
by helping one learn more about the topic at hand.
3)
Brainstorming for Ideas – Mogahad, M. M.
(2011). Teachers brainstorm words
connected with the topic in class before setting the composition for homework.
Does asking questions help to brainstorm?
4)
History Makers: A Questioning Approach to
reading and Writing Biographies – Zarnowski, M. (2003). Adopts a questioning approach to studying history, getting writers
involved in the process.
5)
The Logic of Question and Answer: Writing
as Inquiry – Francoz, M.J. – College English (1979). Describes a technique which stresses critical thinking by stressing
questioning methods, as students participate in a fictional interview.
6)
Classroom Environments of Respect for
Questioning and Discussion – Robitaille, Y.P., Maldonado, N. (2015). Recent paper submitted at the Qualitative
Report Annual Conference shows effective questioning techniques to develop
critical thinking.
Reference
Hassel,
H. and Giordano, J. B. (2009). Transfer institutions,
transfer of knowledge: The
development
of rhetorical adaptability and underprepared writers. TETYC,
September
2009.
NCTE.
