What are the best questioning techniques for promoting higher-order thinking?

1 Use Bloom's taxonomy

Bloom's taxonomy is a framework that categorizes different types of cognitive skills, from lower-order to higher-order. It consists of six levels: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. Teachers can use Bloom's taxonomy as a guide to design questions that match the level of thinking they want to elicit from their students. For example, questions that ask students to recall facts or definitions are at the remember level, while questions that ask students to compare and contrast, justify, or create are at the evaluate and create levels. Teachers can also use Bloom's taxonomy to scaffold their questions, starting from lower-order and moving to higher-order, to help students deepen their learning.

2 Use open-ended questions

Open-ended questions are questions that have more than one possible answer, or that require more than a yes or no response. They encourage students to think critically, creatively, and independently, and to express their opinions, ideas, and reasoning. Open-ended questions also invite students to explore different perspectives, connections, and implications, and to justify their answers with evidence or examples. Some examples of open-ended questions are: What do you think about...? How would you solve...? Why do you agree or disagree with...? What are the advantages and disadvantages of...? How are these two concepts related...?

3 Use wait time

Wait time is the amount of time that teachers give students to think and respond after asking a question. Research shows that increasing wait time can improve the quality and quantity of student responses, as well as their confidence and participation. Wait time also gives teachers an opportunity to observe and assess student thinking, and to plan follow-up questions or feedback. Teachers can use different strategies to extend wait time, such as counting silently, using prompts or cues, or asking students to write or discuss their answers with a partner before sharing.

4 Use probing questions

Probing questions are questions that follow up on a student's initial response, to elicit more information, clarification, or elaboration. They can also challenge students to think deeper, to justify their answers, to consider alternative views, or to apply their knowledge to new situations. Probing questions can help teachers assess student understanding, identify misconceptions, provide feedback, and scaffold learning. Some examples of probing questions are: Can you explain that in more detail? What evidence do you have for that? How does that relate to what we learned before? What would happen if...?

5 Use feedback questions

Feedback questions are questions that provide students with information about their performance, progress, or learning process. They can also guide students to reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, goals, or strategies, and to plan their next steps or actions. Feedback questions can help students monitor and regulate their own learning, and to develop a growth mindset and a sense of agency. Some examples of feedback questions are: What did you learn from this activity? How did you approach this problem? What did you do well? What do you need to improve? How will you use this feedback?

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?