Students Generating Questions

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Why it works

Most classroom questioning flows from teacher to student, but research shows that teaching students to generate their own questions, about a text, a problem, a phenomenon, their own understanding, deepens comprehension, engagement, and metacognition, and develops the inquiry and critical-thinking dispositions of self-directed learners. Student-generated questions reveal and advance thinking, surface confusion (a form of comprehension monitoring), and give students ownership. Question generation is a teachable skill: students can be taught to ask different types of questions (clarifying, probing, connecting, challenging), given protocols and practice, and shown that asking good questions is itself a sign of thinking, not of not knowing.

The research: Research on student-generated questions (e.g., QFT).

The run-of-show

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The core activity: teach students to ask good questions

Teachers leave with a way to teach and use student question generation.

Give students something to question (a text, problem, phenomenon).
Teach types of questions (clarifying, probing, connecting, challenging).
Provide a protocol and practice generating and refining questions.
Use their questions to drive learning, and normalize questions as a sign of thinking.

Teach them to ask, not just answerTeaching students to generate their own questions deepens comprehension, engagement, and ownership. Teach question types, give protocols and practice, and let their questions drive learning.

Facilitator notes

Teach types of questions, and give protocols and practice.
Use student questions to drive learning.
Normalize questions as thinking.

A classroom where only the teacher asks questions limits thinkingIf students only ever answer your questions, they do not develop inquiry or ownership. Teach them to generate their own good questions.

Adapt it

Elementary: question types, protocols, practice, wonder.
Secondary: probing and challenging questions, protocols, inquiry.
All settings: teach question generation, protocols, ownership.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

Students Generating Questions: teach them to ask

Ask, not just answer: teach question types, give a protocol and practice, and use their questions to drive learning.

What I will have students question (text, problem, phenomenon):
The types of questions I teach (clarifying, probing, connecting, challenging):
The protocol and practice I provide:
How I use their questions to drive learning:
How I normalize questions as a sign of thinking:

Make it stick

Teach them to ask:

Teach students to ask good questions.
Use their questions.
Bring a question-generation routine to the next PLC.

Common questions

Why teach students to ask questions instead of answering mine?

Generating their own questions deepens comprehension, engagement, and metacognition, and builds inquiry and ownership. It is a higher-order skill than answering, and a sign of real thinking.

Can students be taught to ask good questions?

Yes, it is a teachable skill. Teach types of questions (clarifying, probing, connecting, challenging), give protocols and practice, and show that good questions reflect thinking.

How does it help learning?

Generating questions deepens understanding, surfaces confusion (comprehension monitoring), advances thinking, and gives students ownership and inquiry dispositions. It makes learners active.