Informal questions, by their vary nature, are less structured than formal questions.
They tend to be boarder and open-ended. They should be designed with your course
outcomes in mind. Informal questions can be constructed to encourage everything
from simple recall to advanced critical thinking skills that require research, reflection,
and extrapolation. You should attempt to avoid questions that are likely to result
in simple answers, such as "good job," "great idea," and "I
agree."
Benjamin Bloom created a taxonomy to rank and describe the level of abstraction
of questions. Bloom's Taxonomy can be useful in designing informal questions. It
provides a convenient means to determine the degree of critical thinking required
to answer a question. The following table lists Bloom's graduating levels of critical
thinking skills, along with how to demonstrate them and example questions. You can
use this table as a guide in crafting informal questions that elicit the level of
critical thinking you deem appropriate for your course outcomes.
|
Critical Thinking Skills |
Skills Demonstrated |
Example Questions |
|
Knowledge |
Recall of facts, definitions, and observations. |
How many stores does the Starbucks Coffee Company currently have? |
|
Comprehension |
Summarize, describe, interpret, and contrast information. |
What are Starbucks' marketing strengths? |
|
Application |
Demonstrate the ability to apply general principles to specific situations.
|
How do the four P's (Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) of the marketing mix
apply to Starbucks? |
|
Analysis |
Explain, connect, categorize, or deduce patterns recognized in information.
|
What stage in the product life cycle (Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline) do
you place Starbucks? |
|
Synthesis |
Draw generalizations from information by combining, integrating, and reorganizing
facts.
|
Given Starbucks' marketing strategy, how would you recommend a competitor effectively
compete with them?
|
|
Evaluation |
Judge the merit of ideas by assessing, weighing, ranking, or reaching a conclusion<./td>
|
How likely do think it is that Starbucks will continue to dominate the coffee shop
market? |
Adapted from: Bloom, B.S. (Ed.) (1956) Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification
of educational goals: Handbook I, cognitive domain. New York, Toronto: Longmans,
Green.
The following table builds on Bloom's Taxonomy to list, describe, and provide examples
of informal questions that promote interactive participation in online discussions.
|
Type of Questions |
Descriptions |
Examples Questions |
|
Declarative Challenges |
Questions that challenge students to prove or disprove an assertion
|
How would you support or attack the proposition that location is always the most
important factor in the success of a retail store?
|
|
Supporting Quotes |
Queries that request students to locate quotes from authorities that support a position
(see How to Conduct Internet Research.) |
Do you believe that world trade has a positive or negative impact on the U.S. economy?
Find and list three quotes from authorities to support your position and explain
why you chose them. |
|
Controversial |
Questions that provoke strong reactions and opinions from students, causing the
to examine their beliefs. |
Does cutting taxes improve or hurt the U.S. economy (explain your answer)?
|
|
Comparative |
Queries that ask students to compare and contrast ideas, issues, or topics. |
How would you compare and contrast the healthcare policies of the Democratic and
Republican parties?
|
|
Casual |
Questions that prompt students to investigate the relationships between ideas, topics,
or events.
|
If the government imposed tariffs on imports, what might be the effect on foreign
trade? |
|
Open Ended |
Questions that prod students to extrapolate from known facts.
|
How might a "flat tax" system affect the U.S. economy? |
|
What-If |
Questions that ask students to think hypothetically and ponder the affect of changing
existing situations or conditions.
|
If China became a democracy, how might this affect trade between the U.S. and China? |
|
Wrap-up |
Questions that ask students to summarize what they have learned.
|
What is the most important issue to arise from these discussions? |
Perform these steps to construct effective informal discussion questions:
- Define the desired course outcomes for your online discussions.
- Use Bloom's Taxonomy to identify the appropriate levels of abstraction necessary
to achieve the specified outcomes.
- Use the above table as guide in selecting the types of questions best suited to
achieve the specified outcomes.
- Taking into consideration your course outcome, the required levels of abstraction
and question types, write your informal questions.
- Evaluate the effectiveness of the questions during and after your online discussions.
- Tune your questions based on your ongoing evaluations.
Resource Links
Bloom's Taxonomy:
http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm
|