I have been enjoying Question Week and the extra reason to focus on students generating their own questions. We have used the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) all week in my classes, along with a few components of Project Zero’s Artful Thinking. Here is one example of a QFT I used.
The Question Focus (QFocus) included text paired with an image. I presented the text “St. Patrick” along with a picture of him expelling the snakes from Ireland.
I tweaked the QFT process a little so students first generated and then prioritized questions on their own. Next, they shared their priority questions with a partner. Then students went back to their seats and added any new questions they had after conferencing with their partner. I asked the students if any of the new questions became priority questions. Only one student in each class said yes.
Classes watched a four-minute video on St. Patrick’s Day from the History Channel. After viewing the video, students checked off which of their questions were answered and what new questions they had. Finally, we discussed and read about St. Patrick and how symbols, legends, and metaphors work and play a role in culture and religion.
Joshua Beer is an 8th grade social studies teacher in Lempster, New Hampshire. He has been using the Question Formulation Technique to foster student driven curiosity in his classrooms since 2011. He and his students are featured in the video, The Question Formulation Technique for Summative Assessment.
This blog was made possible through the support of a grant from the Sir John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.