Effective Questioning Strategies in the Classroom

Questions are the most important tool a teacher can use to build a community of thinkers. This practical guide provides teachers with a step-by-step process for implementing a set of questioning strategies known as the Questioning Cycle. This strategy supports teachers in planning and asking questions, assessing students’ responses, and following up those responses with more questions to extend thinking. In this book, you will see students become more curious and actively involved with learning because they are allowed to use their skills to question, examine, and argue about different aspects of a topic. K–8 teachers across all disciplines can use this book to create a challenging learning climate and lively class discussions.

Book Features:

• In-depth guidance for using and developing effective questions.
• Reflections from teachers.
• Scripts of teacher questions and student responses.
• Suggested activities at the end of each chapter.
• Support material for teachers, including evaluation checklists and forms.

Esther Fusco is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York.

“Amid vivid stories, the reader finds the scaffolding for how to construct a classroom built on children’s thinking.”
—Jacqueline Grennon Brooks, Hofstra University

“This book reads like a blueprint for transformative teaching and belongs on every educator's desk.”
—Margaret-Mary Sulentic Dowell, Louisiana State University

“If you are serious about improving your knowledge about questions and your skill in using them, this is the book for you. Putting some time and effort into the suggested practice will be personally rewarding, and your students will benefit greatly from your effective use of questions.”
—From the Foreword by Lawrence F. Lowery, Professor Emeritus, Graduate School of Education, University of California at Berkeley

“Teachers and school administrators can gain great insights into how students learn and grow cognitively as they analyze the sequence of questioning in the classroom using the rich variety of tools provided here. For those interested in promoting life-long learning, this book offers the guidelines for creating classrooms for tomorrow’s needs.”
—Lorna R. Lewis, Superintendent of East Williston UFSD

“The tips, tools, and dialogue in this book will lead preservice and practitioners alike to more effective questioning in their classrooms to empower students to wonder, reason, and develop critical thinking skills.”
—Heather Leah Ryerson Fountain, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania