Chapter 12 page 265
High Level Questions
High-level questions are questions that require reflections and inferences from what has been learned. High-
level questions cannot be answered simply be retrieving the responses from memory or from the textbook.
High-level questions include questions at the comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
High-level questions also include questions about reasons and evidence (which can be viewed as a special
kind of evaluation question). These questions would include questions such as “What is your reason for
viewing that as unethical?” or “What’s the evidence that tells you that the forces are equal?”
Metacognitive Questions
A type of higher-order question that is so valuable that it merits is own category is the metacognitive
question. A metacognitive question asks students to explain their own thinking. (Sometimes these overlap in
particular with questions about reasons and evidence.) These questions are designed to encourage students
to make their thinking public, or make their thinking overt. Here are some examples:
Why did you come to that conclusion?
How did you get that answer?
Explain what led you to that idea.
When teachers shift to what I’ve called high-order questions and metacognitive questions, they are likely
to promote greater student learning.
B4. Structure
It is very well established that writers can make what they write more understandable and more memorable
by using a clear structure and highlighting the key features of that structure. It is likely that the same is true
of discussions, though the research supporting structure in discussions is less extensive than the research
supporting structure in written texts. (This doesn’t mean that there is research that contradicts the value of
highlighting structure in discussions; it just means that there is little research on this topic at all.)
One way to add structure to a discussion is to tell students the instructional goals for the discussion and
then to summarize the key points at the end of the discussion. As you learned earlier in the chapter on
Instructional Goals, highlighting key learning goals in this way is a good way to promote student
understanding from discussions.
Another way to add structure is to use chalk boards, whiteboards, or other visual displays to highlight key
points raised in the discussion. There is recent research that indicates that highlighting key points in
discussions by using concept maps can be a very productive way to promote uptake from a discussion.
Interestingly, some of the most interesting research is with counselors who are leading group discussions
with clients in a drug treatment program. A summary of one study can be found in the box below.