WEBVTT

00:00:00.046 --> 00:00:05.296
[Music] Welcome to the overview
on Using Higher-Order Questions

00:00:05.296 --> 00:00:08.976
to Help Students Build Explanations.

00:00:10.366 --> 00:00:12.946
Ms. Gonzales loves to read
to her third graders.

00:00:13.086 --> 00:00:15.066
Her students are interested
in the stories,

00:00:15.276 --> 00:00:19.026
and most of the time they can accurately
give information about the characters

00:00:19.256 --> 00:00:20.376
and the plot.

00:00:20.376 --> 00:00:23.306
But she also notices that her 
students give mostly short

00:00:23.306 --> 00:00:26.906
answers to her questions without 
fully developing their ideas,

00:00:27.046 --> 00:00:29.836
or they share opinions without 
using evidence from the book

00:00:29.956 --> 00:00:31.826
to back up their ideas.

00:00:31.826 --> 00:00:35.126
She wants to help her students think
more deeply about character traits

00:00:35.126 --> 00:00:37.826
and motivations, but she isn't sure how.

00:00:38.946 --> 00:00:43.136
Higher-order questions require students
to think beyond the surface level facts

00:00:43.376 --> 00:00:45.396
and consider what lies behind them.

00:00:46.106 --> 00:00:49.266
They're questions that require 
explanations, analysis,

00:00:49.266 --> 00:00:51.936
and synthesis, not just simple answers.

00:00:52.196 --> 00:00:56.456
For example, a fact-based question 
would be "What color is the sky?"

00:00:57.076 --> 00:01:00.736
while a higher-order one would be
"Why is the sky blue?"

00:01:01.696 --> 00:01:05.215
Once students have attained a high
enough level of content mastery,

00:01:05.546 --> 00:01:08.666
higher-order questions can elicit
"deep explanations."

00:01:09.056 --> 00:01:12.246
These are answers that explore the 
why's and how's of things.

00:01:12.876 --> 00:01:15.976
They involve the motivations
of individuals or characters,

00:01:16.216 --> 00:01:19.806
arguments about the causes
and consequences of historical events,

00:01:20.206 --> 00:01:24.096
evidence for particular scientific
theories, and justifications

00:01:24.096 --> 00:01:25.576
for mathematical proofs.

00:01:27.526 --> 00:01:30.316
Research has shown that asking 
these kinds of questions

00:01:30.316 --> 00:01:33.556
and encouraging students to 
develop explanations while reading,

00:01:33.776 --> 00:01:37.616
listening, or studying improves 
learning and comprehension.

00:01:37.906 --> 00:01:40.586
Students become better able to 
reflect on their learning,

00:01:40.806 --> 00:01:44.396
identify gaps in their knowledge,
understand relationships,

00:01:44.586 --> 00:01:46.696
and comprehend complex ideas.

00:01:47.876 --> 00:01:52.696
Research suggests several tips for how
to most effectively use higher-order

00:01:52.696 --> 00:01:56.146
questions to help students develop
deep explanations.

00:01:57.236 --> 00:02:00.976
Teachers can pose questions
that promote reasoning about principles,

00:02:01.196 --> 00:02:03.126
theories, and arguments.

00:02:03.126 --> 00:02:11.396
Ask: Why? What caused? Why not? How?
What if? How does this compare to that?

00:02:11.926 --> 00:02:15.646
What is the evidence for this?
Why is this important?

00:02:16.816 --> 00:02:21.046
Teachers can create rich contexts for 
deep explanations to be developed in.

00:02:21.666 --> 00:02:24.406
When students are presented with 
an interesting lab activity,

00:02:24.556 --> 00:02:27.926
an engaging story, or a lively 
debate, they are motivated

00:02:27.926 --> 00:02:30.826
to further their understanding,
search for cause and effect,

00:02:31.226 --> 00:02:34.046
develop rich arguments,
and come up with questions

00:02:34.106 --> 00:02:35.676
and explanations of their own.

00:02:36.926 --> 00:02:40.626
Questions that encourage students
to explain their thinking can be used

00:02:40.626 --> 00:02:42.596
across subject areas.

00:02:42.696 --> 00:02:46.186
In science, students typically 
gather data to make claims

00:02:46.186 --> 00:02:47.926
about particular phenomena.

00:02:48.076 --> 00:02:52.076
Teachers pose higher-order questions
like: "What causes a lightbulb

00:02:52.076 --> 00:02:53.166
to light?"

00:02:53.166 --> 00:02:55.256
"What happens when we change
this variable?"

00:02:55.776 --> 00:02:57.916
"How is this animal's behavior 
adaptive?"

00:02:58.596 --> 00:03:01.416
In mathematics, there are different 
kinds of problem types

00:03:01.416 --> 00:03:02.956
that students investigate.

00:03:03.356 --> 00:03:07.186
Teachers can ask students to speculate
as to whether their answers make sense,

00:03:07.576 --> 00:03:10.086
explain the steps they took
to solve a problem,

00:03:10.406 --> 00:03:12.466
and justify the decisions they made.

00:03:13.116 --> 00:03:16.686
In history, have students describe
similarities and differences

00:03:16.686 --> 00:03:19.916
between primary sources,
examine the causes of events,

00:03:20.136 --> 00:03:22.736
and take on the positions
of historical figures

00:03:22.926 --> 00:03:25.896
with differing views and engage
in a class debate.

00:03:27.256 --> 00:03:31.146
Having students verbalize or write
out their responses helps them clarify

00:03:31.146 --> 00:03:33.636
their thinking, while feedback 
from the teacher

00:03:33.636 --> 00:03:36.596
and other students allows them
to refine their thinking

00:03:36.826 --> 00:03:39.116
as they encounter new evidence
and insights.

00:03:39.646 --> 00:03:42.686
Students need opportunities to work
with peers, tutors,

00:03:42.806 --> 00:03:44.346
teachers, and others.

00:03:44.486 --> 00:03:47.216
These can be group environments,
one-on-one sessions,

00:03:47.216 --> 00:03:49.326
or interactive computer experiences.

00:03:49.646 --> 00:03:53.576
Even simply asking students to talk
through how to solve a math problem

00:03:53.886 --> 00:03:56.846
deepens their understanding
of the concepts and principles

00:03:56.846 --> 00:03:58.026
that underlie it.

00:03:58.146 --> 00:04:01.936
Listening to students' explanations can
also give teachers valuable clues

00:04:02.076 --> 00:04:04.876
as to how well students are
understanding the material.

00:04:06.086 --> 00:04:10.376
Higher-order questioning works well
when used with teaching techniques

00:04:10.376 --> 00:04:13.986
like modeling and providing worked
out problems as examples.

00:04:14.246 --> 00:04:18.255
When a teacher demonstrates the thought
process involved in a deep explanation,

00:04:18.555 --> 00:04:21.276
students are better able
to develop their own thinking.

00:04:22.476 --> 00:04:25.506
Another powerful way to deepen 
students' understanding is

00:04:25.506 --> 00:04:28.816
to ask higher-order questions
that challenge their assumptions

00:04:28.816 --> 00:04:29.976
about how things work.

00:04:30.496 --> 00:04:35.756
Puzzling situations and paradoxes like,
"why are forest fires sometimes good

00:04:35.756 --> 00:04:38.256
for the forest?" stretch 
student thinking.

00:04:39.466 --> 00:04:42.116
Once students begin to formulate 
deep explanations,

00:04:42.326 --> 00:04:46.146
teachers will need to allow for 
more time for them to both formulate

00:04:46.356 --> 00:04:48.416
and express their understanding.

00:04:49.516 --> 00:04:52.796
So, what do we know about the impact
of higher-order questions?

00:04:53.666 --> 00:04:56.966
Students deepen their understanding
about content when encouraged to think

00:04:56.966 --> 00:04:59.466
about and respond to higher-order 
questions.

00:04:59.766 --> 00:05:03.676
This kind of learning is strengthened
through working in pairs and groups,

00:05:03.886 --> 00:05:06.176
grappling with complex
and relevant problems,

00:05:06.256 --> 00:05:09.666
and observing a teacher or 
peer model effective reasoning.

00:05:10.806 --> 00:05:14.026
Ms. Gonzalez began asking her students
to describe the characters

00:05:14.096 --> 00:05:17.416
in their story while she listed their
responses on the board.

00:05:17.936 --> 00:05:20.956
She had them talk in pairs about 
whether or not they agreed

00:05:20.956 --> 00:05:24.276
with each other's descriptions,
and then she read the story again.

00:05:24.866 --> 00:05:27.806
Her students were able to 
listen more carefully as they tried

00:05:27.806 --> 00:05:30.796
to determine whether or not 
the story actually supported

00:05:30.796 --> 00:05:31.926
their descriptions.

00:05:32.226 --> 00:05:35.146
She could clearly tell that 
her students were thinking more

00:05:35.146 --> 00:05:38.556
deeply about what they were reading,
learning to use evidence

00:05:38.556 --> 00:05:41.556
to support their claims,
and making stronger connections

00:05:41.556 --> 00:05:43.976
about the characters' traits
and motivations.

00:05:46.576 --> 00:05:50.696
To learn more about using higher-order
questions to help students build deeper

00:05:50.696 --> 00:05:53.726
explanations, please explore the
additional resources

00:05:53.726 --> 00:05:56.286
on the Doing What Works website.