Question Stations

Create six or seven stations around your room (this is working on the premise that you have around thirty learners).

Each station should be focussed on a different question, all of which should relate to the overall topic of study.

For example:

Topic of study: Democracy in the United Kingdom

Questions:     

1. What happens in the Houses of Parliament?
2. Is democracy a perfect system?
3. What features must something have to be called a democracy?
4. How might what we call democracy actually be a pleasant illusion?
5. What is the best way to get involved in politics and why?
6. What could you do to try and change something in your local community?
7. Are there different types of democracy?

You will note from the example that some questions (such as number 1) are fairly concrete, whereas other questions (such as number 4) are quite abstract.

One of the advantages of this activity is that you can provide your class with a range of question types. This will help you to differentiate, help them to access the work, and help both you and them to think broadly about the topic in question.

Learners are given a pro-forma containing the questions which are to be found at each activity station. There is space for them to write. They make notes as they visit each station.

In addition to the questions, the stations should contain a variety of other things.

Using the example from above, station number one would contain information concerning the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Learners would be expected to read, comprehend and analyse this material to answer the question.

Station number six might have a large sheet of paper with different categories written on it (such as ‘to do with crime’; ‘to do with young people’; and ‘to do with the environment’).

Learners could then write on this sheet, answering the question in relation to the different categories. This would also allow other learners to find out what their peers are thinking.

At the end of the activity, the teacher asks learners to vote for which question they would most like to discuss.

A discussion follows, built on the knowledge pupils developed through the course of the activity. If there is time, the second most popular question can be discussed as well.

Question Cards

This activity requires some advanced planning. The time that you put in will be well spent though, because you will be able to use the same resources again and again with different content.

Here is how it works:

Take some card and cut up the material into pieces the size of a credit card.

The number of pieces you create will depend on how many questions you want in your ‘deck’.

On each card you should write a question that could be asked in a wide variety of situations.

Here are some examples:

1. What is it?
2. How might you describe it?
3. What might it connect to?
4. Does it have a purpose? What might this be?
5. What do you already know about it?
6. Where have you come across it before?
7. How might it be used/work/function?
8. Does it have a structure? If so, what is its structure?
9. Why might we be learning about it?
10. What do you think we should try and find out about it?

Whatever questions you come up with, they should be generic.

It may be that you produce ones that are specific to a subject.

Whatever approach you take, you will end up with a deck of cards containing a range of questions that can be asked of a wide variety of content.

There are several ways you can use the cards:

• Put learners into groups of three. Give each group a different resource. Draw questions from the deck at random. Ask groups to note down the answers to the questions, in relation to their resource, as you go along. Groups can then share their findings at the end of the activity.

• Give all learners the same resource. Draw questions from the deck at random. Ask learners to note down their answers individually. Follow this up with a whole-class discussion. This will involve pupils sharing their answers and a general assessment being made of the nature of the resource.

• Create several decks. This can be easily achieved by printing off the questions, sticking them onto card and then cutting them out. Put learners into groups of three. Give each group a resource (this could be the same for all, or different) and a deck of cards. One member of each group is designated as the ‘card- person’. They pull cards out at random and ask the questions to the rest of their group. Answers are collated as the activity progresses.