Circulating and Intervening

Highly effective activities afford us the opportunity to circulate through the class.

While doing this we can elicit information about learning – by observing, listening, reading work and through discussion.

One of the best ways to use this information is by posing questions that cause learners to think differently about the lesson content, or which cause them to think in ways they might otherwise have ignored.

For example, we might observe a group of learners labouring under a misconception as they attempt to complete a piece of group work.

We could then intervene and pose a question that helps reveal to them why this is a misconception.

This leads into a discussion where we direct learners’ thinking towards a more accurate understanding of the information in question.

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy

When circulating, Bloom’s Taxonomy is a useful tool on which to call.

This is for three reasons.

First, when eliciting information about learning, we can compare this to our knowledge of the taxonomy.

Through doing this, we can quickly identify what the information we have elicited means in the context of the learner’s mastery.

For example, we might note that the discussion a learner is having with their peer is fairly analytical, allowing us to judge that their understanding is at a reasonably high level.

(Remember, the taxonomy runs: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, Evaluation.)

Second, when intervening in response to the information we have elicited, we can base this intervention on the taxonomy.

So, to continue the example from above, we might pose a question to the learners involved in this analytical discussion that challenges them to think more critically about the lesson content.

To evaluate it.

Here, we are basing our intervention on a comparison between the information we have elicited and our pre-existing knowledge of the taxonomy.

This allows us to maximise the effectiveness of our intervention.

Third, we can make judgements about the class as a whole by circulating through the entire room and comparing what we find out to our knowledge of the taxonomy, as well as to the intentions we had when using it to plan the lesson.

Here, we are interested in assessing the extent to which our teaching is achieving the kind of progress we want.

If it is, we can feel happy that our efforts have been effective.

If it is not, we can review the information we have elicited in relation to the taxonomy and, from here, make a judgement about how to proceed.

For example, we might decide that the best option is to take the whole class back to an earlier question concerned with analysis, which we thought they had grasped, and to spend more time examining this and thinking about what it means before trying to move them on any further.

Helping Learners Ask and Create Questions

We ask lots of questions in the classroom, tailoring them to meet the needs of the learners in front of us.

We also want learners to be asking questions.

If this happens regularly then learners will be consistently thinking about the topic from critical, analytical and creative perspectives.

Because you need to do that to develop questions.

We cannot ask a question without being at least partly analytical or creative.

Learners who are encouraged to ask and develop questions of their own are thus being encouraged to exercise their faculties in pursuit of greater understanding and improved mastery.

Four Strategies You Can Use

One strategy we can use is to share Bloom’s-based question stems with our learners, or a Bloom’s Taxonomy word list (edited perhaps, especially for younger learners).

(For a set of Bloom’s-Based question stems and a Bloom’s keyword list, see: Change how you think about questioning with sixty ready-to-go, tried-and-tested question stems covering each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

Another approach is to ask learners to predict what questions they think they will be able to answer at the end of a lesson or the end of a unit of work and then to come back to these through the course of our teaching.

On each occasion we can ask learners to reflect on whether they stand by their original predictions or whether they would change them.

An unusual but effective technique is to plan a plenary activity in which the class is split in half, with one group asked to develop synthesis-based questions connected to the learning while the other group create evaluation-based ones.

Pairs are then formed, consisting of one member from each group.

Finally, learners test each other’s knowledge and understanding by taking it in turns to share their questions.

Another strategy you might like to use is as follows.

At the end of a unit of work, divide the class into an even number of teams.

Display Bloom’s Taxonomy on the board along with example question stems, keywords, and/or explanations for each level.

Explain that teams have ten minutes to produce a twelve-question quiz they will use to test the knowledge and understanding of their peers.

Indicate that quizzes should contain two questions connected to each of the six levels of the taxonomy.

When the time is up, ask groups to pair up, swap quizzes and try to answer the questions posed by their peers.

A variation involves the teacher selecting one team at random who then pose their questions to the whole class.

Our final technique is best used at the start of a unit of work.

Give learners a handout containing six boxes.

Each box should have a different level of the taxonomy as a title.

Give learners some guidance, explanation or examples as to the meaning of the different levels, if they are not already familiar with these.

Next, introduce the topic of study and invite learners to fill their sheets with questions they would like to be able to answer by the time the unit of work has been completed.

Knowledge questions go in the knowledge box.

Comprehension questions go in the comprehension box.

And so on.

At the start of each lesson, ask learners to retrieve their sheets, tick off any questions they can now answer and to add in any new ones they have thought of.

At the end of the unit, invite learners to go through their sheets and check they can answer all their questions – they might also like to swap sheets with a partner to see if there are any questions they have missed.