Different Questions, Same Material

Divide the class into groups of three.

Each group is given the same resources but a different question.

Groups try to answer their questions by analysing and investigating the resources they have been given.

When they have done as much as they feel is possible, they create a presentation of their findings. Next, groups pair up and take it in turns to present to one another.

Pairings then split, new pairings are formed, and the task is repeated.

This continues until groups have presented their findings three or four times (and thus received information about the findings of three or four other groups).

Here is an example:

The topic is crime and deviance. The material given to each group is as follows: a newspaper article about a recent high-profile crime; statistics from the Home Office concerning crime in the United Kingdom; a case study looking at how crime was reduced in a local neighbourhood; three examples of behaviour in other cultures that would be seen as norm-breaking if it was to take place in the United Kingdom; a summary of a sociological study concerning the relative rates of deviance demonstrated by teenage girls and boys.

The following questions could be given to the various groups:

1. What does the material tell us about crime in the United Kingdom?
2. How might the material help us to understand how deviance is defined?
3. How closely linked are crime and deviance?
4. Who decides what is deviant?
5. Is crime the same in all societies?
6. Is crime or deviance a bigger issue in our society? Why?

In this case it would be expected that learners had some prior knowledge of the topic.

In addition, the teacher might provide textbooks to supplement the material that has been handed out.

You will see though, that the structure of the activity is such that it generates a wide range of knowledge from a single starting point.

To develop the activity, you might like to discuss with learners how their questions influenced their interactions with the material.

It might also be fruitful to explore how the questions led pupils to interpret the material in certain ways, to focus on specific areas, or to ignore certain aspects.

Question Assessment

Self-assessment and peer-assessment help learners explore assessment criteria.

This helps them come to terms with the criteria by which their work is judged.

You can use questions to structure peer- and self-assessment. The simplest way to do this is by turning a set of success criteria into questions.

Here is an example:

1. Explain what the three key terms mean.
2. Demonstrate your understanding by giving examples of the three key terms.
3. Use the three key terms to explain the source.

These success criteria could become:

1. What explanations have been provided of the three key terms?
2. How accurate are the explanations?
3. What examples has the learner given to demonstrate their understanding of the key terms?
4. How effective are the examples at showing the learner’s understanding?
5. Has the learner explained the source?
6. How has the learner used the key terms in their explanation?

Plus the obligatory improvement question:

• How might the learner improve their work?

By transferring a set of statements into a set of questions, pupils’ lives have been made a little easier.

The assessments you ask them to make – either of their own work or of that of their peers – are now a series of responses to a series of questions.

The greater sense of direction this provides – in contrast to the application of a statement – makes the task more accessible.

One final point to add is that, during peer-assessment, you might like to ask learners to set questions for one another instead of targets.

Here are some examples of what this might look like:

1. How might X be useful in situation Y?
2. How might you develop your analysis of X?
3. How might your answer have been different if you had given more time to aspect X?

Learners can then respond to these questions in writing or in discussion.

If the latter option is taken, it is best to provide some thinking time so learners can digest the question their partner has asked before they formulating a response.