A controlled experiment involving 60 university students enrolled in an introductory psychology course assessed the effects of pre-reading questions on student comprehension of textbook material. Post-reading test results support the instructional practice of encouraging readers to attempt to answer, and not merely read, pre-questions before…

Encourages teachers to try to introduce a new novel or two into their curriculum. Gives four specific ways that teachers can relieve pressure on themselves as they prepare to work with a new novel and four specific ways to prepare for introducing a new novel. Provides approaches to introductory activities in the classroom. (TB)

Presents and examines two lesson excerpts in which different questioning techniques are used. (MKR)

Questions whether the Socratic method is an effective teaching method. Presents a more effective questioning strategy using a dialog as an example. (MVL)

Discusses the process of debriefing following a simulation game and the role of the facilitator in debriefing. Guidelines, including specific activities and questions the facilitator might ask, are suggested for the three phases of debriefing--description, analogy/analysis, and application. (MES)

Describes the features of questions which are "honest." Relates the process of learning to ask honest questions and efforts to help others learn them as well. (PRA)

In their answers to questions about a novel event, children were as accurate as adults when responding to open-ended questions, and four year olds were more likely than six and eight year olds and adults to change responses to yes-no questions. Adults speculated more frequently than did children when they answered specific questions. (BC)

De Valk examines three group dynamics that challenge every trainer: groups that are too large, groups that are reluctant to talk, and groups that talk about everything but the issue at hand. Beary describes nine ways in which trainers can use questions to enhance the learning process. (JOW)

Gives examples of the focus group method in terms of question development, group composition and recruitment, interview protocols, and data analysis as applied to three family and consumer-sciences research projects: consumer behavior of working female adolescents, work readiness of adult males with low educational attainment, and definition of…

Discusses "Quixote's visor," a rhetorical turn that conceals a logical gap, an appeal to frustration or necessity. Suggests that the form of Quixote's visor, the testing of a series of possibilities, is a way of deriving logical and rhetorical inferences in response to acts of questioning. Discusses two "cousins"--Sherlock's…

As every parent knows, children are no slouches at generating questions. But the scientific potential in a child's spontaneous question can easily be lost; children often fail to take the step beyond casual curiosity into systematic inquiry. Questioning is indeed robustly rooted in children's everyday ways of thinking about the world, but serious…

The ability to ask quality questions and to respond adequately and usefully are skills few are formally taught. These skills are learned haphazardly by some and by trial and error by others. Asking questions and responding to questions are vital to learning, relating with others, and in professional/vocational endeavors. This article advocates…

A discussion on the use of group question on final exams is presented to approach work units on probability or counting. Where it is easy to find problems that are both nonroutine and will stretch students minds a bit. The group question is also the fist part of the exam, which involves preliminary discussion and planning, division of labor, and…

This article describes an investigation of a tallgrass prairie undertaken by 3- through 7-year-old children in a preschool and a combined kindergarten/first-grade classroom at a Midwestern university. The teaching teams were curious about how these two age groups would explore their questions about the prairie--how their questions would differ by…

Student teachers often find themselves in a dilemma when leading classroom discussions about texts. These conflicts may not necessarily be a reflection of student behavior or classroom management. Instead, they may be a sign of active engagement and students taking the challenge beyond their current knowledge level. Two kinds of conflicts were…