Generating & Answering Questions
By asking questions throughout the reading process, students are able to self-monitor and gain a sense of independence (Duke & Pearson, 2002). Question types include literal, inferential, critical and creative (Winch, G., Ross-Johnston, R., March, P., Ljungdahl, L. & Holliday, M. , 2011).
For teachers of middle to upper primary grade students, questioning (before and after a text is read) should promote higher cognitive thinking (Konza, 2011). Also, students should be encouraged to generate their own questions (Duke & Pearson, 2002).
For teachers of middle to upper primary grade students, questioning (before and after a text is read) should promote higher cognitive thinking (Konza, 2011). Also, students should be encouraged to generate their own questions (Duke & Pearson, 2002).
Specific Pedagogies
To support the generating and answering of questions, teachers can:
- encourage students to think of questions prior to reading
- encourage students to locate answers to particular questions (teacher- or student-generated) during reading
- utilise quizzes and games
- ask questions that require students to locate and use different elements within the text
(Winch et al., 2011)
The QAR (Question-Answer-Relationship) technique has been proven to help students learn to create their own questions (Duke & Pearson, 2002). There are three types of QAR questions; "Right There", "Think and Search" and "On My Own", that differ by how explicit the answer is within the text or how much the student must draw on their prior knowledge (Duke & Pearson, 2002, p.223).
Ways to Adapt for Diverse Learners
Struggling readers transfer their cognitive processing between decoding and comprehension (Lubliner, 2004). Unlike skilled readers, this process fails to be integrated and automated (Lubliner, 2004). The issue is further compounded as texts become sophisticated and complex, however, the cognitive processing remains stagnant (Lubliner, 2004).
Lubliner (2004) advocates the use of self-generated questioning tasks, with particular attention paid to the main idea of the text, as an effective and efficient reading intervention technique for struggling readers.
Lubliner (2004) advocates the use of self-generated questioning tasks, with particular attention paid to the main idea of the text, as an effective and efficient reading intervention technique for struggling readers.
Self-Generated Main-Idea Questioning
Figure 1: Main-Idea Questioning Process (Lubliner, 2004, p.434)
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Main-idea questioning requires students to simultaneously engage and maintain sophisticated cognitive processes whilst reading a text (Lubliner, 2004).
The main-idea questioning process can be described in Figure 1. This process has to happen quickly so that decoding and comprehension becomes an integrated cognitive process (Lubliner, 2004). By developing a question centred on the text’s main idea, the reader is encouraged to consider the meaning behind the text whilst they are reading. Over time, through practice, this process becomes automated (Lubliner, 2004). . |
'Question Mark' image courtesy of Pixabay