Lessons from Types of Questions
Asking questions is an art used by various teachers to evaluate the understanding of a student. The uses of thoughtful questions gauge the understanding of listeners and unravel their hidden knowledge to new thinking levels. There are various types of questions that include convergent, divergent, evaluative, and reflective (Wilson, 2020).
Convergent questions are used to elicit short responses from listeners. It also focuses on the knowledge of facts, direct instructions, and materials content. For example, based on the lecture, what is the understanding of the importance of questions? The answerer can make inferences in the lecture. Also, one can gauge the other person’s awareness, for example, how many continents are there in the world?
Divergent questions induce high levels of diverse and numerous thoughts from responders. For example, is college education necessary? Responders have to evaluate the value of college education. Moreover, they can also induce imagination and creativity like can we have fully automated vehicles?
Evaluative questions need intelligent, intellectual thinking in different diverse ways with evaluation. Students can base their judgment by establishing evaluative criteria. For instance, is online learning effective than normal lectures? Responders have to compare and contrast. Additionally, they can induce emotional judgment like is homeschooling better than normal going to school?
Reflective questions help listeners to reflect on the solution to the given question by taking note of the subject’s implications and consequences. The questions also stimulate various responses, deep thinking, and evaluative criteria to students. For example, what are the effects of intercultural relations? Responders have to reflect on the positive and negative effects of the topic. Also, how has education benefited you?
In conclusion, questions are essential in learning. The basic types of questions are convergent, divergent, evaluative, and reflective. They all seek to encourage responders to participate, expound their thoughts, and ask questions too.
Reference
Wilson, O. L. (2020). Five Basic Types of Questions. What types of questions are you asking students? Mastering five basic types of questions. https://thesecondprinciple.com/essential-teaching-skills/five-basic-types-questions/