Leading through Quality Questioning

Leading through Quality Questioning

Chapter 1 and 2 Highlights

Jill Eaton and Susan Thornton

The signs of outstanding leadership appear primarily among the followers. Are the followers reaching their potential? Are they learning? Serving? Do they achieve the required results? Do they change with grace? Manage conflict?

Max De Pree, Leadership Is an Art

What do we mean by Quality Questioning?

· Quality questioning is a process for engaging individuals in thinking together.

· It begins with the crafting of a focused, purposeful, engaging question and continues with the intentional use of strategies that facilitate and sustain thinking.

How Does Quality Questioning Deepen and

Extend Thinking?

Whether leaders are asking questions to individuals or to groups, the question and initial response are just the beginning of the thinking process.

Most often we can listen to what’s said and listen to what’s not said and give a verbal or nonverbal prompt to encourage individuals to continue and

deepen their thinking.

How Does Quality Questioning Deepen and

Extend Thinking?

· Use Nonverbal Prompts

· Wait Time 2

Quote for Thought

• One of the easiest human acts is also the most healing. Listening to someone. Simply listening. Not advising or coaching, but silently and fully listening.

Margaret Wheatley (2007, p88)

How Does Quality Questioning Deepen and

Extend Thinking?· Use Follow Up Questions:

· To expose and get behind thinking

· To confirm understanding of a speaker’s statement

· To clarify a response; to elicit extension or expansion

of thinking

· To encourage reflection and self -assessment

Purpose of Question or Comment

Examples and Stems

To expose and get behind thinking

1. Help me understand what you were thinking when you said…

2. How did you figure that out?

3. Can you help me understand how you reached that conclusion?

4. How did you know?

5. What assumptions are you making when you say that?

6. What experiences have you had that lead you to this conclusion?

7. What data did you use to reach that inference?

8. What do you mean by…..?

9. What criteria did you use to make that assessment?

10. How does your perspective compare to….?

11. Have we included all the perspectives that we need to include?

12. Is there anyone who has a different perspective who has not yet

spoken?

Purpose of Question or Comment

Examples and Stems

To confirm our own understanding of the speaker’s statement

1. Let’s see if I’ve got this right. (Then summarize your

understanding of what the speaker said.)

2. I understood you to say….. Am I interpreting your comments

correctly?

3. So you think that…?

Purpose of Question or Comment

Examples and Stems

To elicit extension or expansion of thinking

1. How else might we think about…..?

2. What if…?

3. Can you give an example?

4. Can you be more specific?

5. How could we go about finding out?

6. How are you planning to go about……?

7. I follow your logic. What’s best to do at this point?

8. I’d like to hear more of your thinking.

9. Please say more.

10. What can we infer from…..?

11. What do you mean by the word….?

12. Keep going. I’d like to hear more.

13. Let’s take this a little further. Can you say more?

Purpose of Question or Comment

Examples and Stems

To encourage self assessment

1. Which parts are you sure of? What is still puzzling you?

2. What did you learn when….?

3. Is that an observation or a hypothesis?

4. How do you feel about…?

5. What can we learn from this?

6. Do we have all the facts?

7. Is there other evidence we might try to collect?

8. How does this work for you?

9. Where are you in relation to this topic?

If I hear.. Then I can ask

· I don’t have time to teach everything.

Can you be more specific? What parts are you sure of? What is still puzzling you?

· These kids don’t want to learn.

Can you help me understand how you reached that conclusion?· My kids don’t like to reread decodables.

What do you mean by the word “reread?” Can you be more specific? What if…..

· DIBLES is just too hard

So you think that….? Help me understand what you are thinking· Our kids don’t pay attention

What did we learn from our PD on student engagement that would relate to your concerns?

Connect Extend Challenge

· How are the ideas and information presented and reviewed today CONNECTED to what you already knew and believed?

· What new ideas did you get that EXTENDED or pushed your thinking in new directions?

· What is still CHALLENGING or confusing for you to get your

mind around?