Skill Of Probing Questions In Micro-Teaching

Skill Of Questioning In Microteaching: Explained

In their book Making Thinking Visible, Ritchhart, Church, and Morrison mention that “We learn from those around us and our engagement with them”. The skill of questioning is advantageous in micro teaching for checking the understanding of the pupils and keeping them engaged. Questioning is a crucial step for the students to receive and process information.

Among the various types of questioning, the skill of probing questions is vital to encourage pupils to dive deep into their knowledge and elaborate their answers. This pushes them to review and improve their understanding.

Possessing the skill of probing means asking questions that are designed to uncover more information from pupils, requiring them to go beyond their first response and enhancing their capacity to think simultaneously on multiple aspects.

When To Ask Probing Questions In Micro Teaching

The skill of probing questions should be coupled with the right timing to maximize the effectiveness of learning. You must make use of your probing skills when seeking:

Clarity on a previous statement

Expansion on an idea

Context around an answer

In micro teaching, the skill of questioning is valuable when:

You need to direct the pupil’s attention back to the learning process

A pupil is unable to complete their answer; to help them articulate their thoughts

You want to lead the discussion to a certain topic by asking a set of probing questions

You want to encourage students to expand their thinking abilities by posing ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions

Components Of Questioning Skill In Micro Teaching

There are five components of questioning skill in micro-teaching. Being equipped with probing skills helps you to achieve maximum learning growth with your students while keeping them engaged.

Prompting

The first component in the skill of probing questions is prompting. Here, you give clues or hints and ask leading questions to the student. This technique allows you to draw out the answer from the student even though they may initially seem hesitant or are unable to answer.

Use prompting questions when the student gives responses that are:

“I don’t know” / “I can’t seem to recall” / “I am not sure.”
Very weak or wrong answers

While using this technique, you accomplish two things if you keep them in mind. Firstly, you don’t discourage the pupil for wrong or no response. Secondly, you help them reach the correct answer by means of a systematic and step-by-step questioning process.

For example:

Teacher: What are the various requirements for the process of photosynthesis? Raj?

Raj: (no response)

Teacher: Alright, what gives the green color to plants?

Raj: Chlorophyll

Teacher: Very good, that’s one, what are the other requirements?

Raj: Water

Teacher: Yes, any more components, Raj?

Raj: Sunlight

Teacher: Brilliant

Redirecting

Redirecting probing skills are used when there is no or incorrect response from the student even after prompting. Redirecting is a type of questioning skill where you involve other students by directing the question to them. It is an effective way to increase the thinking capability of the students while involving more students in the learning process.

For example:

Teacher: Yes, any more components, Raj?

Raj: (no response)

Teacher: Suman?

Suman: Sunlight

Teacher: Brilliant

Refocussing

Unlike other techniques of probing skills which are used in case of wrong repose, refocusing is used in cases of the correct response. When you refocus, you can relate the given answer to other topics that are already covered in class. This enables students to think and connect multiple topics together. By refocusing the answer, you are using probing questioning skills to relate students’ answers to related topics studied by them.

For example:

Teacher: What do you understand about vertical distribution of power in a democracy?

Student: (answers correctly)

Teacher: Is it present in authoritarian regimes?

Seeking Further Information

Probing question skills like seeking further information are used to help the pupil to clarify, elaborate, or explain their response. It is used in cases of incomplete or partially correct answers. In this skill of probing, you seek more information in the form of the rationale of the answer, elaboration, or asking related subsequent questions. This technique helps in removing assumptions or doubts about the student’s answers.

For example:

Can you state it in other words?
Are there any other possible answers?
What do you mean by the term ‘XYZ’ in your answer, please elaborate?

Critical Awareness

Amongst many probing questioning skills in teaching, this technique mainly involves asking the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of correct or expected responses. It helps in seeking the level of critical awareness of the student by asking them to justify it.

For example:

Why do you think so?
How did you come to this conclusion?
How would someone from the opposite point of view react to this?

These were the key points about probing questions in micro teaching. Read on to know how you can gain these skills and utilize them.

Drive Growth With The Skill Of Probing Questions

By acquiring the skill of asking probing questions in micro-teaching, you empower yourself to help pupils expand and improve their thinking capabilities. The different pathways and especially Harappa’s Inspiring Faculty Program equip you with critical skills that a teacher needs in a micro-teaching system. Learn the art of introducing topics, demonstrating concepts, explaining effectively and probing constructively.

The program is designed to help you understand how to engage with your students and communicate with them effectively. You will learn all about probing the best question in micro teaching, among other strategies. Become the best teacher or instructor you can be with Harappa. Sign up now!