Teach Question Stems
King found students trained to generate questions using stems produce richer discussion than those answering only teacher questions. Generating questions demands deeper processing.
Find this under Ask better questions
The strategy, as published
Exactly as it appears on the card
Part of Student-Generated Questions in 04 Questioning & Discussion, where it sits alongside its neighbouring strategies, the infographic and the thinking for the whole area.
Why you might use it
The problem it may help with
King's finding reverses the usual direction of classroom questioning: students trained to generate questions from stems produce richer discussion than students answering only the teacher's questions. Generating a question demands deeper processing than answering one.
The stems do the lifting. Without them, student questions tend towards what is X; with them, pupils reach for connections and consequences they would not have phrased alone.
What it might look like
One version of it, in a classroom
At the end of an explanation in science, three stems go on the board: how does ... affect ...? what would happen if ...? how does ... connect to what we learned about ...? Every pupil writes one question about the topic, and a handful get posed back to the class.
Try it
A way to begin
Display two or three stems after your next explanation and have every pupil write one question before any discussion starts.
What to notice
Reading what happens
- The level of the questions against the stems' demand: are pupils using the stems, or writing what is X underneath them?
- Questions that reveal gaps or misconceptions; a generated question is evidence as well as enquiry.
- How discussion of a pupil's question differs from discussion of yours.
Things to think about
Before and while you use it
- Stems need modelling like anything else; write a few questions with the class before expecting them alone.
- The generation is where the processing happens, so the questions are worth something even when there is no time to answer them all.
The wider thinking
Where the evidence sits
King's guided questioning studies sit behind this whole cluster; the stems are her mechanism for lifting student questions above recall. The card’s attribution stands as published: King.
The fuller picture, sources included, is in further reading and evidence for Questioning & Discussion.
Keep exploring
Where next?
Back to this strategy in 04 Questioning & Discussion, across to what you're trying to improve, or into all 144 at once.
Want to take this further?
Support is available
Pedagogy First gives you a starting point. If you want support exploring how approaches like this can work across your school, trust or professional learning programme, that work is available.