On average, teachers ask 400 questions per day, or roughly 70,000 questions per year. What are all these questions for? How do teachers come up with all these questions in the first place? What strategies are used for coming up with questions in the moment that are responsive to student thinking? In what ways do these questions cultivate curiosity, foster dialogue, and build your students’ science identities?

At its heart, crafting high-quality questions and knowing when to use them is a difficult skill to master. In this workshop, we will begin to explore the tip of this skill iceberg by examining the various questioning models, tactics, and mindsets that exist. We will explore the anatomy of a question, how the anatomy of a question can promote different thought actions in students, and explore different frameworks with which to analyze questions. We will then conclude with time to practice questions on the fly! Join us for a workshop that will help you refine your Socratic questioning skills to inspire and co-generate thinking with your students!

This is part of our series on conducting investigations in your classroom. Click HERE for the full listings, including workshops on the Question Formulation Technique, turning your classroom into a lab, and more. Listings updated regularly; check back for additions!