Open-Ended Questioning with Bloom's

Posted by Joseph Machado on Aug 18, 2011 8:37:00 AM

Authentic assessment methods assess, among other things, students' abilities to use higher-order thinking skills to express content knowledge.  Open-ended questioning is a form of authentic assessment, and allows students to use higher-order thinking skills through a variety of content areas.  By their nature, open-ended questions assess writing, conceptual understanding, and thinking skills - especially students' abilities to analyze, to evaluate, and to solve problems.

When I was in the classroom I found using questioning strategies designed for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy to be the most effective.

Lower Order Thinking Skills typically only require rote knowledge and basic comprehension to answer.  In order for students to think critically about information they must master the basics of these skills.  Some questions might be:

How would you identify?
Describe what happens when __________?
How would you clarify the meaning ________?
What can you infer from _________?
What would the result be if __________?
How would you change _________?

Higher Order Thinking Skills typically require students to problem solve, organize and identify patterns, define relationships and create new ideas from known information, and recognize there are various viewpoints.  Some questions might be:

How could you verify __________?
What data was used to evaluate __________?
Discuss the pros and cons of __________?
How can you classify _________ according to ________?
What alternative would you suggest for _________?
What could you invent _________?

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Topics: questioning, understanding, constructivism

The 21st century classroom – where the 3 R’s meet the 4 C’s!

Posted by Melinda Kolk on Mar 30, 2011 2:55:00 PM

Our world is changing and changing rapidly.  But while we often see digital natives on the covers of contemporary magazines, we have students in our classrooms from both sides of the divide.  A 21st-century classroom must engage and energize both natives and non-natives, preparing all students to be active participants in our exciting global community.

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Topics: creativity, creative software, engage, 21st century classroom, multimedia, constructivism, collaboration

A Constructivist Classroom is a 21st-Century Classroom

Posted by Joseph Machado on Feb 4, 2011 10:19:00 AM

I wrote a piece for Creative Educator magazine titled "Developing 21st Century Learning Environments".  The article discusses our traditional notion of learning environments revolving around places and spaces and how an effective learning environment does not have to be limited to these things.  The classroom of today should look much different from that of the past.

Today individuals are finding new ways of being and functioning in the 21st century that look much different from those of generations before.  Mindfulness is on the rise and not just by those who embark on the path of yoga or meditation.  Today schools are focusing more on social and emotional skills with their student population. 

Helping students to be aware and mindful of what they are feeling and how to self-regulate those emotions in order to sustain themselves with the demands of the classroom and world today.  In other words giving students the ability and skills to construct their own way of being.  Sound familiar?!  



A constructivist classroom fosters critical thinking, flexibility, creativity, active learning, and more.  All of which are standards of what a 21st century classroom should reflect. 

It is not just about technology; to sustain a 21st century classroom educators need to move from a transmittal instructional practice to a constructivist and transactional model.  I believe in order for students to be successful in and out of the classroom today we need to create learning environments that give students the permission to construct knowledge, not receive it.

Not sure how to get started with this transition? Tech4Learning can help

Tech4Learning can support your district's sustained professional learning program with training opportunities that provide new ideas and renewed energy. Our workshops help you create 21st century classrooms through a creative constructivist approach with effective technology integration and project-based learning.

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Topics: 21st century classroom, professional development, constructivism

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