Guidelines in Preparing ThoughtProvoking Questions in Science

Irene M. Guillermo

1.Appreciate the fact that the question is a forum for clarification and instruction. 2.Have an understanding of human growth and development such that individual variations in skills, backgrounds and interests are taken into account.

3.Understand how the learning process takes place. Today's thinking question could be tomorrow's memory problem. A memory question for one learner could be a thinking question for another learner.

4.Understand the priorities and objectives to be accomplished.

5.Be able to think easily and rapidly as mental changes are made to the style of thinking of the learner.

6.To be able to identify explicitly when the learners do not understand the questions. Rephrase the questions in a clearer way.

7.To be able to diagnose the causes for not knowing the problems. Questions may be too long or too complex, or they may simply contain terms that they cannot understand.

8.Possess a vocabulary from which thought-provoking questions can be formulated.

9.Understand the basic concepts of the questioning technique.

10.Have a context to meaningful knowledge. This is a basic springboard to a lot of important questions.

11.Understand the importance of formulating key questions before teaching, which will serve as a basis for growing comprehension and formulating further questions.

12.Feel at ease when you admit that you don't know the answer, and ask the learners to help you find the answer.

13.Understand that unsolicited questions on the part of the learners are an indicator that the teacher has done a good job of raising the interest and excitement of the learners in the learning situation.

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The author is Teacher II at Marawi High School