EdCoach Questioning app for iPhone and iPad

EdCoach Questioning is a teacher coaching app.

Questioning technique is at the centre of high quality instructional practice.

Questioning allows a teacher to assess the current level of knowledge of students and enables the teacher to differentiate the lesson to meet diverse learning needs. Good questioning technique models good inquiry for students and can challenge students to move beyond their current practice or thinking.

Purpose of the App.
This App deals with the pattern of questions that you might ask in a lesson. It is based on a taxonomy of questions for which Bloom’s taxonomy was the principle input.

The principle behind the App is that the questions you ask of students must be linked to your purpose or objective for the lesson. No group of questions is intrinsically better or worse than another group of questions, but some groups are more likely to lead students to the intended outcome or purpose of the lesson.

Skill Development
To conduct an effective group discussion that leads students to further inquiry is a valuable but complex skill that takes years to master. Understanding the cognitive skills required to respond to the type of question you ask is a good first step.

There is more to questioning technique than just asking a spread of questions. There is also how you ask the questions; to whom and when; how you and others respond to the answers; the use of ‘wait time’. These will be covered in future Apps from the TLN team.

Using this App
When we designed the App we imagined that you would invite a trusted colleague into your classroom to observe a lessor or portion of a lesson; that you would discuss and record the purpose of the lesson; and then ask your colleague to ‘map’ the type of questions you asked using this App.

At the end of the observation you would have a discussion starting with:
Did your pattern of questions in the observation time contribute to achieving the purpose of your lessor or sequence? Did the pattern of questions contribute to any unintended consequences – negative or positive?

The App gives you data and some prompts and questions for a professional conversation with your colleague. The App will then email a copy of a report to you.