Facilitation Techniques: Open-ended Questions

This is the first in a series of Facilitation Tips for Caring School Community. 

In your Teacher’s Calendar (found in your Teacher's Package), you’ll notice that there is a row devoted to Teacher Facilitation Techniques. We hope that these facilitation techniques will help reinforce many best practices you are already using. As you know, open-ended questions are those for which there is no single right or wrong answer. They give students the opportunity to express their opinions, thoughts, experiences, and rationale. Open-ended questions seem simple but I was surprised by how many close-ended questions I ask when I first started paying attention. The simple act of asking in that way can invite more participation, conversation, and authentic discussion.

Here are a few examples of open-ended questions (taken from The Power of Our Words by Paula Denton):

Actively problem solving: “What might help?” “What do you think will happen next?”
Reflecting on experiences: “What would you do differently if you did this again?”
Generating ideas and goals: “How could you figure out the answer to this problem?”

We strive to provide open-ended questions throughout CSC. Asking questions that clarify or extend a student’s answer or that connect others to a student’s response also are useful facilitation skills beyond class meetings and throughout the school day. The answers and resulting discussions are far more interesting for us as teachers and far more rewarding for students.

How have students responded to open-ended questions in your classroom?

Ginger Cook is the Manager of State and District Partnerships at Developmental Studies Center.