First, the form of questions
According to the certainty of the answer to the question, Davis divided the question into closed questions and open questions. Therefore, teachers' questioning forms can be divided into two types: closed questioning and open questioning. The main characteristics of open-ended questioning are: the uncertainty of conditions, methods and strategies for solving problems and conclusions, that is, the openness of conditions, methods, strategies and conclusions. Closed-ended questions are characterized by complete conditions and only one answer. ③ The answer to the closed question is single and fixed. If the proportion is too large, it is easy to limit students' thinking. The answers to open questions are flexible, diverse and uncertain, which encourages the diversity and divergence of students' thinking. However, in the current kindergarten collective teaching activities, there are many closed questions and few open questions. Two master's degree theses show that in 2007 and 20 10, the proportion of closed questions in kindergarten Chinese activities was as high as 80%. O% and 62.2%. ④⑤
After analysis, the author found that in these two excellent public election activities, teachers' questioning is different from the normal situation of teachers' questioning at present. Both teachers mainly ask open questions, and rarely ask closed questions. The total number of questions raised by teachers in activity 1 is 55, including 47 open questions and 8 closed questions. In activity 2, the total number of questions raised by teachers is 39, including 29 open questions and 1O closed questions. The proportion of closed questions in the two public activities is only 14.5% and 25.6%, which is far lower than the above survey data of 80.0% and 62.2%. The total number of open questions in the two public activities was 85.5% and 74.4% respectively. In addition, further data analysis shows that these open-ended questions are mainly guided by interrogative words such as "What", "How" and "Why", and more than 60.0% of the open-ended questions are "What" and "How", such as "What do you think the enemy is" and "How did they end the war".
Second, the level of questioning.
In addition to focusing on closed-ended questions, another major drawback of teachers' questions is the lack of hierarchy. In kindergarten teaching, teachers often don't follow the principles of easy before difficult, easy after difficult, and step by step, and ask difficult questions at will or by leaps and bounds without bedding, which makes the questions general and general, lacking hierarchy and logic. ⑥
After analyzing the questions raised by the teachers in these two public activities, the author found that although the two teachers raised 55 and 39 questions respectively in 30 minutes, there was an obvious hierarchical structure between these questions. According to the topic and function of teachers' questions, there are only 1 3 key questions among the 55 questions in activity1,and other questions are the support, extension or expansion of key questions. There are only 7 key questions among the 39 questions in Activity 2. Let's take the second key question in Activity 2 as an example:
Teacher 2: How did the two enemies deal with their respective enemies in this war? (shooting)
Teacher 2: Besides shooting at each other, how do they deal with their enemies? (sneak attack)
Teacher 2: Are these two soldiers sneaking around?
Teacher 2: When does the enemy think is the best time to sneak attack? (at night)
Teacher 2: What else did they encounter during the sneak attack that night? (The enemy disguised himself as a lion)
Teacher 2: Who doesn't agree with him? Say it again?
The teacher first threw out the key question "how do the two enemies deal with their own enemies in this war?" Then a child quickly said, "shoot." Then, the teacher summarized and asked questions according to the children's answers: "Besides shooting at each other, how to deal with their respective enemies?" Some children use the words "sneak attack" to answer. After hearing the child say the word "sneak attack", the teacher asked questions with "sneak attack" three times in a row, which deepened the child's perception and understanding of the word "sneak attack". Then, the teacher closely focused on the key question and asked, "What else did they encounter when they attacked that night?" The children came up with an answer containing the word "disguise". Finally, the teacher did not stop at the existing answers, but explored the opposing views of the existing thinking, "Who disagrees with his statement, we will talk about it again", encouraging children to actively use their imagination and find different solutions.
In the above cases, the teacher asked questions step by step from the easy to the deep, and from the easy to the difficult. At the same time, it can expand the children's vocabulary, enrich their knowledge and experience, and build a conceptual system. The whole questioning process is clear and logical. This kind of hierarchical questioning can not only stimulate children to think positively, promote children's in-depth understanding of the story, but also help children clear their minds and form good thinking habits.
Third, the perspective of questioning.
The proportion of open questions and the hierarchy of questions are important indicators to measure the quality of teachers' questions. In kindergarten teaching activities, how can we put forward high-quality problems that meet the above indicators? From what angles can questioning effectively promote children's thinking development? Paul, director of the Center for Critical Thinking and Moral Criticism at California State University, Sonomo, believes that students should think from four perspectives, which should be the perspective of teachers' questions, namely, the timing of thinking, the basis of thinking, the opposition to other thinking, and the influence and result of thinking. ⑦ According to these four angles, the author classifies 94 questions in the two activities, and then illustrates how to ask questions effectively from these four angles with examples.
First of all, about the opportunity to think.
Teachers' questions should be based on children's existing information, knowledge and experience, and encourage children to actively seek and find opportunities for thinking. Such questions can provide a good "thinking opportunity" for children, stimulate children to think positively, and then trigger a heated discussion among children. The author extracts some questions about thinking opportunities from two activities, such as:
Teacher 1: After we finished reading this book yesterday. Do you have any questions and findings?
Teacher 1: What do you think is the enemy?
1 division: what will the enemy find when they arrive at the cave? what do you think?
Teacher 2: Who can tell me how many enemies there are in this book?
Teacher 2: There have been wars between many countries. Will they become enemies or friends in the end?
Second, about the basis of thinking.
By asking questions like "Why do you believe this?" And "why do people believe this?" Teachers should guide children to explore the evidence and reasons for a certain point of view. The main purpose of asking questions from the basis of thinking is to strengthen children's evidence consciousness of ideological exploration and carry forward the exploration spirit of children's bold questioning.
Teacher 1: Why are the enemies cruel and heartless? Where did you see it?
Teacher 1: Think about what is written in the book.
Teacher 2: (They both have parents) How do you know?
Teacher 2: (They may become friends) Tell me your reasons?
Teacher 2: Who can give an example to show that two countries can still be friends after a war?
Third, about the opposition with other thinking.
Teachers can generally reach a consensus on how to treat different opinions and ideas put forward by young children: respect and encouragement. Therefore, in teaching activities, teachers are not encouraged to use questions such as "yes" and "yes" to pursue consistent answers, but to ask "Are there any other ideas" and "Who disagrees with his point of view? Let's talk about it. " The opposition to other thinking is an important angle to ask the question of seeking the opposite sex, which can effectively arouse children's different views and help children think, understand and solve problems from multiple angles and levels.
Teacher 1: Does anyone have any different questions?
Teacher 1: You think so. Who else can talk?
Teacher 1: Any other ideas?
Teacher 2: (I disagree) What's your opinion?
Teacher 2: Who doesn't agree with him? Say it again?
Teacher 2: What's the difference if two soldiers are friends?
Fourth, about the influence and result of thinking.
In kindergarten teaching activities, children can often put forward various ideas on a certain issue, but these ideas may be naive or even whimsical. With the growth of age, especially in large classes, children's thinking ability is constantly developing. If the teacher can ask something like "What will happen if we believe this?" And "what should I do if I put it into practice?" It can encourage children to think about the rationality and operability of a certain point of view and develop a habit of thinking that pursues prudence and maturity.
T 1: How do you think they will end the war?
T 1: The soldier has been in the cave for a long time, so how does he feel in the cave?
Teacher 2: Let's discuss, is there any way to end the war quickly?
Teacher 2: Whether using stones or paper, what are their functions?
Teacher 2: Do you think the war stopped at the end of the story?
By analyzing the questioning contents of two excellent Chinese teaching activities, the author finds that these two teachers are obviously different from ordinary teachers in the form, level and angle of questioning. Statistical analysis data show that the two outstanding teachers mainly ask open questions, and there are very few closed questions; There is a clear hierarchy and logic between problems; The questions are targeted. Ask questions from four angles of children's thinking. On the one hand, the two teachers' high-quality questions help children understand the story better, on the other hand, they also provide a good example for children to think about problems.