Mini-Course Background Info

Click link to: Megan Myones Portfolio | Click link to: Stimulating Student Curiosity with the QFT (Question Formulation Technique) | To return to Spring ETAP 623 click here.

Needs Assessment

Instructional problem: It can be difficult to engage students in learning. It is also difficult for students to take the lead in questioning and discussion as well. Most of the time, teachers are the ones who are always asking questions. Students would benefit from taking the lead in designing their own powerful questions.

Intended Setting: Classroom settings of grades 6-12 (will also benefit college level)

Participants: Teachers of all content areas

Intended change you are expecting or desiring: Student curiosity will increase and classroom discussion will be student-led. Instructors will serve as facilitators, and provide instructional support in designing and assessing questions. Questions created by students can be used as essential questions for a new unit, questions on future assessments, and questions for classroom discussion.

Supporting details: The QFT is a process that is best used before launching a new unit or topic, and is also best used right before the end.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

Who are the learners?

For this mini-course, the targeted learners are composed of secondary education teachers, university teachers, and community college professors. Content areas consist of Math, English, Biology, Foreign Language, Entrepreneurship, and Law.

Learner Analysis

Learners in this mini-course have never used or heard of the QFT before. It is anticipated that they will enjoy incorporating this strategy as a way to jump off a new unit, assess prior knowledge, and assess knowledge at the end of a unit and/or given topics. Currently, many of the learners already use their own unique ways of beginning a new topic. Some examples are: recapping previous units and bridging two topics, reflections, journaling, Socratic method, and dip sticking questions. Examples in which the learners assess their students at the end of a unit are: end of unit test, the culmination of exit tickets throughout a unit, essay, project-based activities, dip sticking and written application questions. Based on the analysis of the needs assessment, the learners stated that they sometimes or never provide students the opportunity to lead the discussion by generating their own questions.

Context for Instruction

Participants in this course will engage in learning through the use of visuals, online videos, analysis of examples and non-examples, and mini-assessments. Learners were given the opportunity to vote on which topics/themes would be interesting for their students to explore. Based on the analysis of all votes, learners seem to be most interested in the topic on¨Growth and Change: Strategies for Managing Conflict¨. As a result, this learning course will demonstrate the QFT using this specific topic. This will not only provide more relevance for the learnerś, but also for their own students as well.

Task Analysis

See the curriculum map below...

Curriculum Map

References and Resources

Chandler, S. (2016, January 29). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg3WuOUzlmM&t=161s

Edpuzzle. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://edpuzzle.com/

Institute, R. (2015, January 23). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJJ6V4p1nfs

Institute, R. (2015, August 28). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfXEf0nG51I&t=35s

Institute, R. (2016, March 14). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wrIIDNECUQ

Institute, R. (2017, January 27). Stimulate Student Curiosity with the Question Formulation Technique QFT. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dhg13QBOBM&t=29s

Melville, A., & Minigan, A. P. (n.d.). Using the Question Formulation Technique to Guide Primary Source Learning [Digital image]. Retrieved from https://www.ebsco.com/blog/article/using-the-question-formulation-technique-to-guide-primary-source-learning

Question Formulation Technique (QFT) [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://teacherkickoff.weebly.com/qft.html

Rosensweig, A., Hertz, C., & Handler, M. (n.d.). [QFT Infographic]. Retrieved from https://www.wbais.net/about/october-articles/~board/october-newsletter/post/teaching-students-to-ask-their-own-questions-question-formulation-technique-in-the-4th-grade-classroom

“Teaching Learning.” Right Question Institute, rightquestion.org/education/.

American Psychological Association 6th edition formatting by CitationMachine.net.