‘Questioning is the basic tool of the teacher and so, like the butcher’s knife, it should be sharp, efficient and wisely used’. This quote from the introduction to the book sets the tone for what follows. The author suggests that teachers need to have the right mindset when questioning that takes into account the underlying purposes of the dialogue and is supportive of a ‘questioning classroom’. Worley is the co-CEO and co-founder of The Philosophy Foundation and has worked in this field for the past twenty years.
The book includes quick, easy and practical ideas that are grouped as follows: ’Question types and structures’, ‘Developing a questioning classroom’, ‘Questioning strategies’, ‘Question delivery’, ‘Speaker selection’, and ‘Building children’s questioning and enquiry skills’. Each of the ideas has a catchy title and quote, followed by a summary of the idea, and a step-by-step guide to implementing it and with extension activities. This short text would be of value to any member of staff who is interested in developing a deeper understanding of the ways that questioning can activate children’s thinking and imagination.
Author: P. Worley, Publisher: Bloomsbury Education, ISBN: 978-1-4729-5741-2, Price: £14.99
Book reviews