Practicum+Three

=**Levels of Questioning**=

I find it hard to come up with the higher order thinking question for the pace my Cooperating Teacher must keep. I understand he must go that speed for the benefit of the students, but as I think about how I want to approach my lesson, I find it hard not to want to keep the lower level questioning throughout the sections until the chapter is complete. By then the students can see how interrelated topics are and it might make it easier to understand overall. For example, when the topic of gravitation is introduced, it is confusing to see it paired with torque and simple machines. However, as the chapter progresses, students are able to relate the concepts well. Mr. Smith's higher order thinking questions stem from an in depth exploration of the concepts before formulas are introduced. I am used to formulas first, questions later in my courses. By introducing the concepts well first, higher order thinking questions can be presented early and understood earlier. Examples of what Mr. Smith introduces in the way of levels of questioning are as follows. When introducing Lewis structures, he asks the students to define valence electrons and the octet rule which is the first level of questioning. He then asks them why the octet rule and number of electrons affect the bonding of atoms (the second step). He then asks the students to create the Lewis structures from what they know of the octet rule, valence electrons and the "habits" of the atoms. The only thing that does not follow the four levels of questioning is that he asks students to relate what they are working with before he discusses it in class. He knows the are familiar with the content from the text book because of the reading assignments and he jumps into a higher order thinking question then backs off to lower order thinking questions. It works well but I will have to see the day to day movement through the topics more closely before coming to conclusions.