Levels of Questions

For the past three summers I have attended the Summer Institute sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning Resources at the University at Buffalo. One of the presentations this summer was entitled “Developing Autonomous Learners” presented by Dr. Kelly Ahuna and Dr. Christine Tinnesz of UB’s Methods of Inquiry Program. They described how faculty may use questions to facilitate the learning process for students. Ahuna and Tinnesz identified four levels of questions. Level 1 addresses data. These are questions which point to facts. Level 2 includes conceptual questions which use data in analysis. These questions involve students in identifying patterns and connections. Students describe, discuss, compare, contrast, solve, structure, and relate. Level 3 is hypotheses. These questions speculate about changes in data or concepts. These include questions of what if, suppose, predict. Level 4 is judgment. These questions call for critical judgment, conclusions, or choice. Students might rank or value. Each level of questioning prompts students to dig deeper into a subject and exercise critical thinking.