Learning Center

Using Questions Effectively
Questions are an important tool to utilize during a tutoring session. By knowing how to use questions effectively you as the tutor can guide the tutee's thinking instead of doing it for them. This in turn will help them to become more independent. The more independent the tutee becomes, the better tutor you are. Below are some types of questions used.
Open Ended Questions
Require an explanation rather than a one word answer. They are questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” response. With the proper use using open ended questions can: • Identify tutee’s strengths • Identify gaps in tutee’s understanding of a concept • Give the tutee the leeway to figure out the answer for themselves	Examples: • Where do you think we should start? • What are the steps involved in working this problem? • What will happen if what you said is true?	Tips for Questioning: 1.) Rephrase questions. Try repeating your question in a slightly different manner 2.) Break your original question into smaller parts 3.) Change the inflection of your voice when repeating the original question

Probing Questions
Probing questions can be used to help the student understand or review a concept. A probing response forces the tutor to listen carefully, and pushes the tutee to think and move beyond the first statement. The following are examples of different types of probing questions:
Clarifying:	Examples
Asking a student for more information or meaning, restate.	• Anything else? • Tell me more. • Can you be more specific?	• What do you mean by that? • What's an example of that?
Challenging:	Examples
Asking a student to justify, reflect, or think about an answer.	• What are you assuming? • How can that be?	• How would you do that? • Are you sure?
Refocusing:	Examples
Asking the student to relate the answer to another idea or topic.	• How is that related to ___?	• If this were true, then what would happen if ___?
Prompting:	Examples
Giving a student a hint, or rephrasing a question to help lead to the answer after a student has tried and failed to understand.	• Let me put it another way...Here's a clue • So what's the first step?	• Remember when we talked about _____?
Requesting Summary:	Examples
Asking for a restatement of what has just been said or learned, in terms of content and process.	• Ok. Now say back to me what we just discussed.	• Now you teach it to me. • Summarize the steps for me.

Closed Questions
Closed questions are "inquiring" ones that require only a yes or no response. They limit the response of the tutee.	Example • Do you understand?

Information contributed by Kentucky Community and Technical College System & DeAnza College