Open-ended Questions
Open-ended Questions: asking open ended questions encourages a person to give a full meaningful explanation using their own knowledge and words. They are helpful because they invite the person to give a longer response, revealing more information
Why Use? The purpose of asking an open-ended question is to get the person to speak in more detail so that you can gather more information with the goal being to gain a better understanding of that person.
Types of Open-ended questions:
Information gathering: used to get more information/details about something
Examples:
Clarifying: Used to clarify generalizations or confusing statements
Examples:
Probing: used to get specific details, or to dig deeper into something
Examples:
**Combining the use of open-ended questions with paraphrasing and empathic responses can provide a teacher with the skills to become an effective active listener**
Why Use? The purpose of asking an open-ended question is to get the person to speak in more detail so that you can gather more information with the goal being to gain a better understanding of that person.
Types of Open-ended questions:
Information gathering: used to get more information/details about something
Examples:
- “ Tell me more about how you are doing outside at recess”
- “ How did you react when you heard that Jenny told Sarah about…”
Clarifying: Used to clarify generalizations or confusing statements
Examples:
- “ Help me understand what you meant when you talk about feeling like things aren’t fair”
- “ Can you describe what you mean when you say you feel like no one understands you?”
Probing: used to get specific details, or to dig deeper into something
Examples:
- “ When did you start feeling like you weren’t a good friend?”
- “ What happened next?”
**Combining the use of open-ended questions with paraphrasing and empathic responses can provide a teacher with the skills to become an effective active listener**
