Questions,+Cues,+&+Advanced+Organizers

 Questions, Cues, & Advanced Organizers East Stroudsburg

Michelle Arnold, Irene Duggins, and Gail Kulick


 * Students learn best when their curiosity has been peaked, they have prior knowledge of the topic or have been provided with opportunities to enhance their background knowledge of the topic being presented. As cited by Brewer and Treyens (1981), background knowledge can not only aid in the understanding of new information being presented, but also can influence how that information is being perceived. To ensure that students receive a vast array of strategies to help activate prior knowledge, strategies and tools such as cues, questions, advanced organizers are often utilized in our schools on a daily basis. **

**What are "Cues and Questions"? **

According to Robert Marzano, 2001, cues involve the act of providing "hints" regarding what information or experience in which students will be engaged. Cues can also be visual or verbal prompts to either remind the student what has already been learned or provide an opportunity to learn something new. Cues can also be employed to prompt student use of a strategy (Pat Beckman, 2002), or a cue can provide students with the necessary foundation regarding the topic to be introduced. Regardless of the use of cueing, it, as is questioning, can encompass as much as eighty percent of what occurs during instruction on any given day (Davis, O.L. & Tinsley, 1967; Fillippone, 1998).


 * Create teams with diverse strengths
 * Provide relevant pictorial cues
 * Provide discussion guidelines
 * Provide a KWL Chart for students to brainstorm
 * Provide questions representing the various levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, i.e. provide explicit cues (literal level), elicit inferences (inferential level), and analytical questions (critical level)
 * Provide Cues that promote the use of Howard Gardner's Theory of Mulitiple Intelligences, i.e. create a poster that will demonstrate your knowledge of the Prairie Dog's Habitat, when introducing the United States have student interact on a large scale copy (see the below examples).

**What might cues look using an MI Theory approach look like?** 

When introducing lesson regarding the United States, a teacher could provide a large map (Spatial) as a cue. This map could then be used to allow students to work in groups (interpersonal), discuss what they know about the United States and then create questions regarding what they would like to know about the United States (verbal/linguistic).



Another cue could be one that appeals to the musical or auditory learner. To introduce a lesson, a teacher could play the song, "Fifty, Nifty United States", then asking the students to make a prediction as to what they will be learning about.



Questioning serves a similar purpose in a lesson as does cueing. Questioning as opposed using of cues to activate the students' knowledge of a subject or guiding student thought towards the more important information, is used to evaluate the overall student knowledge regarding the topic at hand. Questioning can also serve as a vital means to activating prior knowledge and making connections between what the students believe or know to be true and the new information. The more indepth or difficult a concept or the study of a topic, ever so more important is the effective use of cues and questions, particularly when providing instruction to students with vast degrees of varying personal experiences or customs, such as English Language Learners (Ovando and colleagues, 2003).

When preparing to utilize questions in a lesson, the following forms can, and often are the preferred question-answer patterns (Simich-Dudgeon, 1998) :


 * 1) **Question-response-evaluation.** The teacher asks a question and then appraises the answer.
 * 2) **Question-response-feedback.** The teacher asks a question, the student answers, and then the teacher provides feedback. The teacher feedback takes the form of paraphrasing the student's answer, which leads to the student rephrasing his response.
 * 3) **Student-organized interaction.** Students ask and answer questions in small groups. The teacher becomes a facilitator and discussion participant.

The preferred patterns, particularly with ELL students, are often the "Question-Response-Feedback" and the "Student-Organized Interaction." Each of these patterns not only encourages ELL students to practice and adapt their vocabulary skills, but each can also require the students to evaluate their own position and understanding of the topic.

As teachers implement the use of these question-answer patterns, they must be careful to provide at least three-seconds of wait time in order to allow for students to make connections. Additionally, when using any question-answer pattern, it is essential that teachers have an in depth understanding and knowledge of each student's own developmental stages, levels, and language acquisition.

**What are "Advanced Organizers" and how are they utilized when introducing concepts, lessons, etc? **

The concept of Advance Organizers was first popularized in 1968 by a psychologist by the name of David Ausubel. Mr. Ausuble developed the advanced organizer as a means to introduce material "in advance" of learning. The organizers were developed to bridge what information the student already knows and what he needs to know in order to demonstrate fully task proficiency.

Advanced Organizers are closely related to "Cues" and "Questioning", particularly in regard to the manner in which they are utilized when determining student prior student knowledge, guiding students through the essential information, and assisting with the organization of information that could prove to be overwhelming or not well organized.

Not all Advanced Organizers are appropriate for all types of tasks. Likewise, not all Advanced Organizers are appropriate for all types of learners.

For example, students with stronger spatial learning style would benefit from using Advanced Organizers such as this colorful Venn diagram. Through organizers such as this particular one, the students can quickly brainstorm their prior knowledge and then easily use that information to compare and contrast two objects. For students who are more of linguistic learners, this type of organizer may appear too abstract and they would benefit from one which allows for more listing, such as an outline or a flow chart.

The below organizer presented is indicative of one which provides students with a more structure to their presentation of prior information (linguistic learners).​

To the right is an example of an organizer which integrates the use of pertinent questions and then allows the students to organize what they know, or believe to be true.

There are many types of organizers that can be used to assist students in both organizing their prior knowledge, as well as including new knowledge gained through instruction. To see a vast array of organizers, click on [|Advanced Organizers]

**Non-Examples:** The following two examples demonstrate some problems that the use of an improper graphic organizer, or questions that are too general or obscure can create for some students. Volcanoes 1. How many volcanoes are in the United States? 2. How many volcanoes erupted in the 1980's? 3. Can the lava from volcanoes travel far?

Each of the above questions, although they may be thought to be interesting are not good examples for the following reasons:

1. The are all in the literal level of Blooms Taxonomy. Question should cause students to stretch their thinking skills. Students tend to become more interested in a topic when they are expected to use critical thinking skills.

2. Asking students questions that are not of relevance to them will not hook them into the lesson. Historical facts that are not connected to any pertinent informantion holds little to no meaning.

3. Should the classroom have ELL students in it, they may be unfamiliar with content area vocabulary.

Advanced Organizers that are lengthy and difficult to follow, such as the one above may lead to confusion and frustration. Advanced Organizers should be easy for students both to follow and respond. Additionally, for students who have attention difficulties, busy graphs can be too stimulating and increase off-task behaviors.

In conclusion, the use of cues, questioning, and advanced organizers when introducing new information is pertinent to helping students see and experience the known and can bring a greater degree of understanding of the unknown. Not only are each of these introductory lesson activities important to enhancing content knowledge, but they can also lead to a larger content vocabulary (Stone, 1983), stronger study and organizational skills, and an opportunity to apply critical thinking skills (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, 2001).

Works Cited:

Marzano, R., Pickering, D., and Pollock, J. (2001), //Classroom Instruction That Works//, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Marzano, R.,(2007), //The Art and Science of Teaching//, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Tomlinson, C., (1999), //The Differentiated Classrooom - Responding to the Needs of All Learners//, Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development