Some services described in the publication may no longer be available. Asking more effective classroom questions can encourage all students to think at higher cognitive levels and ask questions of their own that will ultimately lead to improved learning. And similarly, the model program has spread to schools throughout Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and beyond the Laboratory region. A personal commitment from participants is necessary for success with the program. Participants meet in seven 90-minute seminars throughout the school year to learn, share, and interact about particular questioning behaviors targeted for practice and improvement.
Teachers observe and are observed by partners six times during the year.
Both large and small schools have enjoyed success with the program with faculty size ranging from 8 to more than 80 teachers. Larger faculties may require more members on the local facilitation team to be able to conduct the collegiums. Classroom questioning practice has been the focus of numerous education researchers for over 100 years. Although it is widely assumed that classroom questioning promotes student thinking and learning, research in actual classrooms indicates that current practice falls far short. Most of these classroom questions are not well prepared and do not serve the purpose of prompting students to think.