Module 9

Use of Probing Questions

• The tutor will learn the importance of and techniques for using probing questions within a tutoring session.

Questioning

Tutoring is not about handing out answers.  Although there will be times when the tutor needs to give the client information in order to fill in knowledge gaps, a critical skill for tutors to learn is the art of questioning.

Questioning is important in three ways:

• To evaluate what the client knows
• To help the client to learn the material
• To check for comprehension

1. To evaluate what the client knows:

Clients often claim that they know little or nothing about the subject at hand: they are frustrated and confused, and they just want you to explain the material to them.

At the beginning of every new concept/problem that is being covered, the tutor should ask some simple questions to discover what the client knows about the material.  Don't just assume that the client knows nothing!  Don't jump in and start lecturing the material before assessing what the client already knows.  You may have to prompt the client to get some initial answers.

The client almost always knows more than he/she thinks!

For example:

Client: I don't understand anything about conversion disorder.  I'm totally confused!

Tutor: Yes, that can be a confusing topic.  Tell me anything you know about it.

Client: I really am clueless here.

Tutor: Okay, if you had to guess, what do you think conversion disorder would be?

Client: I think it has something to do with when something bad happens, the person converts that bad thing to something going wrong with his body.

Tutor: Good!  You're on the right track. 

2. To help the client learn the material:

Socratic Questioning

Socratic questioning is a very specific kind of questioning used when the tutor wishes to bring the client around to the correct answer.  The tutor asks a series of simple questions, and the client's answers eventually build to the answer.  This is extremely effective for teaching problem-solving skills.

To use the same example from above, after the tutor ascertained what the client knows about conversion disorder, she proceeded to use Socratic questioning to bring the client around to discovering a definition.

For example:

Client: I don't understand anything about conversion disorder.  I'm totally confused!

Tutor: Yes, that can be a confusing topic.  Tell me anything you know about it.

Client: I really am clueless here.

Tutor: Okay, if you had to guess, what do you think conversion disorder would be?

Client: I think it has something to do with when something bad happens, the person converts that bad thing to something going wrong with his body.

Tutor: Good!  You're on the right track. 

Client: I still don't understand it completely, though.

Tutor: What do you think might physically happen to a child who sees something awful, such as a murder? 

Client: Maybe she would have nightmares?

Tutor: Okay, yes, but if a specific organ in her body was affected by this trauma, maybe even one of her senses, what do you think it might be?

Client: Well, if she saw the murder, maybe she would go blind?

Tutor: Right!  So a child sees a murder and then loses her vision.  Can you give me another example?

Client: How about if a person is afraid of giving a speech and loses their voice?

Tutor: Good.  So how would you define conversion disorder in your own words?

Client: You lose something physical due to a trauma.

Tutor: Yes.  How does that compare to your textbook's definition?

Client: The book says the loss of physical function is usually in a single organ system.

Tutor: Great!  Okay, let's write down your definition, the book's definition, and some examples on your Vocabulary Matrix.

3. To check for comprehension

The following types of questions can be used to help the client learn the material and to check for comprehension.

Questions of Clarification

• What do you mean by…?
• What is your main point?
• How does _______ relate to ________ ?
• Could you put that another way?
• What do you think the main issue is here?
• Is your basic point _________ or __________ ?
• Summarize in your own words what I just said.
• Could you give an example?
• Would this be an example?
• Could you explain that further?

Questions that Probe Assumptions

• What are you assuming by that?
• What could we assume instead?
• You seem to be assuming ___________.  Am I understanding you correctly?
• You seem to be assuming ___________.  How do you justify this as your position?
• All of your reasoning is dependent on the fact that __________.  Why have you based your reasoning on _________ rather than __________ ?

Questions that Probe Reason and Evidence:

• What would be an example?
• Why do you say that?
• Why do you think that is right?
• What led you in that belief?
• How does this apply to this case?
• What would convince you otherwise?
• How could we go about finding out if that is true?
• By what reasoning did you come to that conclusion?
• Are those reasons adequate?
• Could you explain your reasons to me?
• What provides good evidence for that?

Questions about Viewpoints or Perspectives:

• What would someone who disagrees say about that?
• What is an alternative?
• What would be the opposite side of this argument?
• How are these two ideas/theories/concepts alike and different?

Questions that Probe Implications and Consequences:

• What are you implying by that?
• When you say ________ are you implying _________ ?
• But if that happened, what else would also happen as a result?
• What would cause that to happen?

No matter what kinds of questions or strategies (such as quizzes) you use to check for comprehension, please do not ask "Do you understand?" and leave it at that.  The client will often say "yes" even if he or she does not fully understand.

Tutor Quiz 9 - L2