Open-Ended Questions

** Taken from: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_20_examples_of_open_ended_questions

How to Ask Open Ended Questions

DAILY PRACTICE

Practice using Open-Ended Questions throughout your day. Remember you want a broad-based response, so your questions should be phrased in such a way that the other person can be expressive, sharing background information, feelings, and intentions. Begin your questions with the words WHAT, HOW, and WHY. Although it takes longer to listen to the responses to Open-Ended Questions, in the long-run you will gain valuable knowledge, which leads to establishing greater trust in your relationships

1. 'Know the difference.' An open-ended question requires an answer greater than a single word or two. A closed-ended question can be answered with a simple "Yes," "No," or other very simple answer.

2. After you've asked your open-ended question(s) and have not gotten the specific information you want, it is now effective and acceptable to ask more specific questions like, "What happened

3. Follow up with "Why?" or "How?" Another technique that can help you get specific information and a lengthier answer is to ask a closed-ended question followed up with "Why?" or "How?"

4. For example, if I want to know whether I might find a class useful, I can ask someone who took it.
Me: "Did you like that Sociology class?"
Him: "Nope."
Me: "Why not?"
Him: "Oh, well, it was a lot of reading and theory without much practical application, for one thing."

5. Listen! Sometimes we are guilty of formulating the next question without paying attention to the answer to the first. You miss great opportunities for follow-up questions if you do this! Make an effort to listen to the answer you asked for!

USING OPEN-ENDED

As you read through the sample Open-Ended Questions below, imagine how you might answer them. Notice how your answers might reveal a lot about your background, beliefs, and feelings.

• What are your strengths as a teacher?
• How would you know if your lesson was successful?
• What have you considered as areas of growth for the year?
• How do you think coaching will benefit your teaching?
• If you were a student, what kind of teacher would you like to have?
• What do you feel contributed to your success today?
• Imagine it is the end of the school year. What would you want to say about the year?

3. USING OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM

By asking Open-Ended Questions you can stimulate students to think, find out their agendas, and develop greater understanding about how to work with them. Sample Open-Ended Questions include:

• What does that mean to you?
• What do you think will happen next in the story?
• How did you go about solving that problem?
• How did you make that choice?
• What information do you have about that?
• What would you do differently next time?
• Why do you feel that way?