Penn State Learning Design Community Hub

How do you ask a question to elicit the level of thinking/learning that you want?

Well-defined questions and their appropriate use not only help students understand content on a basic level but also can guide them in elaborative and critical thinking about content. Varied types of questions can help create the appropriate learning environment for your students.

Questions can:

• Extract factual knowledge
• Query a student's comprehension
• Ask a learner to apply his/her knowledge and comprehension
• Ask the learner to analyze information
• Challenge the student to synthesize information
• Have the learner evaluate and make judgements

You'll notice that these types of questions relate directly to Bloom's
Taxomony of Educational Objectives, Cognitive Domain.

Use the links in the menu below to learn how to compose these types of questions.