QUESTION CHART

– Let’s try this ‘Hottest EdTech Tool According to xxx’!

– How’s it different from our worksheet?

– It has this really cool animation with a moo sound.

– No.

This is the first post in a series on My Unhottest Digital Tools that add value to learning.

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I first read about the Question Chart or Q-Charts in this post Question Charts by Miguel Míguez from On the Same Page (one of the most creative bloggers in our blogosphere if you ask me) some 4? years ago, when life felt normal (pre-Covid normal). I tried this framework with my students, and it worked its magic.

The Question Chart is a great framework to help learners generate a wide range of higher-order questions. It can be used when working on reading or listening comprehension, or to discuss a particular topic in class. It works well with all types of learners (at nearly all levels), and can be used at any stage – before, during or after reading, or watching a video, or a speaking activity.

To cut my ode short, it is a must-have tool for every language teacher. So I thought it would be a good idea to transform it a bit to make it even more useful.

Here’s what I got.

Q-Chart Mechanics

The initial task for students is to earn as many points as they can by clicking different squares and typing in questions (gamification). The number of points is shown in each square.

After students have typed in their question, they click “Submit”, and earn their points. If they leave the field blank, no points will be added.

To make sure they ask different questions, students can pick a particular combination/square only once. If they click the same square again, they will be asked to pick another square.

The bar on the right will show the number of points earned (a visual gamification element for learner engagement).

When students have reached a new level (10, 20, 30 points, etc.), they will be praised for a “job well done” (to reinforce their engagement).

Students may end the game at any point by clicking “Done”.

The way you use it depends, by and large, on students’ assignment. If you have lower level students, or you would like your students to practise a certain type of higher-order thinking questions first, you may ask them to focus on a particular area of the Q-chart – blue, green, yellow or red.

After they have clicked “Done”, they can see and save (or print) their questions for each colour area of the Q-chart.

Follow-up activities: try to build in speaking opportunities

Once students have generated their questions, they could share, compare, and discuss them (see CLASS DISCUSSION TECHNIQUES: NO HIDING, NO OVERPOWERING)

Try the updated version of Q-Chart:

Question Chart (+ the chatbot)

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What is your favourite tool? Would you like to make it digital (if it’s not digital yet)?