A & Q Strategy

A & Q

What is it?

A tool that tests students’ knowledge of a given topic by giving them an answer (e.g. “Henry VIII) and having them generate possible questions (“Who was an English king? Who had lots of wives?)

What are the benefits of using this tool?

In order to teach our students effectively, we need to determine what they already know and understand about the material we’re planning to cover. Involving students in an A & Q session (answer and question, as opposed to question and answer) is a fun and engaging way to do this. The A & Q format encourages students to exercise their creative thinking skills and interact with their classmates. It also prepares them for the learning to come by helping them activate their prior knowledge.

What are the basic steps?

1.     Explain the A & Q format to students. (You’ll give them an answer and they’ll come up with as many possible questions for the answer as they can in a given amount of time.)

2.     Before engaging students in an A & Q session about your content, let them practice as a class using a familiar topic like pets, food, or music, see sample dialog below.

 

a.     Teacher:  If “dog” is the answer, what are some possible questions?

b.     Students: What’s a four-legged animal with fur? What do police use to locate explosives? What is a Dalmatian an example of?  What’s a popular pet that’s not a cat? What’s an animal that helps blind people “see”? What’s man’s best friend? What kind of animal is the main character in Old Yeller?

3.     Use the A & Q format to assess students’ knowledge of a topic you’re planning to teach (or a topic you’ve already taught):

·         Give students an answer that related to the topic in question.

·         Challenge them to think creatively and jot down as many questions for that answer as they can.

4.     Invite students to share their responses with the class, and encourage them to build off each other’s ideas.

5.     Collect and review students’ responses to determine what students already know and understand about the given topic. Design your instructions accordingly.