Use of effective questioning to enhance the cognitive abilities of students

Skillful questioning can be very effective in enhancing the cognitive abilities of medical students, residents, fellows, and students from the various health professions. Teachers should be able to use one of the taxonomies of thinking skills described in the literature in order to pose a variety of questions corresponding to various levels of cognition. Bloom's taxonomy is very useful in this regard. It includes a hierarchy starting with knowledge as the lowest-level cognitive skill, advancing through comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis to evaluation at the highest level. Teachers should be able to construct questions that require different levels of thinking and use them during interactive discussions. The process of effective questioning includes establishing an appropriate environment, creating a climate conducive to learning, using an appropriate mix of questions, phrasing questions accurately, interposing sufficient wait time, and using various probes in response to the answers given by students. Teachers should be trained to enhance their own questioning skills through workshops, peer observation and critique, videotaping and feedback, and use of self-study modules.