Using Questions in Physical Education Teaching
- Closed – can be answered by a ‘YES’ or ‘NO’
- Open – requires more thought and more than a simple one-word answer
- Open questions can be phrased as a statement, which requires a response
Some words to use to start an open question (there are many more!)
Can – Are – May – Is – Should – Will – How – Could
Examples of Open Questions in PE
- What happens when you dribble into a group of players?
- Is there a better way that you can do this (fielding a ball in cricket by running in with it)?
- How would you improve your score?
- Why do we communicate with our team mates?
- When you don’t look up in a game, what happens?
- How do you know when your team has been successful?
- Is there another way we can travel along this bench?
- How will you know when to move to the next part of the dance?
- Show me how to move more fluently in your sequence?
Use questions to:
- Differentiate – use higher level questioning to extend your more able
- Assess
‘SHOW ME’ – ask all the pupils to show you what you want to see rather than just the ones who put their hands up
‘HANDS UP IF’ – ask all the pupils to put their hands up if they have achieved
- Check for understanding – use open questions to ask pupils ‘what they have learnt’ / ‘what can you tell me about?’ / ‘Can you tell me 3 key things about a good star shape?
- Explore what is possible – asking open questions in PE allows the pupils to share their ideas, they may see a solution that they haven’t been told, let them explore an answer
