Hacking Questions: 11 Answers That Create a Culture of Inquiry in Your Classroom

by Connie Hamilton

Do you need to ramp up your classroom questioning techniques? Questions are the driving force of learning in classrooms. Hacking Questions digs into framing, delivering, and maximizing questions in the classroom to keep students engaged in learning. Known in education circles as the "Questioning Guru," Connie Hamilton shows teachers of all subjects and grades how Praise for Connie Hamilton and Hacking Questions "Connie Hamilton is known by teachers and leaders as the Questioning Guru. She offers minor tweaks and major perspective shifts. You will be a better questioner tomorrow." -Dr. Dorothy VanderJagt, Professional Learning Coordinator "Connie Hamilton is a world-class presenter with expertise in the art of questioning. She provides a fresh perspective and practical tips on integrating research-based strategies." -Melisa Mulder, Intervention Teacher "Connie is an incredible driver of change in our focus on classroom questioning as a best practice instructional strategy." -Troy VanderLaan, Middle School Administrator Answers to your questions about questions Hacking Questions provides practical solutions to the universal questioning problems that teachers face daily. Find your answers now. “Look out, Socrates! Here comes Connie Hamilton, the newest innovator of questionology! — Marcia Gutiérrez, High School Educator

280 pages, Paperback

Published April 8, 2019

Reviews

[Mjjohnson1216 · Rating 5 out of 5]

For decades I observed and listened carefully to the questions teachers used to motivate deeper thinking with their students. I waited patiently for students to ask other students to clarify their responses which would take responsibility for their own learning - this rarely happened. I was over the moon when Connie Hamilton shared that she was going to write a book about questioning and developing a culture of inquiry in classrooms. When I began reading I was so excited to glean one stellar idea after another that teachers could easily implement in their classrooms. The chapter about students, "I don't know (IDK)" responses shared insight and practical suggestions. Such great humor Connie uses with an IDK funeral. Teachers often ask over a hundred questions a day in an effort to engage students and jump-start their deeper levels of thinking. Educators are so fortunate to be able to purchase this book, hold in-depth discussions with their PLC or book study group about implementing the strategies and share their learning with others all of which will greatly benefit children.

[Melisa Mulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical, useful, and FULL of ideas! The format is easy to read with each chapter including: 1) The Problem, 2) The Hack, 3) What You Can Do Tomorrow, 4) A Blueprint for Full Implementation, 5) Overcoming Pushback, and 6) The Hack in Action. The Appendix is also full of fantastic resources.

I highly recommend!!

[Joanna Vandervalk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super practical for immediate implementation

This book is an excellent source of not just information, but actual practical advice on implementing techniques and procedures that will improve your whole classroom environment tomorrow! Highly recommend for new teachers especially. If you take the time to read this before you begin, you’ll have a great head start on having excellent procedures already implemented for lots of the problems in classroom management that new teachers often face. Fabulous book!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well written and practical book for teachers and professors to help questioning be more intentional and purposeful. Many ideas here that can be implemented with minimal planning, and a few that take more thoughtful consideration. My favorites are all hands up, QFT protocol, and building an environment where asking questions feels safe and normal. Would recommend for professional development.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I got a lot of good ideas for the fall, including some things that I had done in the past but had forgotten about. Each chapter is organized the same way, so it is easy to dip in and out of the book. Lots of different kinds of ideas, from the way you organize your lessons to the way you talk to your students in small groups. Short book with 11 easy to implement ideas.

[Nikki McDorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good resource; I like the layout on how it's written. Easy to follow and addresses potential push backs. The actual content is great for someone learning to improve their questioning skills. For me, there weren't a lot of brand new strategies, but I can see this being a very useful resource to other teachers.

[Heather Stringham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It truly made me think about how I use questions in my classroom and what I can do better. The Hacks are amazing and Hamilton gives scenarios that are easy to understand and helped me see what I can do now.

[Jenna Betka-Pope · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy read with actual strategies to implement immediately in your classroom! So many books for teachers discuss the issues in education without providing you with concrete strategies. I took away so much, and Connie is very accessible to answer questions/accommodate materials, as well.

[Johnna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great ideas for focusing instruction, tweaking it to more active learning.

[Susan McGilvray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually I get a LOT of ideas from the books in this series. This one, not a lot of new material. :(

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far this is the only "hacking" book that I've actually liked. The others were pretty superficial, but this one really digs into asking good questions. I've recommended it to many teachers.

[Yanisha Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on how to create a culture of inquiry in the classroom. There are some great resources that are practical and easy to implement in the classroom.

[Patrik Bystrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very practical classroom reference text. A bit hard to read continuously for me (maybe it was the kindle format on the iPhone that made it tough). The content is great though. Lots of useful strategies.

[Nina Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Non-fiction professional development book. I can’t say I read it for personal enjoyment, but it did have some good philosophies and ideas!