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The Nairobian

Question formulation technique way to go in learning, teachers say

Education

By Rose Mukonyo | Jul 22, 2024

The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) is a mind-shift from the traditional way of teaching, where the teacher was the repository of knowledge, and would transfer that knowledge to learners by asking questions instead of lecturing and then leaving learners to ask questions afterward.

QFT is a structured approach designed to help students develop their questioning skills, whose essence is to create critical thinking and problem-solving skills

According to Michael Muthama, a teacher at Kilembwa Secondary in Mwala Sub-County, one of the beneficiary schools where QFT was under research, the learning output has improved in terms of performance, classroom participation and the interest of learners in the specific subjects.

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“For the two years that we have used this Question Formulation Technique in our school, we have seen tremendous improvement in our students and now we want to pass this knowledge to other teachers to improve the performance in our area,” he said.

Speaking during the launch of the Question Formulation Technique program in Machakos, Polive Okude a teacher in Lower Yatta said that this learning technique enables learners to probe more and get more insights from their peers.

“Some learners are afraid of asking questions to the teachers, but when in their environment, they can ask questions without fear,” said Okude.

This technique will be useful in the Competency-based Curriculum (CBC) which is more learner-centred and not teacher-centred as it will give learners of different abilities equal chances of asking questions.

He says that teachers can do formative assessments to tell whether the learners understand what is going on in class through the questions they ask.

“We were looking at how we can reinforce 21st-century skills through curiosity-spurring techniques and question formulation techniques in schools in South Eastern Kenya,” says Dr Gideon Kasivu, the Principal Investigator of the technique.

He says the formula has been published and is now being taken through peer review, and the next step is to engage the Ministry of Education, the Teacher Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Developers (KICD) to see if they can integrate a few tenets of the Question Formulation Technique into the curriculum.

“This is a catalyst for innovation, especially in CBC where we will be cultivating curiosity and involving the teachers and parents to expect questions from their children,” says Prof Josphat Kimatu, a Co-Principal Investigator of the Question Formulation Technique.

Other co-principal investigators are Dr Leonard Kamau, Dr Janet Mulwa, Dr Rose Kithungu and the Late Dr Redempta Kiilu.

They plan to up-scale the learning method to other schools in the South Eastern region and other counties in Kenya.

According to James Musyoka, the Executive Director and Co-founder of Kenya Connect, the program was piloted in 10 partner schools where over 100 teachers were trained.

“Kenya Connect works to empower students and teachers to be successful in the 21st Century, and that is why we initiated the partnership with Rotary Club District 5040 in Canada to start a Vocational Training Team (VTT) to empower teachers in integrating technology in teaching and learning.”