Give every student a voice with open questions
You often rely on open questions to encourage students to express both their knowledge and individuality. Use open questions effectively to encourage a safe, engaging and authentic learning environment, where also quieter, more introverted learners can thrive!
More than 35,000 teachers use LessonUp each month to ask open questions.
Did you know that students can answer open questions anonymously?
Open questions give > 90% of students a voice—Almost all students answer them!
Exit tickets
A learning objective holds value only when its impact is verified at the lesson's conclusion. Occasionally, your expectations may not align with your students’ understanding. Exit tickets offer a great way to monitor students' comprehension and spot misconceptions. They promote reflection, critical thinking, and mindful learning. By asking three (or more) simple yet thoughtful questions, you can encourage students to sharpen their metacognitive abilities.
TIP! Ask open questions to find out if your students enjoyed your lesson and why, uncovering their feelings about it.
Exam practice
Help students boost their achievements by regularly practising exam questions both in class and at home. They can respond to open questions either on paper or digitally, using a platform like LessonUp. While typing isn’t the same as handwriting, it helps maintain an organised, centralised record of all responses. You could also model exam questions and ask students to explain why you chose a specific answer. Discussing this together in class can be quite engaging.
TIP! Give students a framework for tackling exam practice, but allow them freedom in determining their answers.
Unveiling stories
The learning technique ‘Unveiling stories’ encourages students to explore a picture's deeper meaning. Simply observing isn’t enough. They are prompted to consider both the global and personal stories behind the image. In this process, students begin to see themselves as storytellers. This approach helps develop skills like inference, critical thinking, source analysis, and reflection. It’s an effective way to practise all these abilities.
TIP! The key is selecting a meaningful image that contains enough visual details to spark engaging discussions.
Student e-portfolios
E-portfolios enable students to organise, document, and preserve their learning journey, serving as a space where they create meaning from their experiences. E-portfolios are a tool for students to clarify their educational goals, integrate and deepen their learning through reflection, and present their accomplishments to teachers, guardians, or potential employers. They help create a sense of ownership and pride.
TIP! A portfolio can be as comprehensive as you wish: purely academic, or focused on personal growth and mental wellbeing (e.g., PSHE sessions).
Step into your learning
Promote immersive learning: guide your students into a new reality where they can fully engage. Spark their imagination by using creative writing prompts—framed as open questions—along with stimulating imagery. As they shift their focus to this alternate reality, they 'immerse' themselves in it, and answering questions about it begins to feel natural and intuitive. Typing allows them to write faster, in sync with their thoughts.
TIP! Encourage students to write as quickly as they wish, saving grammar and punctuation checks for later.
💡 More learning techniques with open questions
Learning techniques with open questions help boost student engagement by stimulating curiosity, fostering creative thinking, and encouraging self-reflection.
Use or edit any of the open questions from our learning techniques, curriculum content or lesson library! Do you prefer to create your own? It's easy! 👇