The Power of Open-Ended Questions
Barry McGettigan 
Using Open-ended discussion questions for Middle School Science Students
Is there anything not made of atoms?
What's it like being a particle in a solid?
Open-ended questions are a powerful tool in your arsenal. Open-ended questions don't have a simple "yes" or "no". Instead, they encourage the student to express their own thoughts and opinions and, importantly, to think critically. We want them to think and talk like a scientist.
Open-ended questions encourage exploration. Get them thinking about the changing states of matter with a discussion card like this.
This encourages them to draw conclusions for themselves.
Discussion questions foster critical thinking by making connections between different concepts. This deepens their understanding of scientific concepts.
Discussion cards foster communication. Get them to work in pairs or teams (you can print cards with/without answers on the back). This helps solidify their learning and is a great way to revise.
Another lovely benefit is collaborative learning. When learners are encouraged to share ideas, they become active participants in active learning. It can generate a positive atmosphere for engagement and enthusiasm for science. Win!
My favorite part? It can connect science to real life. This is such an important step. Far too often, we lose students as they don't see that connection.
You can use open-ended discussion cards in the classroom in a variety of ways:
- Facilitate open-ended discussions
- Serve as a topic introduction
- Aid in revision
- Support topic consolidation
- Use as task cards
- Enhance note-taking
- Build vocabulary
- Science stations
If you'd like to try them out (you're going to love them!), here's a link to the open-ended discussion cards mentioned in this blog post.