wer get the appreciative
response. Questions of this type often call for constructive imagery as
a means to the desired end. Some questions are directive in their
tendency. They require as response an attitude or set of the mind. They
set the child thinking in this direction rather than that. In a sense
they are suggestive, but they suggest the line of search rather than the
response. A final type of question is akin to the one just
discussed--the question whose response is further questions. Here again
the response desired is an attitude, but in this case it is more than an
attitude, it is also a definite response that shall come in the form of
questions. The questions of a good teacher should result in students
asking questions both of people and of books. These last three types of
questions are perhaps the most difficult of all. Because of their
complexity and subtlety they often miss fire and fail of their purpose.
Properly handled they are among the most powerful tools a teacher has.
The type of question used must vary, not only with the particular group
of children, and the type of lesson, but also with the subject.
Questions that would be the best type in mathematics might not be so
good for an art lesson. The kinds of questions used must be adapted to
the particular situation.

Psychologically a question is valuable not only in accordance with the
kind of response it gets, but also in proportion to the readiness of the
response. A question that is of such a character that the response is
hazy, stumbling, hesitating--a question that brings no clear-cut
response because the child does not understand what is wanted, is a poor
question. This does not at all mean that the right response must always
come immediately. Some of the best questions are put with the intention
of forcing the child to realize that he can't answer--that he doesn't
know. If that type of response comes to that question, it is the best
possible answer. Nor need the whole answer come immediately. For
instance, in many of the judgment questions the thinking process aroused
may take some time before the judgment is reached, and meanwhile several
partial answers may be given. But if the question asked started the
process, without waste of time in trying to find out what it meant, the
question is good. With these explanations, then, the second
qualification of a good question is that it secures the appropriate
response readily. In order to do this, th