Fostering Higher Order Thinking Through Effective Questioning

Recently, I was doing some reading for this course regarding project-based learning and ways teachers can make discussions more productive. I was astonished at the authors claim that, “about 60% of the questions asked by teachers are lower-order questions, calling for recall or recitation of facts. Another 20% are higher-order questions, asking for evaluation or analysis, and 20% are simply procedural.” Unfortunately, I feel this is probably true. Teachers must make every effort to limit lower-order and procedural questions in order to maximize time for questions which require students to use higher-order thinking skills to respond. One idea the authors recommended for teachers in order to get a better idea of the kinds of questions they typically ask is to videotape themselves teaching a lesson. I believe this would be very eye-opening for many teachers, myself included.
Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing Project-Based Learning. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.