Video Resources

The videos below are meant to support your implementation of the Question Formulation Technique (QFT). Watch the students go through each step in the QFT, and pay close attention to how teachers facilitate the process.

We also encourage you to sign up on our free Educator Network to access additional resources.

Using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) for Formative Assessment

Lucy Canotas, a 4th grade teacher in Manchester, NH, used the QFT to learn more about what her students knew or did not know about fractions. This video shows Lucy using a visual Question Focus to stimulate students’ questions. She leads her class through each step of the Question Formulation Technique, all the way through their reflections at the end on what they learned and liked about the process.

4th Grade Math

The Question Formulation Technique in a High School Science Class

Towards the end of a unit on electricity, David Meshoulam presents his students with the Question Focus, “Powerlines from a power plant carry electricity at voltages of 345,000 volts or more! Transformers, like the one shown reduce that voltage to 120V for home use.” Watch as a high school physics class in Newton, MA goes through each step of the QFT.

High School Science and the QFT

The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) for Summative Assessment

In this video Joshua Beer, an educator who teaches 8th grade in rural New Hampshire, uses the QFT for summative assessment purposes. Watch the QFT unfold as students address the Question Focus (QFocus), “Questions that should be asked about American imperialism at the turn of the 20th century.”

Josh Beer video still

QFT in Action

This video shows 12th grade humanities teacher Ling-Se Peet using the QFT with her class in Boston, MA. Ling-Se used the QFT so students could prepare for a Socratic seminar, and to help students with their writing assignment on the book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz.