To illustrate this element, consider the following example:
An teacher wants to elicit student ideas about seed structure and is deciding between the following prompts:
”What can you tell me about seeds?“
”You know that our bodies have different kinds of parts. Do you think seeds have different parts? If so, what kinds of parts do you think they have?“
The first prompt was actually used with students and yielded the following responses:
”They have food for the newborn plant.“
”They’re inside the fruit.“
”It’s an ovary.“
”If you graft you get a better fruit.“
Because the prompt lacked specificity, student responses did not focus on seed structure. The responses were predictably scattered and not closely related to the targeted idea that seeds are made up of distinct structures.
The second prompt focuses students on structures. In addition, this prompt can stimulate existing cognitive structures based on an analogy with the more familiar internal structures of the human body. This may lead to responses referencing an embryo, food for a new plant, a protective outer covering, or the beginnings of root and shoot structures. These responses more effectively inform the teacher about existing student ideas that might be addressed in instruction.
Although this element is clearly relevant to open-ended questions (as exemplified here), it also bears consideration when constructing prompts with other elicitation strategies as well.