The power of questions
In 1994, I decided to major in physics at Hanover College in order to become a teacher. Studying physics [and then actually learning it over a 13 year teaching career] resonated with my love of questions (see previous post). At its root, physics is all about asking the right questions in order to make sense out of the answers that are observed.
But what happens when we get that pursuit backwards -- when we try to give the right answers to make sense of the questions asked? Maurice J. Elias, a frequent contributor of articles on Edutopia (http://www.edutopia.org/) notes that “schools often do not ask the range of questions children need to grow to their potential” http://www.edutopia.org/blog/importance-asking-questions-promote-higher-order-competencies-maurice-elias. So many of the questions you hear in a classroom or see on homework or assessments are designed to get to right answers and therefore target lower-order thinking skills. Elias describes a simple approach, the two-question rule, to get to deeper thinking -- where you don’t stop at one question and one answer, but always ask a second question.
I follow this approach all the time because I believe that questions should help us get to explanations, to thinking, not answers. My students would ask me questions to get answers, and as a good teacher, I tried to never give in. I would answer only with a question. When they answered, I would ask another. And I didn’t always stop at a second one, sometimes it took three or four questions to really push through to get to true thought, not just answers. (By the way, I totally recommend this persistence when working with students or in professional development, but not necessarily with family and friends. Or at least not very often...did you know people can get really annoyed when you keep probing?!)
Michael Stevens, in his TEDxVienna talk, "Why do we ask questions?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9hauSrihYQ describes how he uses this repeated questioning technique to develop ideas for his VSauce videos for his YouTube channel that has nearly 11 million subscribers. He uses questions to make sure that people are interested in the explanations; to ensure that the content has truly connected with the viewers and their interests. He notes that maybe understanding why the sky is blue doesn’t pique a person’s curiosity (really, people can not care about that?!? I remember my joy from Physics I when I learned about Rayleigh Scattering), but learning that there isn’t any structure that is the color blue within blue eyes could (and has the same root explanation). In other words, you find out where the person’s interests lie and then engage them in learning.
When we use them well, questions increase engagement. Engagement leads to thinking. And thinking is (or at least should be) the goal of learning. So give it a try -- ask that second question or third -- and help someone you know grow in their potential.
But what happens when we get that pursuit backwards -- when we try to give the right answers to make sense of the questions asked? Maurice J. Elias, a frequent contributor of articles on Edutopia (http://www.edutopia.org/) notes that “schools often do not ask the range of questions children need to grow to their potential” http://www.edutopia.org/blog/importance-asking-questions-promote-higher-order-competencies-maurice-elias. So many of the questions you hear in a classroom or see on homework or assessments are designed to get to right answers and therefore target lower-order thinking skills. Elias describes a simple approach, the two-question rule, to get to deeper thinking -- where you don’t stop at one question and one answer, but always ask a second question.
I follow this approach all the time because I believe that questions should help us get to explanations, to thinking, not answers. My students would ask me questions to get answers, and as a good teacher, I tried to never give in. I would answer only with a question. When they answered, I would ask another. And I didn’t always stop at a second one, sometimes it took three or four questions to really push through to get to true thought, not just answers. (By the way, I totally recommend this persistence when working with students or in professional development, but not necessarily with family and friends. Or at least not very often...did you know people can get really annoyed when you keep probing?!)
Michael Stevens, in his TEDxVienna talk, "Why do we ask questions?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9hauSrihYQ describes how he uses this repeated questioning technique to develop ideas for his VSauce videos for his YouTube channel that has nearly 11 million subscribers. He uses questions to make sure that people are interested in the explanations; to ensure that the content has truly connected with the viewers and their interests. He notes that maybe understanding why the sky is blue doesn’t pique a person’s curiosity (really, people can not care about that?!? I remember my joy from Physics I when I learned about Rayleigh Scattering), but learning that there isn’t any structure that is the color blue within blue eyes could (and has the same root explanation). In other words, you find out where the person’s interests lie and then engage them in learning.
When we use them well, questions increase engagement. Engagement leads to thinking. And thinking is (or at least should be) the goal of learning. So give it a try -- ask that second question or third -- and help someone you know grow in their potential.