Questions, questions, questions
Posted on: June 28, 2012
I chanced upon Three Ways to Ask Better Questions in the Classroom in my Twitter stream.
I think that resource is a great start and I can add to that.
One of the three ways to prepare questions is to use the 5W1H approach. Most people know this as the Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How questions. I refer to this as the five wives and one husband approach… not that I advocate polygamy!
Anyway, not many people know that the Why wife and the How husband have a son. His name is So. As in, so what if you know something or someone?
Say you know how to bioengineer crops. So? So what impact might this have on the natural environment? So do you make a crop sterile so that farmers have to keep buying your seeds? Asking so what questions are great for critical and creative thought as well as examining value systems.
I also think that good teaching actually leaves learners with more questions than answers. Questions that trouble learners and keep them thinking. Questions that make learners seek their own answers.
How does one do this? Resist the urge to answer. Or provide a partial answer. It helps to have a mindset that you are not the (only) expert and that you are a co-learner.
Savvy?
