This Is Why Asking Purposeful Questions Really Matters
How do we learn?
Take a minute to toss that one around. How would you answer? Would you explain how we cognitively capture, process, and utilise knowledge? Or would you take a more organic approach and stress that everyone learns differently? Or would you share how you learn best?
The idea here is not to focus on the answer but to ponder the question's depth and impact. It doesn't matter much how we respond to a question like this. What matters is that it makes us think deeply.
That's the power and purpose of asking purposeful questions.
Purposeful questions are a cornerstone of learning and living because we question things daily. Most of our success in life depends on asking the best questions and making the best decisions. In education, the benefits of asking questions are equally immeasurable. Posing intellectually challenging questions stimulates and refines our learners' thinking while helping us as teachers understand their thinking better (Clough, 2007).
But what is the real purpose of purposeful questioning? Modeling purposeful questioning behaviour for our learners helps improve their quality of learning (Corley & Rauscher, 2003). All learning begins with questions, and without them, wisdom is lost.
In the Beginning
Long ago, a big part of classroom education was rewarding correct answers and punishing wrong ones. Indeed, according to one historian, academics that oversaw the first schools of our history "saw schooling as inculcation, the implanting of certain truths and ways of thinking into children's minds" (Gray, 2008). Learning was more linear and structured then, and having the correct answers was considered a measure of successful learning.
Not to vilify accuracy; quite the contrary. Knowing the basics of the content and understanding it entirely still counts. It's just that as education and the learners it teaches evolved, we've witnessed a shift in emphasis from being right to being curious.
We've realised that a learner's ability to question meaningfully and think critically and creatively is more crucial to success in a changing world than simply proclaiming the right answers. The truth is it's preferable to focus on asking the best questions we can ask.
Terry Heick discusses this in his article "Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers". He supports the idea that perfecting our questioning is a more valuable practice than chasing after correctness:
"Questioning is the art of learning. Learning to ask important questions is the best evidence of understanding there is, far surpassing the temporary endorphins of a correct answer." (Heick, 2019.)
We can foster understanding by asking questions that make learning exciting and engaging for our learners. As such, we focus on the questions more than the answers, and when we ask purposeful questions, we'll always get purposeful answers.
What's in a Question?
When asking meaningful questions, we aim to do more than achieve learning. Among other things, we also want to inspire curiosity, connect our questioning to what learners find relevant and engaging, and give rise to increasingly specific questions (Crockett, 2019).
Learning is about answering a need to understand what springs from our curiosity or a deep personal connection. Our questions, posed correctly, reveal the pathways to get our learners there.
“Purposeful questions are a cornerstone of learning and living because we question things daily. Most of our success in life depends on asking the best questions and making the best decisions.”
One of the ten Shifts of Practice we use to define future-focused learning is essential and herding questions. Asking purposeful questions leads to deeper thinking, and answers lead to more questions and more in-depth inquiry (Crockett, 2019). We explore possibilities and potential in ourselves and the world around us using such questions.
For example, would philosophy exist if we hadn't asked, "What is real? Is there a meaning to life? If so, what is it?" Consider the multitude of questions and disciplines that have arisen from that curiosity. How much more understanding of ourselves and our world do we have now because of that inquiry?
Why Asking Purposeful Questions Matters
It provides insight into what our learners think and know already. When we ask meaningful questions, we want learners to verbalise what they know and their assumptions about our questions. This generates interest in the topic because students become personally involved when their thinking and opinions are constructively challenged.
It reveals personal connections, which become opportunities to personalise learning. Personalised learning happens when learning becomes strengthened by a relevant relationship between the task and the learner. We accomplish this by using questions about our curriculum, pedagogy, and learning environment. In addition, we personalise learning by asking meaningful questions about the endless possibilities that appear in front of us every day to create informal learning opportunities or teachable moments.
It encourages collaboration and conversation. When working in groups, tackling meaningful questions becomes the foundation of learning. As discoveries give rise to deeper questioning, team unity strengthens as more challenges are answered. Excitement ensues, and learning happens.
It encourages creative self-expression. We all express ourselves uniquely, and our learners are no different. Responding to relevant and engaging questioning allows them to share their best.
It encourages deep self-reflection. We must continue asking the best questions possible even after the work finishes. As a result, this fosters healthy questioning habits for a lifetime. For example, here is a list of self-reflective questions your learners can use to debrief after projects and assignments come to a close.
Now that it's over, what are my first thoughts about this overall project?
If positive, what comes to mind specifically? Negative?
What were some of the most interesting discoveries I made while working on this project? About the problem? About myself? About others?
What were some of my most challenging moments and what made them so?
What were some of my most powerful learning moments and what made them so?
What most got in the way of my progress if anything?
How well did I and my team communicate overall?
How did I help others during this process? How do I feel I may have hindered others?
Were my milestones and goals mostly met, and how much did I deviate from them if any?
What did I learn were my greatest strengths? My biggest areas for improvement?
What would I do differently if I were to approach the same problem again?
What moments was I most proud of my efforts?
What could I do differently from a personal standpoint the next time I work with the same group or a different one?
How can I better support and encourage my teammates on future projects?
How will I use what I've learned in the future?
It helps us rethink assumptions and consider alternatives. Everybody makes assumptions, but reconsidering them in healthy productive ways is a real eye-opener. Asking meaningful questions about what we think we know helps our minds expand and usher in new ways of thinking.
It leads to big ideas. Look around you and you'll realise everything you see began with one thing—an idea. In fact, the greatest advancements in history would never have happened had we not questioned things beforehand.
“We can foster understanding by asking questions that make learning exciting and engaging for our learners.”
Added Bonuses
In addition to all this, asking purposeful questions can:
Boost self-confidence
Establish trust in information sources
Exercise our memory and clarify/organise our thoughts
Develop oral communication skills
Protect us from making mistakes
Encourage a growth mindset
Make work more productive
Make solutions more effective
Help us make better choices/decisions
In conclusion, asking meaningful questions gives our learners permission to be curious and creative. They get to think and question in a way that helps them become better thinkers. They also get to strive for deeper knowledge and more meaningful answers. Best of all, they receive ample opportunities to grow in mind, body, and spirit.
References
Clough, M. P. (2007). What is so important about asking questions? Iowa Science Teachers Journal, 34(1), 2-4.
Corley, M. Rauscher, W. (2003). Deeper learning through questioning. U. S. Dept. of Education: The TEAL Center.
Crockett, L. (2019). Future focused learning: 10 essential shifts of everyday practice. Bloomington, IL: Solution Tree Press.
Gray, P. (2008). A Brief History of Education. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/freedom-learn/200808/brief-history-education Mar. 30, 2023.
Heick, T. (2019). Why Questions Are More Important Than Answers. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/critical-thinking/questions-more-important/ Mar. 30, 2023.
