Many believe, and it has been drilled into us from early childhood, that asking questions by learners is the best indication of engagement and learning progress. Teachers and preceptors have traditionally utilized questions as a teaching method to evaluate students' understanding, encourage comprehension, and foster critical thinking. While that may be true if the question is genuine, however, my experience is that approximately
70% of cases questions are asked instinctively before the learner has spent any thinking effort to understand.
10% of cases questions are asked because the learner wants to get noticed.
10% of cases questions are asked to waste time.
10% of cases will probably be genuine questions.
By answering all questions, we are most likely harming the learners in 90% of the cases, because this will get the learner into a habit of NOT thinking. A better way to address this is to refuse to answer any questions on the first pass.
My response to all questions from learners is always "What do you think?".
As simple as that. This will give them an opportunity and sufficient time to think and come up with their own answer, partial answer, or even incorrect answer. In most cases, the time spent thinking will be more valuable than even knowing the correct answer. A helpful strategy for better conversations with people is having a variety of intriguing questions to ask. Conversations can flow a lot more smoothly when engaging and insightful questions are asked, as opposed to when none are.
To conclude
Mitsei would like to share that a helpful trick for having more effective conversations with individuals is to prepare a wide selection of interesting topics to ask. let me know in the comment what you think about the blog. Do check out our activities to enhance your child's learning experience.
Also read: In what way are you intelligent?
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