Developing Cognitive Explorers

Have you ever listened to a conversation between a toddler and their mum?  Most of the time, the toddler is doing the asking and mum just gives her the answer.  I know from experience that it's the easiest thing to do in the short-term but in the long-term, it's actually the lazy way.  Asking questions is a simple teaching tool, that when done right can be fun, pique curiosity and give learners a real confidence boost.

Fun questions are on topics of interest like, 'who do you think will win the Euros?' or 'who are you rooting for in the Olympics?' They can provide excellent answers that can be used as bridges to learning objectives, scriptural debates and political conversations.  For instance, the above can be used to inspire a lesson on Scatter Graphs, a Bible study on the benefits of exercise (see 1 Timothy 4 verse 8), or why Marcus Rashford isn't in the Euros line up.  The key is to keep it fun, even when it's deep.

Questions are natural curiosity-jerkers.  We've all got a measure of curiosity but the right questions, phrased the right way can guide our curiosity in positive directions, as opposed to negative ones.  Consider the effects of these two questions: Should cannabis have been legalised? vs. What are the possible social outcomes of cannabis being legalised? Both could lead to a great discussion, but I think it's clear which one would guide our curiosity more constructively.

Lastly, pitching the difficulty of the question at the right level is really important.  Asking questions that are too easy can be boring and actually damage the learners' confidence, because they'll think that you have a low expectation of them.  Asking questions that you don't know the answer to, however, can be a real confidence booster, because if they know the answer, they'd have taught you  something, and if they don't know the answer, there's no shame - you can research the answer together.

Questions - an important pedagogical tool that when used correctly, develops cognitive explorers, who love learning, just for the sake of learning!

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