Questions are the key to learning anything. It doesn’t matter what you want to know, and it doesn’t matter how you want to learn it. If you don’t have questions, you won’t learn anything. And that’s a shame, because there are so many opportunities for growth in any area of life if you take the time to develop question-based skills. The more questions you can answer effectively, the more likely you are to succeed. So ask yourself these five questions: What do I need to know? Where can I find information? Who will be interested in this information? What am I trying to achieve? And finally, is this something worth learning?
Why questions are the key to learning
Questions help us to do critical thinking
Questions help us to do critical thinking this by stimulating our curiosity.
By asking questions, we open up new perspectives that can help us better understand and analyze information. This helps us to learn more about the world and ourselves.
Questions help us find new perspectives
Questions can also be used to generate new ideas. When we ask questions, we often come up with solutions or theories that we hadn’t considered before.
Questions can help us develop problem-solving skills
Questions can help us develop problem-solving skills, which are essential for learning complex topics or solving problems in real life.
Examples of questioning driving the learning
There is a long history of questioning in education. It dates back at least as far as the ancient Greek Socratic questioning technique. Students examine challenging concepts with a methodical practice of considerate inquiry. They disclose implicit presumptions, firmly held ideas, and hidden contradictions in the process. Both parties are in charge of advancing the conversation, rather than the teacher filling the student's head.
Similar to this, a student frequently studies with a debate partner at Jewish yeshivas, a practice known as "havruta." Havruta learning requires students to examine and explain the information, point out the flaws in their partners' logic, and refine each other's ideas by challenging them, in contrast to traditional classroom learning, in which a teacher lectures and the student memorizes. Havruta questioning technique may enhance students' motivation, independence, and capacity for communicating intricate concepts, according to educational research.
The value of questioning
Professor and author Neil Postman on the value of questions:
"Once you have learned to ask questions – relevant and appropriate and substantial questions – you have learned how to learn and no one can keep you from learning whatever you want or need to know."
Source: Teaching as a Subversive Activity
The Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel said: "History has taught us that questions bring people together. What separates them are the responses,"
In his 1936 classic How to Win Friends and Influence People Dale Carnegie said; “Be a good listener, Ask questions the other person will enjoy answering.”
MIT pioneer Robert Langer said: "In school, you're judged by how well you answer questions. In life, you're judged by how brilliant your questions are," .
Peter Drucker cautioned in his book The Practice of Management that finding the proper questions is more challenging and crucial than finding the right answers since "there are few things as worthless, if not harmful, as the right response to the wrong question."
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt once said, "We operate this company on questions, not answers". Asking challenging questions is crucial in today's society.
We must establish a love of inquiry in our children before we can encourage their their success.One of the best resolutions we can make for the new year is to encourage our kids to ask more insightful questions.
How to ask questions that promote learning
Be specific
When you ask questions, be sure to be specific. For example, if you’re wanting to know how long it will take for your destination to get there, be specific about what kind of transportation you need and when you’d like to depart. Likewise, make sure you have a clear plan for what you want to learn before starting the conversation.
Be open-minded to different answers
If you get different responses, try not to feel discouraged. It's important that you are flexible and willing to consider different answers in order to get the most information from the person you're talking to. After all, learning happens through discussion and interaction – not just by reading books or watching videos!
Follow up with more questions
If after discussing your question with someone they still don't seem to understand it, don't hesitate to follow up with them again later on or even in person! By being patient and persistent, you'll eventually be able to communicate your question effectively and receive a response that is both meaningful and significant to your needs.
Conclusion
Questions are the key to learning. By asking questions, we can open up new perspectives and learn more about the world around us. Questions help us gain knowledge that we would not have otherwise been able to access. In turn, this helps us learn more about ourselves and our surroundings.