Asking the right questions of our students teaches them to ask the right questions and empowers them with the tools to tap into their highest level of thinking .

28 Leadership

A new challenge for teachers today is providing a 21st century learning environment that is rigorous and empowering for students . What better way to create this than to act as a facilitator and allow students to gain their own understanding through the art of asking questions ? Teachers must guide students by asking the right questions to assist students in arriving at their own conclusions .

With a shift to Common Core State Standards , teachers now have a fresh opportunity to empower their students to discover their own answers and solutions to problems . According to Michael Marquardt , author of “ Leading with Questions ,” disempowering questions focus on the negative reasons , such as “ What ’ s the problem with your project ?” Instead , for example , an empowering way to phrase it would be “ How do you feel about your project so far ?”

Empowering questions allow students to think outside of the box . They encourage self-reflection , innovative thinking and selfefficacy .

In Howard Gardner ’ s “ 5 Minds for the Future ,” he discusses the creative mind that poses unfamiliar questions , arrives at new ideas , and arrives at unexpected answers through fresh ways of thinking . Critical thinking and creativity are essential for our students to become global competitors . Teachers must be equipped with the tools to ask the right questions to allow this kind of thinking . They must also teach students how to ask the right questions to find answers , and how to use questioning when collaborating with others .

According to Carol Dweck in “ The Growth Mindset ,” both students and teachers must understand that intelligence can grow through continuous improvement . By asking the right questions of our students , we can provide them with the tools

By Kathy Nash