Value of asking questions-By R N A de Silva

Source:Island

rnades@gmail.com

It is generally accepted that in countries like Sri Lanka the opinions of political leaders or state enterprises are accepted without questioning by their subordinates. We have witnessed the disastrous consequences of such acceptances without proper analysis in the recent past. Is this also a result of the outdated educational practices that we use in our local schools where students are not encouraged to ask questions and passive learning is in fact seem to be favoured?

We know how curious little children pose numerous questions to their parents as they want to know ‘how’ and ‘why’ of everything that they come across. Curiosity is a natural phenomenon and asking questions an essential fact for a strong learning process. Why then is this curiosity not demonstrated through questions in schools? Shyness amongst a group of people can be one of the reasons. But perhaps the main reason is the fear of being judged as foolish by the teachers or elders. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the teacher in particular and the school in general to create an atmosphere advocating the freedom to ask questions thereby promoting curiosity, creativity and critical thinking. The perception that the teacher is the omnipotent vessel to transmit knowledge need to be discarded. The classroom climate should be such that the teacher is also a partner in the learning process. In a difficult situation the teacher should be able to say “I do not know the answer to this question. Let us try to find solutions together”.

I worked in the United World College of Hong Kong, which is a school for gifted students in the upper secondary classes and had students from over 80 countries. I taught mathematics there. Whenever I came up with a formula, there were so many questions such as ‘who found it?’, ‘What made them find it?’, ‘Can it be proved?’ and ‘What if the formula were not found?’. Because of their curiosity, they did their own research and came fully prepared to proceed at the next lesson. I was only a guide and I learnt so much from them. Questions open up a whole new world of learning opportunities.

“We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions. Strong leaders engage their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker” says psychologist Adam Grant. Questioning has its roots in ancient philosophy. The Greek Philosopher Socrates used the method of continuous questioning to check the validity of an assumption or to analyse the logic of an argument. This method known as Socratic method is still used as a valuable teaching technique.

In his own words “No one can teach, if by teaching we mean the transmission of knowledge, in any mechanical fashion, from one person to another. The most that can be done is that one person who is more knowledgeable than another can, by asking a series of questions, stimulate the other to think, and so cause him to learn for himself.” Tibetan Buddhist monks are supposed to be using such a method for an hour on a daily basis on Buddhist doctrines and disciplines.

Teaching is driven not by answers but by questions. When students ask questions, they are motivated to take ownership of their learning which enhances their comprehension of more challenging concepts. In this environment, rather than the teacher filling the mind of the student, both are responsible for the learning process. Good teachers bring out new thoughts but great teachers come out with new ways of thinking. The Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel stated “We have learned from history that people are united by questions. It is the answers that divide them”.

The writer is a senior examiner of the International Baccalaureate Organization.