Asking questions is a component of every instructional strategy. A learning outcome may focus a teacher’s instruction, but it is the questions that drive student learning. Some questions are raised by the teacher, and some are raised by students. Some questions get answered and others just dangle. At the end of the day, every assessment of the quality and quantity of what a student learns begins with questions. To wit, when you ask a question, what do you really want to know? Lastly, when do you stop asking questions?
Joe Friday told us, “Just the facts”.
Most teachers today were born after Detective Joe Friday on TV’s “Dragnet” gave us his famous command of “Just the facts, Ma’am, just the facts”. Ironically, his command is at the heart of what children are asked to learn historically and today in their school lessons. Just the facts.
In the story of the Three Little Pigs, there are a lot of questions to ponder. Some are facts.
- What materials did the pigs use to build their houses?
- What happened to the house of straw? What happened to the house of sticks? What happened to the house of brick?
- What happened to the wolf at the end of the story?
A teacher can be content when children understand the facts of a story. These are the journalist’s Five W’s – Who? What? Where? When? Why? And an H – How? Once children satisfactorily understand these questions, a teacher may end the lesson. In fact, most lessons end there because much of our curriculum and teaching is just about facts.
Every question begs a next question.
A good question is like a key in a lock. It opens up doors that lead deeper into the story. Of the Five W’s, it is the Why that most readily leads to a next tier of questions.
- Why did the first pig build a house of straw? And why did the second pig build a house of sticks? And why did the third pig build a house of bricks?
- Why was the wolf interested in these pigs?
Next tier.
- Why was the story of the three pigs told told to children? Or what is the moral of the story?
Next tier.
Consider your life.
- Which little pig best portrays you?
- Who are the wolves in your life?
Next tier.
- Consider socio-economic classes. Now, retell the story using the poor, the middle class, and the wealthy. Put the story in the 1930s and the Great Depression and retell it.
Next tier.
- What life lessons can you draw from the story of the Three Little Pigs?
- Create a catch phrases or slogans characterize this story. Something like – had work pays off.
Know when to stop asking.
A good story or rich plot or complex event is a deep well of questions and teachers can draw from such a well until the proverbial cows come home. But enough is usually enough. A good use of questioning brings us back to the learning outcome that focuses initial instruction. In the movie “Moneyball”, the character Billy Beane taught us, “…when you get the answer you’re looking for, hang up the phone”. Good curricular design and good teaching knows when a teacher has gotten the answers the teacher is looking for and thus ends the lesson.