Characteristics+of+Good+Questions

What Makes A Good Question A Good Question?


Good questions are key to framing and focusing inquiry efforts. So then, what are the characteristics of a good question?

**// Our ideas... //**


 * Can't be a yes or no question (Blake)
 * Questions that force us to show a perspective (Amanda)
 * When you can answer it with a question (Stephanie S)
 * Require you to dip into current knowledge (Hannah)
 * Critical Thinking (Jade)
 * Different directions the answers could go (Brittany J)
 * Controversial Questions (Kaitlyln)
 * When the subject is timeless. ex. who is God? (Pryscilla)
 * Promote discussion (Alex)
 * When the question makes you consider different perspectives or viewpoints (Samantha)
 * Questions that force us to question our own beliefs and values (Stephanie H)
 * Questions that make us think about other sides (Brittany W)

//Continue to add to our list over the course of the semester....//

**Allen's Ideas**
 * it will make you think of other questions
 * a good question is hard to figure out
 * can't just go to one place and look it up
 * should take you far in your learning
 * it should be something you don't know
 * should be something you really want to know
 * it should be challenging
 * it should be something a real desire to know
 * something your willing to put effort into
 * it should be something you should be able to ask others about and find a piece later
 * causes you to think

**POSTMAN & WEINGARTNER'S IDEAS ABOUT GOOD QUESTIONS** In addition to Allen’s ideas for what makes a question a good question on the handout from last week, Postman and Weingartner provide the following considerations for us as teachers (p. 66):

- Will your questions increase the learner’s will as well as his [or her] capacity to learn? - Will they help to give him [or her] a sense of joy in learning? - Will they help to provide the learner with confidence in his [or her] ability to learn? - In order to get answers, will the learner be required to make inquiries? (Ask further questions, clarify terms, make observations, classify data, etc.?) - Does each question allow for alternative answers (which implies alternative modes of inquiry)? - Will the process of answering the questions tend to stress the uniqueness of the learner? - Would the questions produce different answers if asked at different stages of the learner’s development? - Will the answers help the learner to sense and understand the universals in the human condition and so enhance his ability to draw closer to other people?

For Postman and Weingartner, answering yes to these questions ensures extremely high standards in education.