I listened to a teacher explain his pleasure in his teaching method. He explained that the secret to his being a successful educator is that he asks students “Why?”
The only question I had about this technique was “Why?”
His answer was because his mastery of “Why” teaching has led his students developing the critical thinking necessary to pass the Common Core tests. My first thought was, thank goodness people don't have to take these tests for success outside of school. My next was that I bet a lot of these kids find this guy to be such an annoying teacher. But, even if I was wrong, and asking "Why" can turn the mediocre teacher into one who is masterful, do we really need a teacher to do this? Just invite a five-year-old to the classroom. They’re great at asking, “Why?”
Sarcasm aside, the more important issue here is that a teacher doesn’t become good because they learned to repeat a three letter word and has figured out how they can make their students answer it. A good teacher gives their students a more important skill. That is the skill of supporting students in learning how to ask their own relevant questions for real reasons and helping them develop questions that are more complex than just, “Why?”
There are many types of questions that teachers can help their students develop. The Questioning Toolkit provides these common question types:
