TLDR: 

Scroll to the end for a great infographic of the 6 Socratic Questions

‍

What's Inside:

Why is Asking Questions An Important Skill for Young Learners?

The 7 Types of Questions Children Should Learn to Ask

How Can Parents Develop Questioning Skills in Children and Students?

10 Ground Rules of Asking Good Questions

‍

Albert Einstein said

‍"If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask. Once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

‍

For some strange reason, the spirit of inquiry and learning that is personified by the act of asking questions has become associated with not understanding, being stupid or a slow learner (nothing wrong with being a slow learner by the way!), being a troublemaker or questioning authority, rebellion, or exposing your ignorance in some way.

‍

But the smartest people on the planet know better. They know that asking questions is the only way to solve problems, progress, and grow human knowledge. 

‍

“Everything we know has its origins in questions. Questions, we might say, are the principal intellectual instruments available to human beings.” Neil Postman 

‍

Why is Asking Questions An Important Skill for Young Learners?

‍

The ability to ask deep, meaningful questions is an important skill for children to develop and learn—and one that they’ll leverage throughout their careers and their lives. 

‍

A child can better explore and learn about the world around them, make connections, and solve their own problems, with the simple technique of asking questions. Questions are useful- more useful than answers, many geniuses argue, because

‍

• They help us focus on the right issue and organize our thoughts
• They expand our thinking and imagination in new directions
• They help us better formulate and articulate our arguments or narratives and question others’ points of view.

‍

But asking good questions is a skill that they will need to practice regularly if it’s something that they’re going to retain. 

In this post, we'll talk about some ways parents can help their young children learn to ask the questions that truly matter.

‍

But first, let's take a moment to examine our relationship with the idea of asking questions. 

‍

As young children, we ask between 200 to 300 questions a day. That is around one question every two minutes. Any parent of a young child will attest to this fact - the questions never end. 

There is no embarrassment or anxiety associated with asking these questions - it is natural. 

Younger children are experts in the W-H questions. Who? what? when? where? why? How? - are all just a part of the natural vocabulary. 

By middle school, we are already increasingly hesitant to ask questions. We worry about annoying our teacher or being laughed at. We don’t want to be judged for our questions.  

By senior school and in fact through life after that, we want to ask ‘the right’ questions. Acceptable questions. Questions that do not challenge or threaten or question anyone’s authority or the status quo. We don’t want to upset the apple cart.

By adulthood, we are more interested in being the one who provides all the answers than the one who asks the right questions. 

‍

‍

The 7 Types of Questions Children Should Learn to Ask

‍

I don’t particularly like the idea of closetting questions into neat compartments, but just to help ourselves understand the spirit of questioning and the fact that questions can be diverse and varied, let us look at some of the more popular ‘types’ of questions that are possible. Being aware of them will help us, as parents, to observe and understand, when our child is asking a question, where they are coming from.

‍

1. Open-ended questions

‍

There is no right or wrong answer but such questions expect more detailed or descriptive and well-considered responses; which can be subjective and personal in nature.

‍

For example, what do you think about children having phones before the age of 18? Such questions are great to encourage a more purposeful thinking process in your child, where the discussion can lead to many more questions, possibilities and directions.

‍

2. Close ended questions

These are simply the yes-no kind of questions. Multiple choice questions are also a kind of close ended question because only a finite set of answers is possible. 

‍

Such questions work best in non-complex situations when you want quick answers. 

‍

3. 5W-H questions

The basic bedrock of questioning - the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions that help us understand the basic context and position of any situation. These types of questions come most naturally to young learners, but are equally valuable at any stage in life. This should be the first line of question when trying to make sense of any concept or trying to learn something new.

‍

For example, for any concept your child is learning, pick any one element and go deep with a series of why. The idea is to reach the root cause. For example, if your child says I am not hungry today. You may ask a series of why questions (I am tired. Why?) (I slept late. Why?) (I was stressed. Why?) (I had an exam today) - may reveal much more about your child rather than giving them a lecture on why food is important.

‍

4. Probing questions

One of the socratic questioning techniques, probing questions aim to get deeper into the argument being made, with the intent of gaining deeper understanding. Note- the intent is not to judge the argument, but just to understand the assumptions, beliefs, context, rationale, evidence etc. on which the argument has been based. 

‍

These sort of questions are the basis of critical thinking and making more informed decisions or even a more informed counter argument. For example, if your child is making the argument that school is bad, you may want to probe further and understand, via non-judgemental questioning, why they are making that argument, what are the assumptions, arguments and evidence to support it.

‍

5. Leading questions

‍

This line of question essentially has an end result in mind, and is designed to lead the person answering towards that desired response. This is a popular technique used by salespersons, who ultimately want you to say yes to buying something. 

‍

For example, if you ask your child, “did you enjoy that book” you are essentially implying that you would prefer an answer in the affirmative. Instead, try asking “what did you think of that book?” Such questions can be manipulative in nature. 

‍

6. Funnel questions

‍

These are a great way to get to know someone or try to learn something in a non-intimidating way. You start out broad, asking general questions to set the tone and context and then get deeper and narrower towards the specific point you wish to address. This technique also helps get the most amount of information and context about a situation. 

‍

For example, if you want to know about your child’s progress in a particular subject at school, you may start broad about school in general, what teachers are fun and which classes the child is enjoying, before getting more specific. It helps to frame the entire questioning as a discussion.

‍

7. Reflective questions

‍

These sorts of questions help better process the experience, make meaning from it and learn from it. The technique is best used after a certain learning experience, to understand more about how that experience was received and what meaning was made.

‍

For example, what did you enjoy about it? What was challenging for you? What do you think you could do differently next time?

‍

How Can Parents Help Children Develop Questioning Skills as Students?

‍

Everyone wants to be Mr. Right, not Mr. Why!

Several studies have shown that the quality and frequency of a child’s questioning drops from early childhood into the teens and adulthood. How and why does this evolution happen? And what can we, as parents do, to help our children retain their sense of curiosity and their natural talent for asking questions?

‍

A 2012 research study on how young children ask questions revealed that children quickly develop the ability to distinguish between sources of information, and use their judgment to ask questions to the appropriate source. 

‍

The study also showed that successful problem solving by the children required integrating knowledge of who to question, what to ask, and how much information to ask for.

Children - especially young ones, typically ask questions for 3 reasons:

1. Information
2. Interaction
3. Permission

‍

Asking questions is a key learning skill, and parents play a key role in helping children develop these skills. 

‍

In her book Supporting young children to ask productive questions, author Maria Birbili says, it is essential to support kids in asking questions that are useful for their learning.

‍

“When children ask real questions, that is, questions that stem from their desire to understand the world around them, their mind is more open to connections and learning feels meaningful. When children are able to pose questions and explore the answers they feel motivated to exercise their sense of agency and build their independence skills.”

‍

Parents need to encourage their children by making time to discuss the question, but refrain from directly answering the question. Take the opportunity to help the child think through their question and arrive at their own answers. 

‍

For this, parents can ask clarifying and probing questions, and ask more counter questions back. For example, if a child asks, ‘Why is the sky blue?” you can ask back “why do you think the sky is blue’? 

‍

Do not worry about the accuracy of the answer - just use it to extend the discussion.

Turning questions into discussions is a great way to get the child to think through the question. 

‍

When children ask complex questions, you can also start them off on making a mind map of possible solutions, which helps them see that there are multiple aspects to any question and it can be viewed from any perspective.

‍

One area where most of us parents falter is when children ask questions that challenge the status quo. Why do we always need to eat dessert after dinner? Why should I write with a pencil? Why do you always get to choose the TV channel? How come I need to sleep at 8 and you can stay up till 10? 

‍

Each of these questions is a great learning opportunity - for the child and for us as parents as well. Do not lose the chance to turn it into a productive, constructive, learning discussion - probe, clarify, repeat the question  (Why do you think we always eat dinner before dessert?) and so on, and watch the magic unfold!

‍

Keep these 10 ground rules of good questioning in mind, and you and your child should soon be expert questioners again!

‍

10 Ground Rules of Asking Good Questions

‍

“The answers you get depend on the questions you ask”. Thomas Kuhn 

‍

Establishing a learning environment and culture at home that encourages asking questions, sharing feedback, and reflecting can be powerful allies to your child’s lifelong learning journey. 

‍

As parents, it is important to remember some important ground rules to make the process as constructive and valuable as possible for our children, and to walk the talk when we say that healthy questioning is always welcome in our household. 

‍

1. There are no right or wrong questions 
2. A question can have many goals and purposes for the questioner
3. Asking questions is a skill and needs to be practiced to be developed
4. Every question leads to more questions and some answers
5. All questions lead to a better understanding of something
6. Questions are not inquisitions and interrogations but discussions 
7. Find a way to respond to a question rather than react to it
8. Questions are about curiosity - not compliance. 
9. When you ask questions, be prepared to receive answers - even those you don't like.
10. When you ask questions, be prepared to receive even more questions! Even those that challenge or confuse you even more.

‍

Asking Questions Are More Important than Answers While Learning

‍

Questions are your child’s best friend in the learning journey - they show a high level of intelligence and curiosity, and should never be viewed as a lack of understanding, or worse, stupidity. 

Even the most basic and simple of questions needs to be respected, and given its due place, so that you do not condition your child to fear asking questions and allow their learning process to take its own course.

‍

Ensure your child’s school shares the same philosophy towards asking questions. And when in doubt, do not hesitate to ask your child what they think!!

‍

Also Read: 

The Best Practice Techniques for Effective Learning

5 Child-friendly Reflection Techniques

Everyday Ideas to Build Your Child's 4C Skills

‍

The 6 Socratic Questions Infographic

Click on the PDF icon below to download this printable

‍