It’s better to teach students how to think, rather than what to think.

This approach leads to enquiry, rather than rote learning. An atmosphere of ‘what is possible’ versus ‘this is what you need to know.’

Often your enquiries may lead to more questions than the ones you have asked.

To create a classroom of enquiry, Rebecca Alber, consulting online editor for Edutopia, suggested building your discussions around these five powerful questions:

1. What do you think?
2. Why do you think that?
3. How do you know this?
4. Can you tell me more?
5. What questions do you still have?

But it’s not enough to just ask questions. You must also wait, giving time for your students to respond.

Jumping in too early, filling the silence, will only disempower your students and rob them of the opportunity to think more deeply and engage in the conversation.

Click the thumbnail image below to view a poster created by one of Rebecca’s Twitter followers depicting these five simple questions to ask your students.

To learn more about how to conduct a powerful debrief, click here.

Contributor Mark