Questions are as good as answers to guide the learning process (2024)

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Patricia E. Miguel Questions are as good as answers to guide the learning process (1)

Patricia E. Miguel

Software Engineer

Published Apr 12, 2022

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I was hesitating about whether to post this as an article or not, since it's just something from my own experience. But maybe it helps someone else.

I started a new path as a back-end developer not long ago, and of course every task is a challenge (as I was expecting it to be). So I find myself asking for help often, after spending some time trying to solve the thing by myself to no avail. And I usually don't understand 100% of what I do but I'm ok with it, as I knew it was part of the deal when I decided to start this new career.

But I also found that something that works for me is to focus on questions. Making questions is a GREAT way to learn. It's not always about answers. Questions help you organize information and know when and where something needs to be done. So I like to think about what questions I could have asked that would have led me to an answer to whatever problem I was having. This is a "post-mortem" process: it usually comes after spending a long time digging into code without getting it to work, or after asking for someone else's help. So the priority is to get the problem sorted out and to make things work. But then I try to analyze how I could have found a solution had I known exactly where to look. Usually that's an "a-ha!" moment where I realize I've learned something new.

Let me explain: from my years as a teacher I noticed that usually, when someone is a bit lost and needs assistance, the problem is that they don't know exactly what questions to ask. And that's perfectly fine and normal (if you knew what question to ask, you'd probably just google it or search for the answer somewhere instead of asking someone else to take a look at what you're doing). If you're not too familiar with whatever you're working on, then you won't really grasp all the bits and details and that will lead to "blanks" and to information being "scattered" in your mind. That's the usual state where we find ourselves when we start learning something, and it's good to keep it in mind and not stress about it. So the goal is now to put all the pieces together and understand how everything interacts with everything else. And it will probably take time, but you can help it go a bit faster if you organize the information and revise it whenever you start to understand a bit more (taking notes is a great way to do this). But I found that questions are an amazing tool that I overlooked for a long time.

As an example, let's say I'm getting an error I don't know how to solve. So I call someone from my team and they help me debug until we get to the point where I was missing some configuration in an external file. Ok, I'm happy the problem was solved, I thank my team mate and end the call. But now is when I usually get to my "learning moment": this is when I like to go back over what we discussed, how exactly the other person found the cause of the problem (what steps they followed and what pieces of information they thought were important), and then come up with questions I could have asked if I had a little more understanding. For instance, I could have avoided the whole call had I asked "do I need to add any variables in this configuration file?" or "what's the variable I have to add to get [something] to work?". Of course I couldn't have asked these questions before the call, since I didn't even know the configuration file existed (or I did, but never realized how it should be used). But then next time I probably will. So whenever I get an error (not necessarily the same error) I'll think about configuration files and maybe ask if there's anything that needs to be added there.

I'm not saying this is how it should work for everyone, and it might not even work at all for some people. We all have different learning processes and go at our own pace. But maybe it helps someone else who's also learning something new.

And remember it's ok to ask for help when you get blocked. Nobody is expected to know everything and ASKING FOR HELP IS OK (please don't let anyone tell you otherwise).

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Antonella Schiavoni

Machine Learning Engineer

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I love this! Great post!

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Jason Z.

Startup Product Design and Strategy

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This is so great. Thanks for sharing it.

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Questions are as good as answers to guide the learning process (2024)

FAQs

Why is questioning important in the teaching-learning process? ›

Questions stimulate discussion and creative and critical thinking, as well as determine how students are thinking. Questions help students retain material by putting into words otherwise unarticulated thoughts.

What is the question and answer method of learning? ›

The question-answer teaching method The question-answer teaching method focuses on asking students to answer sets of questions in replacement of lecturing. The designed questions should encourage and challenge students to correct their misconceptions and understand the concept by themselves.

Are questions the best way to learn? ›

Making questions is a GREAT way to learn. It's not always about answers. Questions help you organize information and know when and where something needs to be done.

What are the benefits of guided questions? ›

Writing guiding questions compels teachers to create precise, focused plans for learning. That focus and precision help students better understand the learning expectations for each unit and lesson.

Why are questions so effective for learning? ›

Questions are often used to stimulate the recall of prior knowledge, promote comprehension, and build critical-thinking skills. Teachers ask questions to help students uncover what has been learned, to comprehensively explore the subject matter, and to generate discussion and peer-to-peer interaction.

How can effective questioning improve teaching and learning? ›

All teachers need to teach learners to think critically, both at school and beyond. Effective questioning develops critical thinking skills, allowing learners to make connections, make sense of the world they live in and deal effectively with new situations.

What are the advantages of question-answer method? ›

Advantages of Question-Answer method:-

It involves the learners' participation in the subject matter and in teaching acts. It helps in achieving cognitive objectives and bringing knowledge at a conscious level. Classroom verbal interaction is encouraged. It is a useful strategy at all levels of education.

What teaching strategy is question and answer? ›

The question-answer relationship (QAR) comprehension strategy teaches students how to ask key questions about their reading, and then how to find the answers to their questions — whether it means locating a specific fact, drawing an inference, or connecting the reading to their own experience.

How does learning by questions work? ›

Learning by Questions is a teaching and learning tool filled with Question Sets for maths, English and science. Pupils answer questions on a device, whether that be at home or in the classroom, and the teacher can see how they are doing in real time.

What is more important questions or answers? ›

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” ~ Eugene Ionesco. Questions are at the heart of every great conversation. They make us think, grow, and challenge our beliefs.

Why is questioning the ultimate learning skill? ›

Effective self-questioning can improve students' awareness and control of their thinking, which in turn can improve their learning. It can improve long-term retention of knowledge and skills, as well as the ability of students to apply and transfer the knowledge and skills they learn.

What is the value of questioning? ›

Responsible answers to questions can help to improve the quality of What we do. In addition, observations combined with curiosity and questions help us to learn WHY we do things.

What are guiding questions for learning? ›

Guiding questions are developed by students with support from a teacher, in a group, or independently. The guiding questions provide students an opportunity to makes choices about the direction of their learning. Guiding questions help students narrow their inquiry while honoring their curiosity.

What is a good guiding question example? ›

Third, good guiding questions contain emotive force and intellectual bite. Questions like "Whose America is it?" "Who will survive?" "Where does money go?" "What is waste?" and "When are laws fair?" have import. As students, educators, and world citizens, we must try to answer them.

What are the benefits of focused questions? ›

Benefits of asking focused questions

The well-formed question makes it relatively straightforward to elicit and combine the appropriate terms needed to represent your need for information in the query language of whichever searching service is available to you.

Why is questioning such an important? ›

Effective questioning is not just a tool; it is the cornerstone of leadership. It empowers leaders to gather vital information, explore diverse viewpoints, and unearth hidden opportunities. The right questions can spark critical thinking and facilitate meaningful discussions among team members.

Why questioning is important in inquiry based learning? ›

Inquiry-based learning builds upon this natural curiosity and allows children to achieve a sense of personal discovery when they are asking their own questions. Giving children the sense that they are controlling their own learning will increase their confidence and interest in the subject at hand.

What is the importance of questioning in teaching essay? ›

To develop interest and motivate students to become actively involved in lessons. To develop critical thinking skills. To review learning. To stimulate students to pursue knowledge on their own and ask their own questions.

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