S1.E1: Asking Good Questions - Raising Thinkers Podcast

If you're a parent who wants to help your child become a:

• Better thinker
• Problem solver
• Global citizen prepared for the future
  

Then this is the place for you!

It’s not easy being a parent. You are your child’s first teacher and will always be. You are their first and greatest example. My purpose here is to provide short, bite-sized portions of information to help you with simple, but effective suggestions on how to help you raise your child to be a thinker.

So, who I am to be speaking to you about this topic?  Let me introduce myself:

• I have 13 years of experience in education as a certified teacher
• I consider myself more of a guide for learning… as I tell my students, I’m still a student.  I’m still learning too.  I learn from them, and they learn from me as well.
• I've taught in the United States and in Panama.
• I've worked with students from a variety of nationalities and language abilities in both public and private schools.
  

I love being an educator and I value my students and their learning as if they were my own children.  I think I have the best job in the world! While I can help on the school side, I know many parents want to help their children too.  I want to share just a bit of what I know and some ideas I have to help parents.

There are lots of buzzwords out there right now.  Growth mindset, fixed mindset, grit, 21st-century skills, etc.  It can be overwhelming, so I want to keep it simple for you.  I want to make my words count. The first thing you need to know, and the focus for today is:  Ask questions to develop a questioner.

Those who know how to ask the right questions, find the right answers.  There is so much information out there today, and more than ever, we need to ask the right questions to discover what we need to know. We can model this for our kids by asking them questions that count. Here’s a key pointer… if you can answer a question in one word, it’s probably not the best question to ask.  To raise a thinker, you need to hear about their thinking.

Instead of: Did you learn something new today?

Ask: What did you learn today that made you think differently?  Or What is something new you discovered today?

Then you can dig deeper from there

You might also want to model this kind of thinking for your kids, as they learn best from examples… and you as a parent, are their very first example.  Tell them something you learned or discovered first, then ask them in turn.  It sets them up for how they can answer this question themselves.  You can also tag the word “why” onto your question.  This might be a question we get tired of hearing from our kids sometimes, so turn it back on them.  Make them be the ones to explain the cause, pushing them to analyze a bit more.

If they say they didn’t learn anything at school or at camp, or wherever they were during the day, ask why?  Maybe they have to confess they weren’t paying attention, or perhaps it was something they already learned before and they were bored. For all children, we can also use the word “why” to inspire curiosity.  Instead of asking, “Do you think it will rain today?” Add on the question “Why or why not?” The point is to get kids to explain their reasoning.  

We might not think they have reasons (when they are young especially), but even the youngest children are extremely observant, and they have plenty theories!  

Here’s the recap:

1. Ask questions
2. Ask questions that can’t be answered with one word
3. Add on the why or why not
4. Listen for their reasoning, and keep asking questions from there.
   

Hope that was helpful.  All the best to you as you continue to raise thinkers!