Query

Practising to proceed comes with some caveats. Foremost among them is querying what is important. We decide what to teach based on our student needs and curriculum priorities.

Questioning underpins our plans, fostering a sense of collaboration and shared responsibility. Framing them under who, what, when, where, and why is a great place to begin, ensuring that everyone is on the same page:

Who is this program for? Whole group, small group, targeted individuals

What content is included/excluded?

When will I present it? Timing is everything

Where will it work/not work? Classroom environment, outdoors, library, computer lab

Why have I chosen this method over another?

They’re interchangeable; that is, no set order is necessary. The only order I’d stipulate is that you query before and during planning and delivery. Note that who, what, when, where, and why questions activate the critical thinking brain cells in the frontal lobe. (Brain diagram here.)

The same cells we want our students to use.

Higher-order queries are the best critical-thinking activators, bar none. The ‘why’ question is the most profound. During my degree training, a university lecturer had us ask ‘why’ five times.

It was a great strategy I applied to teaching and many life challenges. The fifth ‘why’ was the most difficult to answer but also bore the best fruit.