Asking a Good Question

I wanted to start this blog with a topic that I think is fundamental to teaching English: how to ask a good question. Over the years I’ve gotten better and better at asking my students good questions--questions that spark long discussions, questions that students get passionate about and invested in--and I truly believe that good questions are invaluable. But I don’t think identifying or developing good questions is an inherent skill. I had an amazing teacher preparatory program where I learned a lot of skills I still use to this day, but I don’t remember anyone talking meaningfully about how to develop a good question to engage students. But we need to be talking about what good questions look like, and either how to identify them when you’re looking at resources or how to develop them yourself, so that’s what I’m starting with. 

My class revolves around questions; questions that are analytical, ambiguous, and tough to answer, because the truth is that there isn’t anything engaging about an easy question. And yet, it seems like every time I’m teaching a new text and I do a cursory internet search on discussion questions, I find nothing but easy questions. Questions focusing on summary or basic comprehension, with the occasional why thrown in (why did the character throw their hat off the bridge?). But far too often those why questions are still surface level themselves; the answers are obvious and objective, and these two qualities are the enemy of good discussion (the hat was given to him by his grandfather, and he was finally letting him go). If your students can answer a ‘discussion’ question by pointing out a single specific passage in the text or if everyone immediately comes to the same conclusion, then it wasn’t a good discussion question; it was likely just a comprehension question. I think with the prevalence of testing in most classrooms, far too much emphasis has been put on asking comprehension questions. I pretty much never ask my students straight comprehension questions, not because comprehension isn’t important, but because it is inherent in analysis and critical thinking. Students demonstrate their comprehension when they support their ideas with logic and evidence from the text. I want to ask my students questions that both build their skills and engage them. And ultimately, when you can present your students with a question that requires depth and subjective analysis, you are facilitating this kind of meaningful learning. 

So, how do you develop good questions? 

Think about what is truly interesting about the text you’re reading or the topic you’re covering. Is it the style? The characters? The plot? All of the above? Once you’ve identified what’s interesting, try to narrow down why it’s interesting. Is it unique? Are the characters ambiguous? Underdeveloped? Does the plot move quickly? Take these observations and form them into questions. I find this helpful to do as I’m reading through a text. Take notes on things that strike you and then form them into questions when you’re done. Chances are that if you found something interesting, then your students did as well. Here are some of the questions my 12th graders tackled when we read Zadie Smith’s “Two Men Arrive In A Village”:

1. In “Two Men Arrive In A Village,” Smith layers a specific story with generalizations that break out of the story itself. How does this technique affect the story? You as a reader? What does it accomplish?

2. Smith’s story contains very little dialogue (and when it does, it is contained within the body of the rest of the text). Why do you think Smith made this choice?

3. Why do you think the chief’s wife left the room at the end of the story? Was this a satisfying ending? Why or why not? 

None of these questions have definitive answers. There is no objective ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ which is what gets students talking and thinking critically. 

This brings me to the second suggestion for developing a good question: ask questions that you don’t already have an answer to. If you think about it in the right way, this can be very freeing and facilitate a very healthy dynamic in the classroom. When I ask these questions, I am genuinely interested in what the students have to say, and they can see that. I want them to provide me and their classmates with thoughts and perspectives that we couldn’t have gotten on our own. Furthermore, if I’m not searching for a specific answer, then conversations can very organically develop and students can feel that their thoughts are truly valuable. The power dynamic in the classroom becomes shared; we are tackling the unknown together, instead of the teacher holding onto the answer and the students waiting for the big reveal. There is no big reveal, other than the one they bring to the table. 

Finally, I think there is a general association with question starters that I'd like to push back on. Usually we associate what, where, when, etc. starters with comprehension and why and how with analysis, but these starters are not indicative of the quality of a question. Many ‘what’ questions can spark great discussion and many ‘why’ questions can be answered simply. When crafting your questions, try not to worry too much about these starters. Instead think about how easily your question can be answered. Depth, subjectivity, and critical thinking are all keys to developing your questions, and these can be framed in a myriad of ways. 

And why should we develop good questions? 

Good questions can be a lot of work, and they can be daunting. I know many teachers feel naked when a student asks a question they don’t know the answer to or cherish their teachers editions because there is a clear right and wrong, but breaking out of the comfort of knowing the answers is exactly what good questions are about, for both you and your students. Sometimes, when I’ve asked my students a particularly difficult question, I’ll preface our class discussion with something like, “I have no idea about this one. I’m really interested to see what you all said.” Acknowledging that there isn’t a correct answer can open up the floodgates, and I’m always amazed by what my students say (it’s often far more insightful than what I could come up with!). If you open up the discussion into exploratory territory, students are much more likely to think openly and critically, and share those thoughts, which is exactly what we want students to be doing with good questions. 

When you start asking students questions that stretch their critical thinking skills and facilitate discourse, you’re modeling for them that thinking outside of the box is important and valuable. And you’re showing them how to start the process of thinking analytically -- by tackling a good question. Over time, your students will start asking those questions to themselves and approaching English (and to some degree, reality) in a more meaningful way.