The first post in Carly’s exploration and reflections on the four Dimensions of the C3 Framework: Dimension 1 – Developing Questions and Planning Inquiries
September 1, 2014
By Carly Muetterties
I would not be able to count the number of questions I am asked each day. Sometimes it resembles talking to my 4-year-old niece – students will follow up every answer I provide with “but why?”
Fantastic! They’re interested…but I’ve got a lot of material to cover. I need to move on. Time is wasting! Why are they still asking? Are they trying to get me off course?!?!
It’s tempting to turn to the classic parental response: “Because I said so!”
Why do we let our frustrations stifle their natural curiosities? How do we promote the right kind of questioning rather than encourage students to be complacently passive in their education? Isn’t the perfect student one that becomes an active contributor rather than just one who absorbs quietly?
Questions are a natural part of education. Writer Nancy Willard said, “Sometimes questions are more important than answers.” If so, perhaps we need to give them a bit more attention and promotion.
Using questions in teaching might seem like a given. Just as I feel overwhelmed by questions, so too must the students. Thus, we must make the most of them. The first part of the C3 Framework revolves around questioning, but more specifically, about asking compelling questions – ones that are intriguing, ones that engage, ones that students want to talk about.
What about my students who say they “hate” history? How do I make them want to talk about anything? S.G. Grant, one of the members of the C3 Framework Writing Team, says these questions need to be two things: “intellectually meaty” and “student-friendly.”
So, how will I challenge myself with this? I don’t have to rewrite everything in my curriculum, but rather readjust it. Here’s how I plan on applying this idea inside my classroom. In one of my upper-level classes, I already have students using their homework to answer an in-depth, “intellectually meaty” question. In addition to this, I am going to begin each unit with a compelling question. For example: Was the American Revolution justified? For my more advanced classes: How revolutionary was the American Revolution? No vegetarian questions here! I could debate these with people from all walks of life. They also stay student-friendly to a variety of ability levels. What’s more, it has practical applications to how students may perceive events of the past and the present, leading to more student-initiated questioning.
Next step is creating supporting questions: help the students create a roadmap to answering the compelling question.
What does the word “revolution” mean? What changes were there? What was it like in England versus the colonies? What similarities or differences do we see in other independence movements? These questions will help frame and deepen their inquiry into the larger compelling question.
This may be a first step, but can have significant outcomes. Recently, when having dinner with my family, I removed the lid of a pot holding some fresh-off-the-stove spaghetti. My 4-year-old niece turned to her little brother to say, “it’s too hot to eat.” I asked, “And how do you know that?” “Because of the steam.”
How did she know steam indicated something not only hot, but too hot to eat? It all goes back to questioning. Her parents let her explore her own questions. If she asks “but why?” or “what’s that?” or “what does that do?”, they won’t say “because I said so” “or “just because.” They will answer, but then also ask their own follow-ups to deepen her understanding. They promote, not stifle questioning. We need to do the same.
How will my students perform with these questions? Will they engage with the content more? Will we get off topic? The potential gains outweigh the risks – and this is an easy adjustment.
The better question: Will it make them more engaged learners? I think so…but why? Because I said so!