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To me, the idea of constantly questioning stood out. As educators we need to shift our mindset from always feeling we need to have the answers to embracing unknown answers to questions. My personality struggles with this concept as I am constantly wanting to know answers without having to do much research or work to get to those answers. As I seek to change this mindset for myself, my hope is that I can apply the excitement of constantly asking and seeking answers to questions with my kids.

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Underlying issues, needs and discoveries

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Underlying issues, needs and discoveries

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"A good, pointed question can serve as a spade for digging and unearthing bits of the truth of a story."

Reading this excerpt reminded me of an article I came across on social media that challenged the sharing of a story about a young man saving up to buy his friend a wheelchair. While the story had been shared thousands of times with praise for the teen, someone questioned why the boy's medical insurance had not covered such an essential tool for his mobility, which began to expose the underlying issue of children such as him not getting the medical help they needed.
We need to ask these kinds of questions in our community and, in some areas, we have already done this.
Q. Why is this child struggling in my class?
A. Because they cannot focus.
Q. Why can this child not focus?
A. Because they are hungry. Because their parents are getting divorced. Because they have a learning disability that has not yet been diagnosed.
Q. How can we address this?

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I enjoyed this article. I believe it helps us to expand our thinking at every age. The "shift their thinking" really makes me think about how educators do things. If our intention is to provide deeper learning for our students, we must shift student thinking, as well as, teacher and administrator thinking. Student centered focus will take on a new meaning. A secondary idea is the layering question approach that leads students initially in the learning process. Students can then develop their own questioning process over time. Empowering students for their individual learning hopefully will define new roles for teachers. Everything we learn is "rooted in questioning."

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The quote that stood out the most to me was, "Questioning as a starting point to innovation." Deep Learning speaks to how we should re frame our questioning to students as, "What problems need to be solved?" instead of "How are we going to solve this problem?" When we step back and out of the way of our students' natural curiosity, we empower them to do what this article speaks to, "... the confidence and humility to ask the ambitious, unexpected questions that no one else is asking."

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This makes me, yet again, think of Junior Great Books.  Once I was trained in this shared inquiry based program, I  began to better understand the importance of critical and reflective thinking.  Instead of having the traditional, basic questions and answers, my students and I all found it much more enlightening to use our imaginations, creativity and problem solving skills.  All of my second graders had the ability to ask and answer open ended questions about our stories, sometimes doing so just as well, if not better than some adults.  A child’s curiosity must be encouraged and celebrated because, like the article stated, when one takes the time to ask the right questions, then better decisions can be made in all areas of life.  This can enable individuals to become more well rounded, more open minded, and better able to develop deeper relationships with family, friends and co-workers.   Having the realization that there is no one particular way of doing things, and knowing that good questions have multiple answers, teaches our kids to respect the opinions of those who think differently, opening their eyes to endless possibilities.  Hopefully, this article can influence our educators to better spark the imaginations of our youth, challenging them to become more curious about the world, leading them to ask the right questions about the world around them and then using their ability to search for productive courses of action.

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Reading this except reinforced, for me, the importance of focusing on the process of learning (of constant inquiry, asking questions, digging ever deeper) with students rather than the product.  Using the analogy of climbing Mount Everest, those who have reached the summit do not speak of planting their “flag” at the top, but instead they speak of embracing the challenge, persevering through the hard times, developing grit, learning from their mistakes, experiencing the crisp air, beholding the view, etc.  Focusing more on those beautiful questions will get us to deep learning, whereas a sole focus on the product of the learning will never be as substantial or life-changing.

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Exposure to the World by becoming Questionologists

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Exposure to the World by becoming Questionologists

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Thank you Ms. Yates for this artifact. This article resonated with me because it made me think about how kids, when they are very young, are indeed questionologits--they start out as problem solvers--somewhere along the way, I, as the adult perhaps gave too many answers --thus cutting off their discovery and thus greater exposure to the world.

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A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

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The Book of Beautiful Questions focuses on four key areas: How to Decide, Create, Connect, and Lead. This excerpt is from the Introduction to the book, titled "Why Question?"

I am a questionologist.

You may be asking yourself: Is that really a thing? I asked myself that very question a few years ago. Then I did some research, which turned up hundreds of different types of "ologists," ranging from the acarologist (who studies ticks and mites) to the zoologist. But searching among the Qs, I found no entry for "questionologist." And this led me to inquire, Why not? Isn't the study of questions as worthy of classification as the study of ticks and mites?

My questioning then advanced from the "Why not?" to the "What if?' stage-as in, What if I just declared myself a questionologist? I did so in, among other places, the pages of the New York Times. And to my surprise, no one questioned it.

I have been using the term ever since, as I visit companies (including many Fortune 500 businesses), government agencies, such as NASA, and schools from grade-school level through university. I have been invited to various gatherings of farmers, accountants, artists, scientists, soldiers, political operatives, Hollywood agents, Danish pharmaceutical executives, and Australian school teachers. The interest in questioning crosses all lines, it seems.

And it should. When we are confronted with almost any demanding situation, in work or in life, simply taking the time and effort to ask questions can help guide us to better decisions and a more productive course of action. But the questions must be the right ones-the ones that cut to the heart of a complex challenge or that enable us to see an old problem in a new light.

My new book, The Book of Beautiful Questions, contains many such questions-hundreds of them, covering everyday situations that range from getting out of a career rut to strengthening personal relationships. The book is about asking thoughtful questions at the right time in order to make the best choices when it matters most. It is aimed at creators, problem solvers, and decision makers. I believe that we have at our disposal a natural tool to help us think and "hack" our way to more successful outcomes. That tool is the humble question.

I first began to appreciate the value of questions years ago, when I worked as a newspaper reporter. For me (and for journalists in general), a good, pointed question can serve as a spade for digging and unearthing bits of the truth of a story. Through the years, I tended to think of a question primarily as something you ask others in order to extract information from them. I'm sure that attorneys, pollsters, psychiatrists, and other "professional questioners" think of questioning the same way.

But my work as a journalist also brought me into contact with inventors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, artists, and scientists, who often were the subjects of my writing. I found that many of these people tended to use the questioning tool in a different way-their questions were often directed inward. They might be trying to solve a problem or create something original, and in doing so, were likely to begin with questions that they asked themselves: Why does this problem or situation exist? What are the underlying forces, the larger issues at play? What might be an interesting new way to come at this challenge?

This type of questioning helped lead these creative thinkers to original ideas and effective solutions. And this observation formed the basis of my previous book A More Beautiful Question, which made the case that questioning is a starting point of innovation. In that book, I showed that inventions from the instant camera to the cell phone, and startup businesses such as Netflix and Airbnb, could be traced to a "beautiful question"-one that shifted the current thinking, opened up a new possibility, and ultimately led to a breakthrough.

After the book came out, as I conducted press interviews, gave speeches, and engaged with audiences of readers, I found that while many agreed with the premise of the book and its "Ask more questions" message, there also seemed to be a hunger for something more targeted and specific. People wanted to know which questions they should be asking with regard to a particular problem they might be facing or a goal they were pursuing.

When I spoke to business leaders, for example, they tended to be most interested in questions that could help in running a company, whereas those at creative gatherings wanted to know how to ask questions that could spark ideas. Likewise, with people seeking to improve personal relationships or with those grappling with difficult decisions about whether to accept a job or pursue a new passion-all were seeking the questions that might help them make better choices or achieve the best results in a specific situation.

To me, any question that causes people to shift their thinking is a beautiful one. The questions in my book are intended to do that-to remind you to slow down and think more, to broaden your perspective, to see past biases, creative blocks, and emotional reactions. In so doing they can help steer you in the right direction at critical moments when you're trying to 1) decide on something; 2) create something; 3) connect with other people; and 4) be a good and effective leader. These are the four broad themes of the book. In my conversations with readers and with audiences at my speeches, these four areas seemed to come up most-they are very much on people's minds.

How can questioning help us decide, create, connect, and lead?

In each of the four featured areas, questioning plays a central role. Decision-making (or at least, good decision-making) demands critical thinking-which is rooted in questioning. It has been suggested that critical thinking is in crisis today, as evidenced by a growing collective inability to distinguish fake news from the real thing (or real leaders from fake ones). We can blame the media or Facebook or the politicians themselves-but ultimately, it's up to each of us to work through the hard questions that enable us to make more enlightened judgments and choices. Asking oneself a few well-considered questions before deciding on something-a candidate, a possible career or life change, an opportunity that you or your business may be thinking about pursuing-can be surprisingly effective in helping to avoid the common pitfalls of decision-making.

As for creativity, it often depends on our ability, and willingness, to grapple with challenging questions that can fire the imagination. For people within an organization trying to innovate by coming up with fresh ideas for a new offering or venture or for an individual attempting to express a vision in an original and compelling way, the creative path is a journey of inquiry. It often starts with identifying a singularly powerful "Why?" or "What if?" question (so many well-known creative breakthroughs, in business and the arts, can be traced back to a question of this type). But it doesn't end there. Knowing the right questions to ask at each stage of the creative process can guide the creator forward-steadily advancing from early stages of finding an idea to the final challenges of getting that idea "out the door" and into the world.

Our success in connecting with others can be improved dramatically by asking more questions-of ourselves and of the people with whom we're trying to relate. Surprising new research suggests we become more likable to others by asking questions-as long as they're the right type of questions, asked in the right way. (When asked the wrong way, questions can be confrontational and downright annoying.) While many of us tend to rely on generic "How are you?" questions, more thoughtful and purposeful questions can do a better job of breaking the ice with strangers or bonding with clients and colleagues. They also enable us to forge an even stronger, deeper relationship with the people closest to us. And-worth noting in these polarizing times-questions can help us understand and begin to relate to those who see the world very differently.

Lastly, leadership is not usually associated with questioning-leaders are supposed to have all the answers-but it is becoming increasingly clear that the best leaders are those with the confidence and humility to ask the ambitious, unexpected questions that no one else is asking. Today's leaders-and I'm referring to not just top corporate executives but team leaders of any type, as well as civic leaders, social advocates, "thought leaders," family leaders, and educators-are facing unprecedented challenges in a world of exponential change. They must ask the questions that anticipate and address the needs of an organization and its people, questions that set the tone for curious exploration and innovation, and questions that frame a larger challenge that others can rally around. Mission statements are no longer sufficient; the new leader must pose "mission questions."

Within each of the four distinct themes, there are different types of questions that tend to be most effective. Many of the decision-making questions are designed to help you work through your own biases. Creativity questions are more exploratory and inspirational. Relationship questions tend to be empathetic. Leadership questions are more visionary.

But what ties them all together is this: The simplest and most powerful thing that happens when we ask ourselves questions is that it forces us to think. This might involve something as simple as pausing before making a decision or pursuing a course of action to ask, What am I really trying to achieve here? That very basic question, in and of itself, encourages you to think more-and that's a good start. But there's much more you can do if you're armed with more sophisticated, situational questions. You can use them to prompt or remind yourself to look at that situation from multiple perspectives or to challenge your own assumptions about it. When we do this, we tend to open up more possibilities and options-which means we're not only thinking more about a particular challenge, we're also thinking about it in a more comprehensive and balanced way.

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Excerpt: Why Question? ~ A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger

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Journalist and speaker Warren Berger realized that the majority of successful creatives and entrepreneurs he was interviewing over the years were great questioners. His wondering about "How can we all learn to do what they do?" led to this website and the writing of his latest book, A MORE BEAUTIFUL QUESTION.