Methodical Principles
ASKING GOOD QUESTIONS

“I know that questions are the key to good discussions, but how do you ask good questions? What are some things to keep in mind?”

Skill in Asking Questions
The art of asking questions is a skill that must be developed through practice just as any other skill, such as telling a story or playing a piano. Good questions are often the key to good class participation in Bible study. The majority of teachers ask questions but not all of their questions create interest and promote good participation, nor do they always contribute toward the learning process. There are many aspects for you as a teacher to consider if you desire to develop skill in asking questions. These aspects are stated below in the form of questions:

What is the purpose of asking questions?
Many teachers have a misunderstanding regarding the purpose of asking questions. They think of questions only as a means for testing a student’s knowledge. If the pupil has enough memorized knowledge to answer the questions, the teacher feels that the lesson has been well taught. If the student cannot answer the questions, the teacher is apt to feel that his teaching has been a failure.

The “testing” question has its place in the teaching program, but a question can be much more than a probe to find what the student knows. It can be the sharp instrument that cuts into the darkness, letting in the light of understanding. It can be the means to help students think and make good decisions. It can be the key to help them open doors to new insights and knowledge. When you as a teacher ask questions, you must be conscious of your purpose. You must consider what you want to accomplish through your questions.

What is the importance of the question?
There are few devices in teaching which have more possibilities for creating learning and more power to challenge thinking as a carefully planned question. It is the basis for almost all counseling. The counselor knows that questions can open doors whereas advice may close them. The Bible teacher faces the same possibilities. Doors of learning can often be opened more easily with thought‑provoking questions than with a lecture. Questions involving analyzing truths, selecting possibilities, and making choices demand the mental activity of the individual whereas a dissertation can be accepted with little mental activity.

What are the kinds of questions to ask?
Questions may be classified in many ways. We shall use terms especially applicable to Bible study:

1. Observation and factual questions: The purpose of these is to help the members of your class note significant facts in a passage.

2. Explanatory and relationship questions: These are to help them analyze the meaning and relationships of the facts.

3. Search and thought questions: These are to help them consider the implication and significance of the facts.

4. Application and correlation questions: These are to help them apply the truths to their own lives and to correlate them with other Biblical truths.

What effect do questions have on the learner?
While the teacher may think of questions as factual or thought-provoking, the student will analyze them in a different way. He will think of them in relation to his emotional and mental reaction. To him a question may be “telling,” “trying,” “testing” or “teaching.”

1. The “telling” question: This type is no challenge to the student. The question is so worded that he can guess at the answer without thinking. For example: “James says we should be careful with our tongues, doesn’t he?” To such a question, students would merely nod their heads and go on dreaming. Questions that can be answered with a “yes” or “no,” border on the “telling” type.

2. The “trying” question: This type of question is stated in such a vague or general manner that the learner does not know how to answer it. The question may cause confusion in his mind or may create an attitude of indifference, a sense of “What is the use of trying to answer it?” Too many “trying” questions can hinder learning and will promote restlessness. Students are apt to feel that Bible study is too difficult and religion is beyond their understanding.

3. The “testing” question: This type seeks to find what knowledge the learner is gaining or has already acquired. It has an important place in the teaching program. The teacher should encourage his students to study, memorize, and gain knowledge. He needs to “test” them in order to help them recall and review. “Testing” questions can be “trying” if the teacher is searching for knowledge that the learner has not yet acquired or if the learner is slow or careless in gaining and retaining facts.

4. The “teaching” question: This type helps the learner take the facts he has learned and use them in a concrete way, acquiring new insights and concepts of truths. Also, it can help him gain new facts. To “teach” with your question means to guide and direct your student in the thinking process. For example, imagine you are teaching James 3:13‑18, the portion on wisdom. Through questions you can help your class observe the kinds of wisdom, their characteristics, and the results. The questions you ask will be “teaching” in nature if you help your students “think” about the facts in this passage and help them gain new insights into the truths presented. If they have previously studied the passage and if you quiz them on what they learned in their study, your questions would be “testing” in nature.

How should a teacher respond to student’s answers?
As a teacher you not only have to learn how to ask questions that create good response, but you also have to learn how to handle the answers. If you receive an answer that is partly or entirely wrong, you need to learn how to encourage the person and yet reveal the correct answer. One way to accomplish this is to invite others in the class to suggest various possible answers. If no one in the class can answer your question, try to restate it or use an illustration to bring out the point. Beware of forcing an answer out of your group. The purpose of the question is not to “pry” answers out of students, but to help them think clearly and logically on the topic of discussion. The moment you sense that your questions are becoming “trying,” revise your approach. Above all, you must truly listen to what others say.

How should a teacher respond to a student’s questions?
It is important that you give your class an opportunity to ask questions. Those student questions usually reveal a person’s main interests and often one’s problems. In some way, try to answer every major question asked by your students. They feel frustrated if left with too many unanswered questions. On the other hand, as a leader you have to discern whether a question reveals an individual need or a class problem. The time should be spent only on class problems. Discuss the individual ones after your session. If you do not know the answer to some of the questions, be humble enough to admit it. Students lose confidence in a teacher who tries to bluff, but will always respect one who is honest and sincere even though he is not too well informed.

How can a teacher gain skill in asking questions?
1. Remember the purpose of the question in Bible study. While the purpose of questions used in a confirmation class may be to test a student’s knowledge, Bible class questions aim to increase their knowledge. You want to help them observe, think, gain insight into Biblical truths which they may not otherwise be able to do by themselves. Through the question you will seek to cultivate judgment in your student, as well as increasing the power to observe and analyze.

2. Write out your questions before the teaching session. Plan your key questions and the order. Even though you may not use them in their original order or form, they will serve as your guide, giving direction to your lesson.

3. Answer the questions you have prepared. Try to anticipate how your questions will affect the class and what various answers could be given. Revise and reconstruct the wording in order to make the question as clear and definite as possible.

4. Analyze the class reaction as you ask questions. Study their response. Did they seem puzzled? Were they slow in responding? Did you receive the answers you expected? Which questions stimulated the most interest? Make note of these and study their characteristics.

5. Analyze your own reactions as you conducted the class discussion. Did you feel frightened or irritated because they did not respond as quickly as you desired? Did you feel impatient and try to hurry their answers? Did you feel upset because someone disagreed with your interpretation? Were you able to remember that the student was more important than the teacher, and in the remembering to calm down and relax?

6. Aim to be informal and spontaneous in your questions. Seek to convey to the class that your purpose is to help them meditate with you on truths in the Bible passage. Give them the feeling that this study is a cooperative effort. You are not to pose as a teacher quizzing students, but to be a guide leading them in a search for truths. Keep the atmosphere relaxed and friendly.

7. State your questions to the class as a whole and then call for volunteers or on individuals if you know them well. Give your people time to meditate on thought questions before expecting a reply.

---

    

Copyright © StudyJesus.com