Creating a strong base of content knowledge is important before children can apply understanding and relevant skills. As educators, we strive to guide children’s learning towards deeper and more complex understanding by asking questions that encourage the evaluation of information as well as the articulation of their own unique ideas. We also want to cultivate an environment for active learning that values children’s contribution while stretching the thinking processes of these young minds. Questions are useful tools that can help open lines of communication and improve interactions between people and materials.
In this course, we will learn to ask better questions that lead to more meaningful engagement. We will discuss the purposes of questioning and explore a sequence of questions that can help build depth and complexity, and inspire higher-level of thinking in young children across different learning domains.
