Good Questions

“A vital question, a creative question, rivets our attention.

All the creative power of our minds is focused on the question.

Knowledge emerges in response to these compelling questions. They

open us to new worlds.”

- Verna Allee, The Knowledge Evolution

Good Questions:

•Are a window into creativity and insight •Motivate fresh thinking•Challenge outdated assumptions•Lead us into the future•Stimulate reflective thinking and

conversation•Surface and challenge assumptions •A powerful question generates curiosity in

participants Eric Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs. 2003. The Art of Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action.

Continued:

•Are thought-provoking•Channel attention, focus inquiry, and

promise insight•Invite creativity and new possibilities•Generate energy, a vector to explore, and

forward movement•Are broad, enduring, and stay with

participants•Touch a deep meaning•Evoke more questionsEric Vogt, Juanita Brown, and David Isaacs. 2003. The Art of

Powerful Questions: Catalyzing Insight, Innovation, and Action.

Comparing Closed and Open QuestionsClosed: Open:• Specific• Answered with a yes

or no, or with specific details as appropriate

• Invite opinions, thoughts and feelings

• Stimulate and encourage discussion and participation

• Encourage creative problem solving

The Question Game:

•To start, two participants decide on a topic to question. One person starts with an open-ended question, then the other person responds with a related open-ended question. This goes back and forth as long as they can continue without making a statement or repeating a previous question

•Variation: Try asking a question and going around the room, each person asking a question based on the one before

Effective and Relevant:

Effective: Relevant:• Return the required

information• Contain the relevant

contextual vocabulary• Apply to sources that

contain the required information.

However it can be difficult to tell if the question is

effective when you first create it!

• Question relevance assists the creation of a 'good question'

• Has far more chance of being effective in locating the information needed

Hierarchy of Questions

•High Power

•Low Power

Why

How, WhatWhen, Where,

Which, WhoYes or No Questions

Primary Questions• The first things that need to be

answered• Answers can be general• Often factual

Secondary Questions• Alternatives• Consequences

Possible Conjunctio

n

Summary:

Good Questions

Open

Effective

Relevant

Remembering

Understanding

Applying

Analyzing

Evaluating

Creating

Bloom’s Revised TaxonomyL

ow

er

Ord

er

Hig

her

Ord

er

Verbs for Lower Order Thinking:Count, Define, Describe, Draw,Enumerate, Find, Identify, Label, List,Match, Name, Quote, Read, Recall,Recite, Record, Reproduce, Select,Sequence, State, Tell, View, Write

Classify, Cite, Conclude, Convert,Describe, Discuss, Estimate, Explain,Generalize, Give Examples, Illustrate,Interpret, Locate, Make Sense of,Paraphrase, Predict, Report, Restate,Review, Summarize, Trace, Understand

Act, Administer, Articulate, Assess, Change, Chart, Choose, Collect, Compute, Construct, Contribute, Control, Demonstrate, Determine,Develop, Discover, Dramatize, Draw, Establish, Extend, Imitate, Implement, Interview, Include, Inform, Instruct, Paint, Participate, Predict, Prepare, Produce, Provide, Relate, Report, Select, Show, Solve, Transfer, Use, Utilize

Remembering Understanding Applying

Verbs for Higher Order Thinking:Break down, Characterize, Classify,Compare, Contrast, Correlate, Debate,Deduce, Diagram, Differentiate,Discriminate, Distinguish, Examine,Focus, Illustrate, Infer, Limit, Outline,Point out, Prioritize, Recognize, Research,Relate, Separate, Subdivide

Appraise, Argue, Assess, Choose,Compare and Contrast, Conclude,Criticize, Critique, Decide, Defend,Evaluate, Interpret, Judge, Justify, Predict,Prioritize, Prove, Rank, Rate, Reframe,Select, Support

Adapt, Anticipate, Categorize, Collaborate, Combine, Communicate, Compare, Compile, Compose, Construct,Contrast, Create, Design, Develop, Devise, Express, Facilitate, Formulate, Generate, Incorporate, Individualize,Initiate, Integrate, Intervene, Invent, Make up, Model, Modify, Negotiate, Organize, Perform, Plan, Pretend, Produce, Progress, Propose, Rearrange, Reconstruct, Reinforce, Reorganize, Revise, Rewrite,Structure, Substitute, Validate

Analysing Evaluating Creating