Questions 101

Yes, I am still on the questions kick. Thinking about questions got me considering how students need to ask more of them. Learning starts with a question. Learning is prompted by the desire to know something, either out of mere curiosity or because of a need to solve a problem or to improve in some way. Asking questions prompts the search for answers, thus learning something new as answers are discovered.

I normally begin my courses by asking students what questions they have about the subject matter. I want to know what they seek to learn from the course. Other than the usual questions about what is required for a grade and if attendance is mandatory, I typically get no questions about the subject itself. Basically students are expecting to be told whatever I as the instructor think they should know about the subject. What they want to know is how I expect them to dutifully regurgitate back to me what I have told them. That is parroting not learning.

I recognize that students probably are not familiar enough with a particular course subject to know what it is they need to learn. But the lack of questions also indicates a lack of curiosity. What is communicated is that the students come to the course to fulfill a curriculum requirement rather than from a desire to know something. This is not the way to instill a passion for learning.

I experience a natural adrenalin rush from learning. I eagerly scour the bibliographies at the end of books and articles to find additional sources I can pursue. I am always on the lookout for workshops and conferences I can attend. I even look forward to my 65 minute commute to the university I teach at because I am eager to listen to the latest audio learning program I have acquired. By the time I enter my 8 a.m. class I am pumped with ideas and questions, much to the dismay of the sleepy-eyed students in the course. I am eager to know more so I may continue to improve and develop. And the more I learn the more I become aware of how much more I have to learn. That is what is most exciting; the realization that learning is a never-ending lifelong process. And each new challenge initiates a new learning cycle. To take on something new is a joy rather than a burden because it is an opportunity to acquire new knowledge and skills.

I want my students to be as nuts about learning as I am. I want them to discover their passion and calling. I am continually discovering connections between my life experiences and my vocation. There is no separation between who I am and what I do. I experience my life as an integrated whole. Work is play. Play contributes to my work. I experience learning holistically. Learning nurtures my body, mind, soul, and spirit. I want to help my students experience the same power from learning that I do.

That power emerges from within. Learning cannot be imposed from without. No one can learn for someone else. We each must learn for ourselves. That process begins with a desire to learn. That desire is ignited by the questions that burn within us.

What may be needed is a freshman course entitled Questions 101. In this course students would discover the role of questions in learning and life. They would study how human progress has been driven by the search for answers to questions. They would be introduced to the art and skill of asking questions. The key outcome of the course would be personalized lists of questions each student seeks to answer during his or her college career. Obviously, questions would continually be added to this list. These questions would give direction and purpose to students’ education beyond the earning of a degree. Faculty and staff would be resources for uncovering answers to students’ questions. Before each course students would be helped to understand how the course relates to their quest for answers to their questions. Presently students do not recognize the relevance of much of what they are required to study in college. If faculty knew the questions driving students’ learning, the faculty could help students realize the relevance of the subject matter being studied.

This then is another one of my questions: How can we as university and college faculty, staff, and administrators instill a passion for learning in students? Perhaps we can’t answer that question until we hear what questions our students seek to answer.