The Power of a Good Question: Prompting Critical Thinking in Students

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Originally published in TEACH Magazine, May/June 2023 Issue

By Dr. Sunaina Sharma

What makes a good question? We ask students questions all day long, but how do we know they are actually helping students learn and, more importantly, getting them to think? Being able to think for themselves, and especially to think critically, is one of the most important skills students will ever use—both in the classroom and beyond.

Critical thinking is the process of objectively analyzing information to form a judgment. It requires students to read, consider, observe, interpret, evaluate, reason, and conclude, but then it also requires them to articulate their position and justify it, meaning students must be able to effectively communicate their thoughts and ideas. Critical thinking is a skill that is expected of today’s 21st century learners and is a pillar of many province and state curriculum documents.

Reimagining My Questioning Style

A good question always prompts my brain to think, and I wondered if it would do the same for my students. I began to consider what would happen if I changed the types of questions I asked. Was there a way I could invite students to construct their own knowledge?

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Dr. Sunaina Sharma is an in-school program leader and secondary teacher with over 20 years’ experience teaching in the Halton District School Board. She is also an instructor and practicum advisor in a Bachelor of Education program, where she is able to share her classroom experiences with future educators.

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Dr. Sunaina Sharma
Dr. Sunaina Sharma
Dr. Sunaina Sharma is an in-school program leader and secondary teacher with over 20 years’ experience teaching in the Halton District School Board. She is also an instructor and practicum advisor in a Bachelor of Education program, where she is able to share her classroom experiences with future educators.

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