Probing Questions
Even when I ask for advice sometimes, I don’t always really want it. I find myself sabotaging every idea that gets thrown my way right after I asked for help. I guess this happens because I already have some idea of what I want in my head and I just haven’t quite articulated it yet. Or perhaps I’m in reaction mode rather than reflection mode. I’m sure you have been on one end of this situation or another. Questions can be a powerful way to make change. They have been powerful for my own growth and have been a strategy I use with both teachers and students to encourage movement on any number of ideas.
Because they are so powerful, questions can go both ways; they can help someone move to the next level or they can serve to shut someone down altogether. The kinds of questions that help a learner move to the next level in their thinking are probing questions. It is not easy to ask questions that don’t lead or give advice. And those are the kind of question that can shut someone down or narrow their thinking instead of changing perspective or opening up their mind. We have all had the experience. We have a problem and ask for help. Have you tried…? why don’t you…? If you have tried the suggested strategy, this question doesn’t really help. If someone offers a suggestion and you don’t want to try it, that doesn’t help either. There is nothing specifically wrong with these types of questions but sometimes it can be more productive to ask a more probing question. A probing question is one that helps the learner come up with their own solution to a problem.
A common problem that comes up for any teacher is discipline, behavior or classroom management issues. As a special educator, I have teachers, even veteran teachers, ask for ideas on this issue regularly (usually regarding a student on my caseload). Sometimes I react and ask…have you tried moving, his seat, calling his parents, removing him from class etc. This almost always leads to quick yes, no responses that do not open up any new thinking on the issue. If I ask something like “what is your relationship with this student like?”, this moves the teacher into a different line of thinking, forcing them to consider the problem from another perspective. Probing questions are crafted in a way that help the learner move their thinking, and ultimately their actions, to a new level. Developing a good probing question requires a little bit more thought than the more reactionary type questions we normally respond with but they can have a huge impact on the solution that comes out of a presented problem. It is well worth the thought. Post a dilemma in the comments section and we can all practice developing probing questions to shift your perspective.
Helpful resources for asking probing questions:
Pocket guide to probing questions from the national school reform faculty