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4.6
Asking Questions to Promote Curiosity
Submitted by Lori Britt
This activity focuses attention on the intentionality of asking questions. A good question can help promote a rich and meaningful discussion and goes beyond talking “on the surface”.
Learning Goals
Understand what constitutes “good questions”.
Practice developing questions that will surface new insights and perspectives.
Instructions
Set Up: Prepare for the Activity
Select a complex problem that is important to the group.
Share the Identifying Stakeholders Worksheet as handouts or create copies of the file for each group.
Organize participants into pairs or small groups (3-4 ppl).
Begin by introducing the learning goals of this activity.
Step One: List Stakeholders for a Complex Problem (15 min)
A key way to promote broad knowledge of an issue is to ask good questions. How do we know what good questions are? One way to start thinking about questions is to identify what you assume people think about an issue and then develop questions to explore whether or not that is the case.
Share the complex problem and invite each small group to first create a stakeholder chart for this issue using the worksheet.
Then ask them to answer the following questions:
How do you think each stakeholder defines the issue?
What do you think are their major concerns?
Ask them to also think about and list sources that led them to these perceptions (such as media accounts, personal experience, knowledge they have gained in their education, others).
Step Two: Identify Key Stakeholders (10 min)
Invite each group to think about what questions they can ask each group of stakeholders to help unearth the concerns and hopes they have regarding this issue.
Then, ask them to identify which stakeholders it would be very important to try and communicate with directly regarding this issue. Have each small group write their top 5 stakeholders on a whiteboard, shared screen, or other surface visible to everyone.
Step Three: Craft Specific Questions for Specific Stakeholders (20 min)
Select a few of the different stakeholders listed and assign each small group one of these stakeholders.
Each group is tasked with writing good questions tailored for their specific stakeholder. Highlight that a good question offers insight into the stakeholder’s perspective and helps us to understand how they make sense of the issue.
Share the Question Chart showing a few types of questions that can help support collaborative learning about an issue from stakeholders. Examples oriented around the problem of healthcare are offered to show how participants might write each type of question for a particular issue.
Step Four: Debrief as a Full Group (10 min)
Invite each group to share some of their stakeholder questions. Discuss:
Which type of question was most commonly used? Why is this?
Which question stands out? What caught your attention? What does this question do or make possible?
How would you revise one of these questions to go deeper?
What concerns do you have about asking specific stakeholder questions?
TIME
55
min
MODULE
Culturally Responsive Collaboration
This activity can be completed by any discussion group.
This activity is suitable for professional or more formal learning environments.
This activity can be used to support facilitation skills. See Sample Facilitation Certificate Program Design to illustrate sample sequencing.
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0 Comments
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 1:41:01 PM
This is also known as "Identity Pie." It's a great warm up and way for participants to get to know one another. I would use this early in a group setting to help build connection.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 1:39:24 PM
I think we all know that creating guidelines is important. I introduce activity 1.1 What is Collaborative Learning? first and then use the positive and negative attributes that they generate to help form our group guidelines.
Shannon Wheatley Hartman
December 7, 2022 at 1:36:43 PM
I always recommend that folks start off with this activity and pair it with 1.3 Creating Guidelines. It is a great way to set the tone and emphasize the importance of collaborative discussion.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:39:23 PM
Activity 5.4 uses the fun method of role playing and builds on other activities to help participants develop questions and practice gathering information to collaborate effectively with communities as partners. This activity involves working together in small groups and as a large group. It also includes multiple additional resources for participants to continue learning methods and skills to build community partnerships.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:39:00 PM
Activity 1.8 provides a very useful survey to gather information on and help support participants' different discussion styles and needs, exploring various areas like preferences for group size, ways of participating in discussions, any fears relating to discussions, etc.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:34:46 PM
Activity 5.8 further explores direct democracy by proposing the idea of "legislative juries" to improve the current initiative process through collaboration and deliberation. This activity uses role playing to have participants practice deliberation as part of a mock legislative jury to craft ballot initiatives on a given issue.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:27:35 PM
Activity 5.7 uses a fun and tactile activity like building LEGOs to explore the effects of coming together to colloborate and discuss, while also participating together in another physical activity.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:22:49 PM
Activity 5.6 uses memes and futuristic zombie scenarios to develop ways to change people's minds, while exploring various aspects of the methods used to change minds, like assumptions behind ideas, sticking to the facts versus stretching the truth, appealing to emotions etc.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:16:44 PM
Activity 5.5 uses a fun and visual/craft activity to help participants explore the many different types of knowledge, how they are valued, and the role/importance of each type of knowledge in their own lives.
YD
December 2, 2022 at 9:11:54 PM
Activity 5.3 gives participants to use writing, drawing, and/or speaking to share and discuss the various communities they belong to and/or feel excluded from, the various aspects that define community, as well as the practices of inclusion or exclusion and power distribution in these communities.