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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
YD
December 2, 2022 at 8:25:28 PM
Activity 4.1digs deep into the many facets of social identity, by using drawing, as well as both written silent reflection and verbal discussion in small and large groups.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:26:51 AM
Activity 3.8 easily helps visualize the many dimensions of a topic by using the fishbone diagram.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:24:44 AM
Activity 3.7 provides useful mind tricks to help practice patience and giving people the benefit of the doubt, thus creating the sense of psychological safety required in collaborative efforts.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:21:35 AM
Activity 3.6 in an innovative activity that encourages detailed thinking about and evaluation of proposed solutions by thinking of not just the intended, but also unintended consequences.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:15:22 AM
Activity 3.5 uses visual aids and worksheets to explore a topic in detail from multiple angles. Pretending you are an alien to look at an issue from new perspectives is fun!
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:11:26 AM
Activity 3.4 uses detailed prompts and twists to encourage participants to move beyond binary thinking, which allows to them to recognize the grey areas of decision-making.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:07:44 AM
Activity 3.3 uses visual methods to uncover assumptions and biases, as well as help practice "suspending" these assumptions during a discussion.
YD
November 29, 2022 at 1:05:57 AM
Activity 3.2 uses visual cues to easily bring awareness to the emotions of participants in a discussion and help them understand the changing flow and impact of emotions in a discussion..
YD
November 29, 2022 at 12:59:34 AM
Activity 3.1 offers a very detailed step-by-step process to evaluate your thinking in real time while discussing an issue.
YD
November 28, 2022 at 9:20:17 PM
Activity 2.8 is a fun and engaging activity that helps develop a positive, hopeful and empowering way of thinking by using an innovative method to break free of constraints on imagination and recognize the potential that exists in the present situation, which could lead to the ideal future or solution. It also offers a method to imagine the actionable steps on a pathway from the present to that future.