Thinking about how to ask good questions
This exercise asks students to reflect on how they formulate questions as well as how they generate answers. This exercise can be used anytime or paired with Thinking About How to Ask Good Research Questions.The aim is to prompt students to think about disciplinary modes of thinking and what constitutes appropriate evidence.
Download Thinking About How to Ask Good Questions (Acrobat (PDF) 44kB Oct13 22)
Background
The goal of this exercise is to help you learn how to learn about your own learning and how to make adjustments to learn more effectively. This process, called 'metacognition,' has been shown to improve student success in all sorts of ways, including boosts in reading comprehension, exam performance, and problem-solving. This exercise gives you an opportunity to learn about your own learning and apply those lessons to your research project.
Purpose of the exercise
This exercise asks you to reflect on how you formulate questions as well as how you generate answers. The aim is to prompt you to think about disciplinary modes of thinking and what constitutes appropriate evidence.
Instructions
Consider the subject matter (such as the topics explored, questions asked, kinds of evidence offered). Answer the following questions. Your answers do not need to be overly long, but you should try to provide enough detail so that you explain your responses.
- What does it mean to think like an expert in this field (such as biologist, chemist, engineer)? What kinds of questions do they ask?
- Choose one of the topics raised. What was the question being asked? Give an example.
- What sorts of evidence was used to answer the question? How were those data collected and/or generated?
- Did those data adequately answer the question? If so, how? If not, why not?