Reading+-+The+Art+of+Powerful+Questions


 * Structure reading response using the //Three Levels of Text Protocol// found in the CFG Coaches Resource Guide **
 * **identify the passage **
 * **share what you think about the passage **
 * **share the implications this has for your work) **


 * Reading Response length = 250 words minimum **

***We encourage each of you to __respond to ONE other course participant's reading reflection__ (at least once in the duration of this course). The nature of CFG work is DIALOGUE...**

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Corry Day: The art of powerful questions

Emmy David

Reading Response for the Art of Powerful Questions

When I first read through this passage my initial reaction was that this was meant for big corporations that need think tanks to carry themselves on to the next project. This will never work in schools. It would be nice to sit around all day and think up philosophically based questions that had no answers and ponder our lives and those around us, but who has time for that?

Seeing that this would be tough for me to implement into my work environment, especially given the attitude I had for it already…I decided to try a little experiment at home, on my 5 year old. 5 year olds are great, you get honest answers whether you want them or not, and they usually don’t see the experiment coming beforehand. At dinner each night we talk about our day…we take turns and say all that happened to us and then pass to the next person when we are done. Skipping is not an option, and interrupting is not recommended. On page 4 of the reading there is a pyramid of words that has the least powerful at the bottom and the more powerful at the top. In terms of questions, I realized that most of our conversations at dinner hovered around the bottom to mid range. So, each night when it was my daughter’s turn to speak I would use that example below the pyramid to push her thinking; to take her from answering a “which or who” question to a “why” type question. By the second night I can honestly say that by the time we were done talking her fork was down and she was completely engaged in my conversation.

What I took away from this is that it is possible to use this in our classrooms, and more importantly we should be trying to get to this level of questioning if we ever expect our students to be able to ask good questions themselves someday.

The Art of Powerful Questions—Catalyzing Insight, Innovation and Action A Reading Response by Scott Hossack

This article was interesting and highly insightful. To me it was very useful and challenged me to look at how I ask questions. It will certainly help me develop as a teacher.

One thing that the article does very well is illustrate what a powerful tool asking the right question can be. They talk about the discovery of the double helix, the creation of McDonalds and the restoration of consumer confidence in Johnson and Johnson all coming about with the asking of the right question. I wonder how many companies have failed recently because they didn’t take the time to really ask deep questions. I think that often especially when problems hit, people lose focus and try to find the quickest solution. I know in teaching we often do this and sometimes this causes many more issues.

I also was quite interested when they mentioned the German philosophy of having a Direktor Grundsatzfragen (the director of fundamental questions). What a great idea this is. Maybe the school could have a position and committee like this. Maybe this is what all these collaborative communities should be striving to become.

I also think that maybe this question asking approach could be employed within our leadership groups. Making each of these groups develop powerful questions at the start of the year and then spending the rest of their time looking at answering these, would really make these group productively focused. Maybe even having the questions written down and reviewed and other big questions added to the list, as the year passed would benefit the school. Lastly I would love to use this model in the PE department, the only issue I see is the amount of time we have to communicate with one another. It might be a roadblock that would have to be addressed.

The authors state if teachers are able to develop questions that:


 * generate curiosity
 * stimulate reflective conversation
 * provoke thought
 * surfaces underlying assumptions
 * invite creativity and new ideas
 * generates energy and progression
 * channels attention and focuses inquiry
 * stays with the participants
 * touches deep meaning and evokes more questions for the participants

then they will be creating a generation of thinkers and problem solvers that will be engaged with each and their world. What more could we want in schools.

Another item that struck me was how to frame questions better. Making a question relevant in the classroom to students is not always easy, but it is vital. I think as teacher I think I need to work on three things when framing my questions in class. I need to focus on forming questions that generate more new ideas and fresh thinking. I need to move away from asking questions that are focused on past problems. Lastly I need to be more aware of cultural beliefs of my audience when developing better questions. Setting these areas as goals will help me and hopefully in turn benefit my students.

Again I could go on and on about many things I discovered in this article. I benefited greatly from reading it and suggest others would find a lot out about themselves as teachers by reading and digesting the articles contents.

A Reading Response - by Julian Thornbury

The 8th chapter of the //Facilitator’s Book of Questions// addresses some of the challenges facilitators face while facilitating protocols. I took interest in one particular challenge which occurs when a participant makes a “judgmental or evaluative question or statement” when one is not called for. A possible solution (which is found on page 105) reads, “a facilitator might ask for the evidence that prompted the comment or question.” I found this to be of significance for two reasons: these situations are likely to happen far more than we might think, and the facilitator’s ability to handle such situations is of vital importance.

I can foresee this happening during protocols that look at a person’s work, or addresses sensitive issues (among several others). As educators, we might be more likely to use protocols that look at work or address issues that require a great deal of tact. As a facilitator, one must be prepared for this challenge, and know how to deal with this situation should it occur.

In dealing with judgmental or evaluative comments the facilitator’s ability to handle this situation can be the determining factor in the success or failure of the protocol. The facilitator not only must address the judgmental or evaluative comment immediately, but must know what language to use in order to maintain a functional protocol. If the facilitator responds in a tone or with a question that elicits a defensive response from the participant who delivered the comment, the protocol might deteriorate and end prematurely, or worse; be prolonged past the desired time. Therefore, knowing what language to use in addressing and dealing with this situation is paramount.

As is supported in the reading, “//The Art of Powerful Questions,//” I would add that in this situation it is far more important for the facilitator to find the right question, than it is to find the right answer. Doing so may just save the protocol. = = =**Response to Julian - Paul Harris**=

//I could not agree more, the facilitator needs to address situations quickly - 'judgmental or evaluative' the facilitator also needs to be well versed in the arts of diplomacy not just the dictates of the protocol. To be able to actually step outside the confines of the language that a protocol uses especially if all participants are familiar with CFG language could diffuse a situation or at least smooth over rumbled collars without becoming patronizing. This is no easy task and a certain amount of people reading also comes into play.//