Every Question Deserves an Answer 1007 Every Question Deserves an Answer Kevin Johnston University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africamailto:mailto: kjohnsto@commerce.uct.ac.za Dick Ng’ambi University of Cape Town Cape Town, South Africamailto:mailto: dngambi@ched.uct.ac.za Abstract: Lecturers are faced with a dilemma between teaching students skills to recall and reiterate what is taught, or skills to challenge and question things. Traditionally, education systems have taught theories and facts with set answers but the information age requires that we teach students a never- ending quest for new questions and insights. This paper discusses a project in which a web-based questioning environment (DFAQ) was used to teach questioning skills in a final year Information Systems course at the University of Cape Town in 2004. We begin the paper with a motivation of the approach, related projects, description of case study, the questioning environment, extracts of questions asked and conclude with recommendations based on our experience. The results are that students have asked more questions – perhaps because of the reward in marks. Students have however also asked questions out of the bounds of the course, which is most encouraging. Keywords: teach, learn, question, relevance, answers, DFAQ. 1. Introduction “It is not every question that deserves an answer.” Publilius Syrus (1st century BC). As a point of departure, Bradbury (1997) argued that the development of all knowledge (even the apparent certain knowledge of experts) proceeds through a process of questioning inquiry. Bradbury hypothesized that through developing an appropriate questioning inquiry that students may enter new worlds of knowledge. Mory (1997) observed that no learning [the development of knowledge or entry to the new worlds of knowledge] would occur unless some type of feedback mechanism was at work. Bonk and Cunningham (2002) postulated that questioning and feedback are some of the ways lecturers “assist” learners in a learning process. 2. Background One of the most profound statements on the relationship between asking questions and answering them is from Colby (1926), who said “Clever people seem not to feel the natural pleasure of bewilderment, and are always answering questions when the chief relish of a life is to go on asking them.”