Oceanography | Vol.32, No.4 204 HOW TO HELP YOUR STUDENTS ASK MORE AND BETTER QUESTIONS By Melissa Zrada, Kim A. Kastens, and Margie Turrin Over the last several years, our research group has embarked on an investigation of what kinds of questions undergradu- ates ask as they work with Earth science data visualizations (Kastens et al., 2019). Tis work led to the creation of a tax- onomy of student questions, with over- arching categories such as Questions about the Data and Questions about the Earth. Once we had acquired a multitude of student responses, we sought answers to our own research questions: What kinds of questions are students asking? What qualifes as a “good question”? How can we encourage students to ask more and better questions? WHY IS STUDENT QUESTION- ASKING IMPORTANT? Asking questions and seeking answers is how science progresses. Questions have the power to drive inquiry and challenge us to think in diferent ways. Te US National Academy of Sciences identifes question-asking frst in their series of eight “Practices of Science & Engineering,” and describes questions as “the engine that drives science and engi- neering” (National Research Council, 2012, p. 54). Asking many questions also provides students with practice in prior- itizing which questions to answer—an essential skill for researchers. For instructors, questions can act as an indicator of student knowledge and inter- est, and thus guide instruction. Questions can reveal critical knowledge gaps and misconceptions, or areas of deep thought and consideration. Attending to interests revealed by student-generated questions may forestall the situation described by the student who told Jonathan Osborne, the president of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, “the trou- ble with school science is that it provides uninteresting answers to questions we have never asked” (Osborne, 2006, p. 2). For graduates, the ability and habit of mind of asking incisive questions pays benefts outside the classroom. Individuals who have been taught to ask questions about their world become nat- ural lifelong learners, regardless of career path. With countless sources of informa- tion at our fngertips today, this is a skill of increasing importance. HOW TO ENCOURAGE STUDENT QUESTION-ASKING Te frst step is to elevate the asking of abundant, curiosity-driven, student- generated questions as a valuable and legitimate teaching goal in your own mind. Next, send the message to students that asking questions is an expected part of doing science. In a traditional class- room environment, the “question-askers” are the teachers. Students seldom get the opportunity to ask their own ques- tions. When they do, it may be limited to a simple, “does anyone have any ques- tions?” to which only the boldest few typically respond. A recent tweet by a Louisiana math teacher gained popularity when she chal- lenged educators to rephrase how they prompt student questions: Two years ago, I was saying “do you have any questions?” Last year I switched to “what questions do you have?” It made a diference. Today I tried “ask me two questions.” And they did! And those ?s led to more ?s. It amazes me that the lit- tlest things have such a big impact! (https://twitter.com/MrsSasser/status/ 1034118861354950656) Tis simple rephrasing from “do you have any questions?” to “what questions do you have?” conveys that you as the instructor anticipate and welcome ques- tions, and that an expected part of learn- ing new material is to generate ques- tions around it. While some students will feel comfort- able announcing their questions in front of the class, others may be more hesi- tant. Some may come from cultural or family backgrounds where children were discouraged from asking questions— especially of authority fgures. Educators can employ various strategies to give stu- dents frequent practice at asking ques- tions in a low-stakes format. Students can engage in a “turn and talk,” in which they discuss something they are won- dering about with a nearby classmate. Alternatively, students could be tasked with completing an exit slip in which they are asked to write one question they had about the lecture or lab that day. Finally, question-generation can be assigned as part of a formal written assignment, to be completed individ- ually or in small groups. Such an exer- cise transforms question-asking from an optional to an expected tool for learning, and positions question-asking as a valued science skill for which students will be held accountable. Although many such written assignments are imaginable, one approach that is particularly efective in teaching about the ocean is having stu- dents ask questions while viewing data. THE OCEANOGRAPHY CLASSROOM