IF YOU WANT TO:
Answering a question with a question.
Students sometimes ask questions about term projects, experiments, or papers out of insecurity or because they want the teacher to tell them what to do. In many cases there is no one "right" answer; students are asking questions of judgement. Although a teacher's reasoned judgment can be helpful to student learning, often it is better for students to arrive at their own conclusions.
For example, in studio or laboratory courses, students often ask their professor, "Do you think I should do it this way?" or "Should I do this or that?" A professor of architecture believes that he does students a disservice by readily giving his own views and telling students what to do and instead he takes a different tack.
"I ask the students questions they should ask themselves, e.g., `What would be the consequences of doing this?' or `What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of this or that approach?'" he explains. "I want them to think through the implications of the alternatives. It's far more important that students learn to ask themselves the right questions than to get my opinion."
Limitations on Use of Suggestion
Copyright 1983 by the Regents of the University of California