Many years ago, I attended an Elder’s Quorum class where the teacher only asked questions. He had a spiral bound notebook, and read questions from it. I could tell, by the way he was reading the questions, that he had given a lot of thought to each question, and in the order in which he asked them. I don’t remember any specifics, but I do remember it being an excellent class. It was evident in that the whole class was involved, and we were all edified together.
This class gave me a glimpse into the power of asking questions. Not just any questions, but questions that require the class to think deeply about the topic, and cause them to decide how they feel about the gospel.
The CES manual Gospel Teaching and Learning (you should read this manual, and often) says this about questions:
“Asking effective questions is one of the most important skills a teacher can develop. Questions can engage students in the process of understanding the scriptures and help them identify and understand important gospel truths. Questions also help students reflect upon how the gospel has influenced their lives and to consider how they may apply gospel principles now and in the future. Asking effective questions can encourage students to invite the Holy Ghost into their learning experience through exercising their agency and fulfilling their role in the learning process.”
Since that Elder’s Quorum class many years ago, I have tried to ask better questions. At the time, I used questions that I made up on the fly, mostly as a filler, or as an attempt to invigorate a clearly bored class.
Part of asking better questions involves understanding the elements of a good question.
Good Questions Cause Deeper Thinking
A good question will make your class think. Thinking during the three hour block, unfortunately, doesn’t always happen. Some people take the whole day of rest thing a little too far. It’s easy to be entertained, or to repeat trivia from the same lesson you had four years ago. Don’t believe me? Record your Sunday School class this Sunday, and watch it again in four years. You will probably hear the same people make the same comments.
The scriptures have some great examples of thought provoking questions. “Whom say ye that I am?” Jesus asked his disciples. Paul asked, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” In the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lords asks, “Unto what were you ordained?” In the Garden of Eden, Adam is asked by God, “Where art thou?” These excellent questions caused deeper thinking by the listener. These are not Jeopardy style trivia questions. These aren’t on the same level as, “What color was Joseph Smith’s white horse?” Trivia questions either make us shut down, because we have no idea what the answer is, or make us search our brain’s file system for the stored away answer. Good questions make us reflect, they make us think of things that we haven’t thought before.
Good Questions Are Simple, But Not Easy
It pays to know the difference between simple and easy. Running a marathon is simple. Almost everyone knows how to run; just do it for 26.2 miles. But, running a marathon is not easy (not speaking from experience- but judging by how hard one mile is, I can make some assumptions).
Good questions do not require advanced education to understand. Most everyone should be able to get the point. However, the point should hurt a little. Good questions are usually hard. Changing your viewpoint (repentance), or analyzing your own motivations and desires, is hard. It’s usually uncomfortable. The best questions require mental, emotional, and spiritual exertion. Jesus used questions to “prick the hearts” of those he taught. Next time you read the New Testament, look at how Jesus uses questions. Then, go and do likewise.
Good Questions Are Personal
The questions you ask in class should not be used to separate the gospel scholars from the gospel know-nots. If you are regularly asking factual questions, you are regularly disconnecting part of the class. Rather, ask questions that don’t require memorized facts. Questions that have an element of personal introspection have power. They invite those in the class to look inside themselves, which hopefully allows the whisperings of the Spirit to work on them. Another way to word it is that it takes you out of the equation. Often, the best thing that you can do as a teacher is to get out of the way of the Spirit.
My hope is that you have a better understanding of what makes a good question, and that this understanding will translate to better prepared questions, and the better use of questions in your teaching. I believe that there is significant room for growth in the Church for better questions during lessons. I believe that as you ask better questions, you will see a greater impact in the lives of those you teach.