The skill of asking questions is fundamental to all higher learning and research. Most college and university students, however, have had little to no explicit instruction on how to formulate questions that effectively propel learning.
Surprisingly, this is the case even for advanced students in the sciences, who often engage in research on topics that have been pre-selected for them.
RQI has been exploring how our Question Formulation Technique (QFT) can build institutional capacity in support of asking better questions across disciplines, for both learning and research purposes. Together with our higher ed partners, we are helping develop the next generation of question-askers.
RQI has collected a wealth of evidence from K-12 classrooms, where teachers using the QFT report that students show greater motivation and enthusiasm for learning. We have had relatively few opportunities, however, to observe how graduate students (who are generally already highly self-motivated) respond to the QFT.
This past academic year, we were pleased to receive an invitation from Kevin Belfield, dean of the College of Science & Liberal Arts at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), to deliver a series of QFT trainings for faculty and Ph.D. students in chemistry and environmental sciences, with an aim to cultivate a whole-college culture of question formulation.
RQI and NJIT are both participants in the National Science Foundation’s Germination Program, which challenges communities to think outside silo-ed academic structures and pedagogies to pilot more purposefully integrated approaches to education and professional development. Dean Belfield was first introduced to the QFT in a session that Tomoko Ouchi and Dan Rothstein delivered for fellow Germination grantees at Harvey Mudd College in March 2023. Excited by the practice, he reached out to us to provide a more in-depth experience at NJIT.
[This] helps me clarify thoughts, uncover assumptions, and stimulate deeper exploration of a topic, leading to more comprehensive understanding and informed decision-making.
With Dean Belfield’s enthusiastic collaboration, we designed five trainings to support faculty in implementing the QFT in their classrooms and to support students in developing the skill of question formulation for learning and research. The trainings began with a joint faculty-Ph.D. student introduction to the QFT, offering a unique opportunity for students and professors to be united as learners. Two separate trainings followed for faculty and students, tailored to meet their differing needs. All Ph.D. students in chemistry and environmental sciences were required to attend; an additional 15 faculty members accepted the college’s invitation to participate.
The response from participants was positive — and validating of RQI’s work. Several students in exit surveys pointed to many of the key results that RQI has identified as important outcomes of the practice of asking questions.
One student summarized these benefits succinctly, saying that working with questions “helps me clarify thoughts, uncover assumptions, and stimulate deeper exploration of a topic, leading to more comprehensive understanding and informed decision-making.”
Many participants said they found the peer-to-peer connection rewarding. One student reflected that the QFT “is a great way to engage in meaningful conversations and learn from each other.”
Other students reported that discovering there were no “good” or “bad” questions relieved the pressure they felt to perform, creating a sense of mutually supportive collaboration and helping to generate creative, outside-the-box ways of looking at data.
The series culminated with a symposium in which faculty and students from all areas of the college, including some who did not attend the trainings, discussed their experiences using the Question Formulation Technique (QFT) and shared reflections on how the practice is improving learning and advancing transformative research.
During the symposium, NJIT’s new provost, John Pelesko, described a recent retreat for the college’s senior leadership in which he employed the QFT to facilitate a discussion about the complex process of implementing a new budget model. A long-time champion of the QFT, Pelesko details the value of the practice in math classrooms in a book he co-authored with Michelle Cirillo, Unlocking the Mystery: Mathematical Modeling in Secondary Classrooms.
Other faculty presenters affirmed many of RQI’s findings with teachers in K-12 classrooms. Professor Bhavani Balasubramanian, director of undergraduate studies programs in chemistry and environmental science, reported that her upper-level biochemistry students were more engaged in class after doing the QFT. They enjoyed working in groups to generate questions and found that they paid closer attention to lectures because they were listening for answers to their questions. They also felt more empowered to use class time to raise questions about key concepts.
Faculty also appreciated how the QFT levels the academic playing field by placing the same value on all questions and removing any incentive to be the one having the answers. They recognized the power of the QFT to generate new questions and innovative directions for research.
Cristo Leon, Ph.D., the college’s director of research, commented that the QFT enhanced students’ (research assistants’) ability to explore research topics more deeply while fostering a collaborative environment where students felt empowered to express their curiosity without fear of judgment. Regarding Cristo’s interactions with students, they reported a marked increase in engagement and a newfound appreciation for the power of well-crafted questions.
Leon spoke about how the QFT creates an awareness that “I don’t know enough about this.” He said the ability to recognize what you don’t know and the willingness to ask questions are personal life skills and critical for learning and research.
“This initiative underscored the QFT’s potential to revolutionize educational practices by shifting the focus from mere content absorption to active, inquiry-driven learning,” Leon said in a follow-up message to RQI. “It is clear that by equipping students and faculty with the tools to ask better questions, we are laying the groundwork for more innovative and impactful research, thus fulfilling the broader educational mission of our institution.”
A Ph.D. student echoed this feedback, sharing that the QFT encouraged him to “explore unconventional ideas … producing innovative research questions that push the boundaries of my field.” He also found it valuable for refining his research design, selecting questions that “are most feasible and relevant to my Ph.D. research.”
The QFT even helped a student plan out her weekly schedule. By working with her questions and getting to ones like, “What do I need to get done? Out of these, which are most urgent?,” she found that her productivity greatly increased.
NJIT’s initiative and leadership in bringing the QFT and the QFT for Research to both faculty and students is inspiring. The culminating symposium provided faculty and students a chance to come together and deepen their learning about the various robust applications of the QFT they had created and made part of their practice. It represents a deep commitment from senior leadership and faculty to cultivate and support thinkers and researchers prepared to address the wide array of critical global challenges we face this century with agility and creativity.
