Asking or answering questions: Musing over the educational strategy for the future

Abstract

Mainstream education systems are largely heavily based on checking students' knowledge by asking them questions and checking their answers. This is the complete reversal of the natural way of developing children’s brains from early age—through asking questions themselves. This article discusses the evolutionary importance of the ability of asking questions for human intelligence and its potential for creating a new strategy of education, based on encouraging students' natural curiosity, and encouraging their natural ability to search for knowledge. The article proposes that the most natural way to develop young human brains is through asking questions to adults from a very young age, the strategy developed and honed during the evolution of Homo sapiens through natural selection. The article concludes with some concrete classroom strategies and play suggestions that can be used to encourage young learners to ask questions freely in both child-centered education (CCE) and more traditional teacher-centered education models.