Inquiry-based DEI: How Questioning Can Disrupt Defensiveness and Build Belonging

Katy Connolly

Education Program Coordinator

The Right Question Institute

Maame Conduah

Education Program Associate

The Right Question Institute

Kendall Evans

Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Belonging

St. Andrew's Episcopal School

Austin, TX

rightquestion.org

Warm Up

Think of a question that comes to mind when you see this prompt:

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“Summer Solstice”

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Pose it to a person sitting next to you.

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You may also want to share your name, and what you do/where you work.

Who is in the room?

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To Access Today’s Materials:

https://bit.ly/QFTatASCD

Access RQI’s Free QFT Resources

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https://rightquestion.org/education/resources

Classroom Examples

Instructional Videos

Planning Tools & Templates

Use and Share These Resources

The Right Question Institute offers materials through a Creative Commons License. You are welcome to use, adapt, and share our materials for noncommercial use, as long as you include the following reference:

“Source: The Question Formulation Technique (QFT) was created by the Right Question Institute (rightquestion.org).”

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Today’s Agenda

1. Welcome
2. Why Spend Time on Teaching the Skill of Question Formulation?
3. Collaborative Learning with the Question Formulation Technique (QFT)
4. Explore Applications & Examples
5. Final Thoughts & Reflection

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Why spend time teaching the skill of question formulation?

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Origin of the Right Question Institute: �Parents in Lawrence, Massachusetts, 1990

“We don’t go to the school because we don’t even know what to ask.”

"There is no learning without having to pose a question."

- Richard Feynman

Nobel Laureate, Physics, 1965

– Stuart Firestein

Former chair, Department of Biology,

Columbia University

“We must teach students how to think in questions, how to manage ignorance.”

College Presidents on�What College Students Should Learn

“The primary skills should be analytical skills of interpretation and inquiry. In other words, know how to frame a question.”

- Leon Botstein, President of Bard College

“…the best we can do for students is have them ask the right questions.”

- Nancy Cantor, Former Chancellor of University of Illinois

Yet, Only 27% of Graduates Believe College Taught Them How to Ask Their Own Questions

Alison Head, Project Information Literacy at University of Washington, 2016

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But, the problem begins long before college…�

Question Asking Declines with Age

Tizard, B., Hughes, M., Carmichael, H., & Pinkerton, G. (1983).

Pearson, J.C. & West, R. (2009)

Which students ask questions?

Tizard, B., Hughes, M., Carmichael, H., & Pinkerton, G. (1983)

Carter, A., Croft, A., Lukas, D., Sandstrom, G. (2017).

We can work together on creating more opportunities for all students to ask their own questions�

We Are Not Alone

More than 1 million classrooms worldwide

What happens when students do learn to ask their own questions?�

Research Confirms �the Importance of Questioning

Self-questioning (metacognitive strategy):

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• Student formulation of their own questions is one of the most effective metacognitive strategies
• Engaging in pre-lesson self-questioning improved students rate of learning by nearly 50% (Hattie, p.193)

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John Hattie

Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800

meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement, 2008

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Student generation of their own questions has proven impacts on learning:

• It enhanced elementary students’ satisfaction, positive attitude, enthusiasm, and excitement in learning (Hinson et al., 2004)
• Increases motivation and interest (Chin and Kayalvizhi, 2005)
• Led to significant gains in reading comprehension among 4th-6th grade students (Therrien & Hughes, 2008).
• Had medium to large effects on students’ comprehension, recall, and problem solving (Ebersbach et al., 2020)
• Asking questions encourages diverse perspectives and flexible thinking (Yu, 2009)
• Student-generated questions in chemistry class contributed to an increase in the quantity and quality of interactions between teacher and students (Pedrosa de Jesus et al., 2005).

And much more! Scan for full citations and more research:

Student Reflection

“The way it made me feel was smart because I was asking good questions and giving good answers.”

-Boston 9^th grade summer school student

Collaborative Learning with the Question Formulation Technique (QFT)

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The Question Formulation Technique (QFT)

Individuals learn to:

• Produce their own questions
• Improve their questions
• Strategize on how to use their questions
• Reflect on what they have learned and how they learned it

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Rules for Producing Questions

1. Ask as many questions as you can

2. Do not stop to answer, judge, or discuss

3. Write down every question exactly as stated

4. Change any statements into questions

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Which rule may be difficult for you to follow?

Produce Questions

1. Ask Questions
2. Follow the Rules
• Ask as many questions as you can.
• Do not stop to answer, judge, or discuss.
• Write down every question exactly as it was stated.
• Change any statements into questions.
3. Number the Questions

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Question Focus

🡪Now, ask questions. Number the questions. Follow the rules:

Ask as many questions as you can.

Don’t stop to answer, judge, or discuss.

Record each question exactly as it was stated (or first came to mind).

Change any statements into questions.

Courageous conversations at your school.

Categorize Questions: Closed/Open

Definitions:

• Closed-ended questions can be answered with a “yes” or “no” or with a one-word answer.
• Open-ended questions require

more explanation.

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Directions: Identify your questions as closed-ended or open-ended by marking them with a “C” or an “O.”

Discuss

Discuss

Improve Questions

• Take one closed-ended question and change it into an open-ended question.

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• Take one open-ended question and change it into a closed-ended question.��

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• Add these as new questions to your list

Closed

Open

Closed

Open

Prioritize Questions

Review your list of questions

• Choose three questions that you feel are most important to take with you or investigate further.
• While prioritizing, think about your Question Focus,
• Then, think about why you chose those questions.

Action Plan

From priority questions to action plan…

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In order to answer your priority questions:

• What do you need to know? Information
• What do you need to do? Tasks

Action Plan

In order to answer your priority questions:

• What do you need to know? Information
• What do you need to do? Tasks

Share (using Mentimeter)

Go to menti.com

Use code: 5862 2273

Reflect (using Mentimeter)

Go to menti.com

Use code: 5862 2273

A Look Inside the Process

The QFT, on one slide…

1. Question Focus
2. Produce Your Questions
• Follow the rules
• Number your questions
3. Improve Your Questions
• Categorize questions as Closed or Open-ended
• Change questions from one type to another
4. Strategize
• Prioritize your questions
• Action plan or discuss next steps
• Share
5. Reflect

1. Ask as many questions as you can
2. Do not stop to discuss, judge or answer
3. Record exactly as stated
4. Change statements into questions

Closed-Ended:

Answered with “yes,” “no” or one word

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Open-Ended: Require longer explanation

Source: The Right Question Institute rightquestion.org

Three thinking abilities

with one process

Thinking in many different directions

Narrowing Down, Focusing

Thinking about Thinking

Metacognition

Exploring Applications & Examples

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Professional Learning Example

Facilitator: Kendall Evans, Co-Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

Setting: Mid-year conversation with faculty at an independent school in Austin, TX

Purpose: To open up dialogue among teachers about equity and inclusion needs and goals at the school

Question Focus

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at St. Andrew’s

Questions Produced

• What untouchable questions are we not asking?

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• How do we educate parents about these issues?

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• Can we change the tendency to stay color mute?

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• How can our community learn to be more forthright but forgiving?

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• Is anyone else uncomfortable to be named white with a capital 'W'?

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• How can we undo the normalization of whiteness?

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• How do we disrupt binary thinking to move forward at SAS?

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• When we have very few kids of a certain identity in the room, how can we create a thoughtful/safe multicultural curriculum?

Questions Produced

• What education and actions do we need to be an inclusive community?

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• What spaces on our campus create further separation for students? How can we change spaces where students of color may feel marginalized?

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• How do we repair relationships when we mess up?

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• How do I know how much my students of color want to take on in any space? (advisory, class, etc.)

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• Where are we as a school on what teachers can say about race? (i.e. naming white privilege)

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• How do we reach the highest level of development in regards to race conversations? How do we remove shame from these conversations?

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• How do we handle these conversations when certain stakeholders are not there?

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• How do we invite more people of color into our community?

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Next Steps

•  They did another round of the QFT when author, Ali Michael (Raising Race Questions: Whiteness, Inquiry and Education), came to visit later in the year, this time with the entire school community present: students, teachers, parents, alumni, parents of alumni and trustees
• They worked in mixed groups to to decide together which questions the school should prioritize in the form of a viable action plan for the rest of the year

Outcomes

 “It was probably one of the healthier conversations I've been involved in with my upper school faculty and colleagues since I've been here given that it was about diversity and inclusion and involved topics that have in the past led to less than ideal outcomes. I was surprisingly pleased by the outcomes this time around."

Facilitator: Nat Vaughn, Principal

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Setting: A whole-school faculty meeting at a middle school in Medfield, MA

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Purpose: Re-examining homework norms; establishing consistent practices school-wide

Professional Learning Example

Homework practices vary at our school.

Question Focus

Homework practices are inconsistent at our school.

“The conversations that took place resulting from the process were rich, meaningful, and productive.  The simple process provided a non-judgmental structure to address a significant ‘issue’ in our school and led us to a position of recognizing and embracing a need for change.”

Outcomes

Classroom Example:

High School

Teacher: Isabel Morales, Los Angeles, CA

Topic: Social Justice

Purpose: Engage students in thinking about systemic injustice ahead of a Socratic Seminar discussion.

Question Focus

The disciplinary policies of our society perpetuate injustice.

Illustration by Chris Buzelli, Learning for Justice

Selected Student Questions

1. Why are students of color targeted the most?
2. Do teachers nationwide take notice of these stats?
3. How can teachers develop better & effective disciplinary policies?
4. Why do people see the stats & data as a coincidence?
5. What do teachers believe expulsion will teach the students?
6. Does going to juvie have a long-term effect on younger students about education?
7. What type of training will teachers go through that’ll bring justice to classrooms?
8. Why is there a law?
9. What is considered a criminal offense in school?
10. Isn’t it the teacher’s job to keep the students “in line”?
11. How do disciplinary policies target specific racial groups?
12. How should disruption in class be handled?
13. Shouldn’t school officers be punished as well?
14. What is the difference between a school officer and a regular police officer?
15. How come there aren’t any policies keeping students out of prison?

Next Steps with Student Questions

• Students decided to research local and national statistics about school disciplinary practices.
• Students polled students and teachers in their school.
• Students met with the school administration to ask questions and address their concerns.
• School principal founded a student advisory council, which many students joined, to give students a voice in new policies.

Classroom Example:

8th Grade Social Studies

Teacher: Johnny Walker, Los Angeles, CA

Topic: The diverse cultures of Asian American migrants in Southern California

Purpose: To question and refine use of AI as a tool to synthesize information and generate art representing Asian American cultures

Project Overview

You’ve been hired by an Asian American community in Southern California to create a mural.

You are going to create five iterations of a mural, using AI to generate examples.

However, you need to be a fact-checker and use inquiry, your research skills, your evaluative mind, and creative abilities to shape, fact-check and give feedback to the work AI is doing as an artist.

Finally, you will use it as a guide to make a proposal to a human artist. And, if possible, you will find a reaction and get feedback from a member of that Asian American community to your proposal.

Question Focus

The students’ own AI-generated images acted as the QFocus.

Country of choice: South Korea

Draft 1

Draft 3

Draft 5

Student Questions

1. Where is this mural?
2. Who is a famous korean american from southern California?
3. What does the writing mean? What type of bird is that in the background?
4. What instruments are they playing?

1. Why is there a temple?
2. What are the native animals of Korea?
3. Why is there so much text?
4. What does the text mean?
5. What is the cultural clothing of Korea?

1. Why is their American flag?
2. Why is there a chalkboard?
3. What is the symbol on the South Korean flag?
4. What plant is that in the background?
5. What body of water is that?

Next Steps

• After generating and prioritizing questions about each AI-generated image, students researched their priority question
• The research informed the prompt they fed to AI for the next round
• After 5 rounds, they reflected on how well the image represented what they now understood about their country/culture of choice

Student Reflection

“AI needed guidance and my outside research and knowledge to depict the people and symbols accurately. For example, the AI depicted Confucius in a modern style, which I corrected to appear more traditional and historical and also misrepresented Jeremy Lin. In the end, I had to ask specific questions and clarify my understanding to ensure that the mural accurately represented Chinese American heritage and contributions. When I showed my mother the mural, she liked some of the details but did not like the style of art that A.I. used. She would have preferred the techniques of traditional chinese painting.”

QFT works with many edtech tools!

• Mentimeter
• PollEverywhere
• Padlet
• Jamboard (or equivalent)
• Flipgrid
• Zoom
• Google docs, Google forms
• Can be done asynchronously on LMSs like Schoology, Blackboard, or Moodle

Lots of help on integrating edtech with QFT here: https://rightquestion.org/remote-learning-resources/

Why is the skill of question formulation so important now?

– Clive Thompson

Journalist and Technology Blogger

“How should you respond when you get powerful new tools for finding answers?

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Think of harder questions.”

In the Age of AI

Questions and Democracy

“We need to be taught to study rather than to believe, to inquire rather than to affirm.”

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– Septima Clark

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Chapter 6 on Septima Clark in Freedom Road: Adult Education of African Americans (Peterson, 1996)

Closing Reflections

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Closing Reflections & Questions

• What are you thinking now about how this applies to courageous conversations, and DEI ?
• What questions do you have for us now?

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Resources

Access Today’s Powerpoint & Other Resources:

https://bit.ly/QFTatASCD

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• Question Focus Design Tool
• Lesson Planning Workbook
• QFT on One Slide

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Register to Access RQI’s Full Resource Library: https://rightquestion.org/register

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Take our free self-paced modules and explore the Resource Hub at rightquestion.org/primary-sources

To Learn More about QFT & Primary Sources

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Thank you!

Additional Classroom Examples

rightquestion.org

Classroom Example:�4^th Grade

Teacher: Deirdre Brotherson, Hooksett, NH

Topic: Math unit on variables

Purpose: To engage students at the start of a unit on variables

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Question Focus

24 = ☺ + ☺ + ☺

Student Questions

1. Why is the 24 first?
2. What do the smiley faces mean?
3. Why are there 3 smiley faces?
4. How am I suppose to figure this out?
5. Is the answer 12?
6. Can I put any number for a smiley face?
7. Do three faces mean something?
8. Do the numbers have to be the same because the smiley faces are the same?
9. What numbers will work here?

10. Does it mean 24 is a really happy number?
11. Can we replace each smiley face with an 8?
12. Do any other numbers work?
13. Can we do this for any number?
14. Does it always have to be smiley faces?
15. Do we always have to use three things?

Next Steps with Student Questions

• Questions posted on classroom walls.
• Students cross off the questions they answer during subsequent lessons.
• Teacher returns to student questions at the end of the unit to discuss with students what they learned and what they still want to know.

Classroom Example:�9th Grade English & Biology

Teacher: Ellen Gammel, Fitchburg, MA

Topic: Bioethics & Nonfiction: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Purpose: To prepare for a formal debate at the very end of the unit

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Question Focus

Doctors should be able to do what they want with human tissue after the patient gives consent for removal of the tissue.

Debate Resolve:

Students’ Questions

1. Are our bodies truly our property?
2. How much consent?
3. How much information should a patient receive in order for them to give informed consent?
4. Consent for removal or consent for research?
5. Should the patient be paid?
6. How should patients be paid?  What for?
7. What counts as tissue?
8. Consent for removal of tissue or other body parts?
9. How about animals?
10. Are owners in charge of their pet’s tissue?
11. Are parents in charge of their kids’ tissue?
12. Can kids give informed consent?
13. Do gives give their parents consent?
14. How about teeth?
15. Do teeth count as bone donations?

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1. What percent of compensation should patients receive?
2. How have tissue ownership laws changed over the years?
3. Is there a law?
4. Do doctors owns the tissue after patients give consent?
5. Should patients be able to perform their own research?
6. Do doctors come up with the idea? (A focus)
7. Do doctors need consent for tissue that doesn't belong to humans?
8. Can patients take back consent once they find out what the doctors are doing with their tissue?

A Team Against Debate Resolve:

A Team For Debate Resolve:

Next Steps with Student Questions

• In teams, students researched their priority questions
• Students prepared their debate arguments and rebuttals, using research
• Students practiced public speaking and rhetorical skills

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Next Steps with Student Questions

• The 3 Judges: administrators, teachers and a former student
• The Audience: students, parents, teachers, school & district leaders

The Debate

Virtual Classroom Example: 7^th Grade

Teacher: Melissa Lawson, Folsom, CA

Topic: Japanese American Internment during World War II

Purpose: To help students engage with primary sources to begin a research process.

Question Focus

Lange, Dorothea. (1942) Oakland, CA, Mar. 1942.

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A large sign reading "I am an American" placed in the window of a store on December 8, the day after Pearl Harbor. The store was closed following orders to persons of Japanese descent to evacuate from certain West Coast areas.

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[Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a24566/.

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Selected Questions

1. Why is the car there?
2. Who was the owner of the car?
3. Is that a BMW or something?
4. Where is this?
5. Who took the photograph?
6. Why is there a sign that says, I am an American?
7. Who is “I”?
8. What does "Wanto Co.," mean?
9. Who wrote the "I Am an American" sign?
10. Was the 'I am American' because the owner was of Japanese heritage and defending him/herself from prosecution? (after Pearl Harbor)

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11) When the picture was taken, was the store open or closed?

12) Why was this picture taken?

13) What year is this from?

14) Who decided to close the store?

15) What happened to the store after this?

16) What happened to the Japanese Americans?

17) Did they ever get full fledged justice?

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Asking and Answering via Padlet

Student Reflections

• “I learned that we cannot draw conclusions just by looking at a picture once. You can look at it and ask questions to learn more. I am wondering if we can use this technique on other things.”
• “Not only did I learn about the picture we were analyzing, but I learned that asking questions makes me want to think more and it makes me curious. Once I started asking questions and reading other peoples responses, I was very interested and curious about the questions that were posted.”
• “I learned that I should have been using this for my History Day paper.”

Classroom Example: �5^th Grade

Teacher: Shana Trimble, Paintsville, KY

Topic: Westward Expansion

Purpose: To closely observe and analyze themes in a historical painting

Question Focus

This is an 1873 painting by John Gast:

https://www.loc.gov/item/97507547/

Student Questions

• How many people are in the picture?
• Are the strings the woman is holding telephone lines?
• Do the trains in the background represent new technology?
• What does the lady in white represent?
• Are the white men pushing the Native Americans out of their territory?
• Where are they going?

• Where is the setting of this painting?
• Are these good or bad people?
• Are they running from something or to something?
• What are the trains carrying?
• Why is she holding a string?
• Why is everyone going in the same direction?
• What are the lines she is carrying in her arms?
• Why are the Indians running?

Students Used Padlet to Ask Questions

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