A barrage of pretty good looking questions

Have you ever taken a moment to ask why something is done or made a certain way? How to make something better than it is now? And then to come to the realization that YOU are the person who could make that change for the better!

This is the premise of A More Beautiful Question: “A beautiful question is an ambitious yet actionable question that can begin to shift the way perceive or think about something and that might serve as a catalyst to bring about change,” (Greger, 2014, 8).

One of the questions I grappled with as I began my post-secondary education was “How do people learn?” I soon followed this question with another – “What is the best way to present information to make it easier to consume and understand?” It was in pursuit of answers to those questions that I found myself studying film and journalism, in which I majored and minored.

When I discovered the field of instructional design, I was enamored, and as my knowledge of the field grew I incorporated its principles into my work as a video producer and later as an IT specialist.

Just recently, I accepted a position in curriculum development. My questions above persist, and become more nuanced. Not only do I grapple with how best to teach; many questions that now come to mind are how to promote new teaching methodology, and how to foster buy-in from faculty and staff. This then follows with more questions: do the concerns and objections received in response to proposed changes indicate a lack of understanding or appreciation; where does cynicism and stubbornness toward new methodologies stem from?

Last night I quickly brainstormed questions related to my field of practice. You can see the results of the thought exercise in the image below. The questions I’ve explored in the previous paragraph reflect the general theme of the questions that arose during my five-minute quickfire.

Elmer, S. (2022). Quickfire [screenshot].

One of the themes explored in A More Beautiful Question is “Why do people stop asking questions?”

Some of the answers to this question that are discussed in the book may explain some of the pushback I’ve explored in my quickfire exercise. In medical education, tradition and hierarchy are often factors for how decisions are made. “To raise a hand…and ask ‘Why?’ is to risk being seen as uniformed, or possibly insubordinate, or maybe both,” (Berger, 2014, 5).

I will admit that there are times, usually out of laziness, that I prefer not to ask questions – I would rather let things remain status quo. But in general, I feel I am the kind of person who is not afraid to ask “Why?” I have seen evidence of this questioning pattern in my exploration of faith, in probing processes at work with my superiors, and in my interrogative interactions with faculty when consulting on the use of technology or building learning activities.

This may be because I am rarely afraid to admit when I don’t have an answer. I might attribute this first to seeing myself as an “accomplished novice” as opposed to being an expert in my practices (both IT and curriculum development) (Bransford et al, 2000, 44). Secondly I would attribute this to how I was raised – seeing myself as inherently valuable (arguably a position of privilege attained through being white and male) (Berger, 2014). As Hal Gregerson says, questioning requires a “blend of humility and confidence” (Berger, 2014, 18).

I hope to explore this tension in my own life to help answer some of the questions that arose from my quickfire session. This tension relates directly to my field of practice – it is clear that the people I work with have an expressed desire to foster and improve understanding in the field of medicine in the coming generation of doctors. On the other hand, there seems to be widespread acceptance for “the way things have always been done.” How does this tension exist? What are the best ways to introduce opportunities for innovation and improvement? I will keep asking these questions.

References

Berger, W. (2014). A more beautiful question: the power of inqiry to spark breakthrough ideas. Bloomsbury USA.

Bransford, J. L., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (National Research Council (U.S.) & National Research Council (U.S.), Eds.; Expanded ed). National Academy Press. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/9853/chapter/5#44