SIMIODE Director's Blog - Asking Questions
Asking Questions
Under the story title, “The Power of ‘Why?’ and ‘What If?’” Warren Berger writes in The New York Times on 2 July 2016 about the importance of asking questions. In talking to a senior manager, she told him, “They were smart, experienced, competent. So, what was the problem? `They’re not asking enough questions,’ she said.”
While the article is about getting employees to ask good questions, this view of doing things applies to education as well. He goes on to say, “One might assume that people can easily ask such questions, given that children do it so well. But research shows that question-asking peaks at age 4 or 5 and then steadily drops off, as children pass through school (where answers are often more valued than questions) and mature into adults. By the time we’re in the workplace, many of us have gotten out of the habit of asking fundamental questions about what’s going on around us. And some people worry that asking questions at work reveals ignorance or may be seen as slowing things down.”
So, between early childhood and the workplace comes formal education and we have a chance to make a difference in getting our students to ask questions. There is an exceptional opportunity offered in any modeling context. We at SIMIODE are about using modeling to motivate the study of mathematics, specifically, differential equations.
Modeling is all about asking questions and testing the responses. What are the notions involved? Identify variables. Inquire as to the relationships between these variables? How will I test my theory? My model? They go on and on. Some questions are quite nuanced, and some are very broad, but all are questions which need to be asked and addressed.
So, jump in and ask questions, practice this art in modeling.
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