Guiding Children’s Behaviour by Questioning

Beginning in the early years, St Julian's children are given the opportunity to learn how to think about their learning and their behaviour. Most of the time, teachers use open-ended questions to promote the development of this important skill.

Teachers tend to start with a ‘What’, ‘How’, ‘Where’ or a ‘Why’ (and rarely a ‘Which’ or ‘Who’). Great open-ended questions can start with a ‘Tell me about…’ or an ‘I wonder if…’ as well.

Think of them as good conversation starters. Most importantly, they should be about tuning into the child and listening deeply before responding, creating a powerful learning moment.

Close-ended questions, on the other hand, can easily impart our own expectations onto a child, blocking their creativity and their self-confidence.

Instead of telling them the ‘right way’ to do something, open-ended questions encourage independent thinking and guide children towards finding their own truth and thinking about different possibilities. Children learn to try, fail, experiment and succeed on their own.

This way, language is developed, thoughts and ideas can be expressed, and positive relationships are encouraged.

This article by Jack Wright (Child Development Consultant on the Flathead Reservation) in the NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) is all about how parents can also extend this at home in order to raise independent and resilient children.

Dra. Joana Lobo
Primary School Psychologist.