The Key Benefits of Learning Through Questions

One of the most effective ways of learning and experiencing more is to learn by asking questions. Why does this method work, and how can you implement it effectively? Today, we’ll help you learn how to do just that by breaking down the main benefits of learning through questions.

#1: Questions Help Recall

The number one reason that asking questions has huge benefits on learning success is that asking questions helps improve recall.

Recall is at the very heart of learning and knowledge. The simplified goal of learning is to be able to remember information. Recall can be defined as everything you have been taught minus everything that you have forgotten.

Forgetting information is a big part of what makes learning a challenge. When you are taught information, you do not remember all of it. Recall represents what you can remember. 

When you ask questions, you are filling in gaps in your knowledge. You are more likely to remember the answer than if you are passively listening. The question-and-answer format allows your brain to create new connections with the material, and those connections will give you a better chance to remember.

How to Ask the Right Question:

Take notes while you are listening to a lecture or lesson. When you are unsure about something that is said, place a circle around that section.

After the lesson or as soon as you can, ask for further clarification about those circled details. The repetition of the facts alongside your curiosity will help your brain to register the information more effectively.

#2: Show What You Want To Know

Another huge benefit of asking questions when you are learning from a tutor, teacher, or peer is that you can show exactly what you want to know more about.

If, for example, you are having trouble remembering the best way to do a physics problem, you can ask a question. You could say, “How would you recommend starting this problem?” By asking this question, you are showing that you want to learn how to solve the problem.

Additionally, you are letting your instructor know that you still need some more time on this subject area. There’s no shame in needing to go over a concept again, and it’s better to use the resources available to you to learn from.

Teachers and other instructors need to be able to identify clues like questions from their students to tailor their lessons. Those that do not know what their students struggle with will never be able to help them learn. Asking questions has many benefits for all members of the classroom because of this.

#3: Make It Personally Relevant

As mentioned above, actively asking your own questions tends to have more benefits for most learners than passively listening to the questions asked by others. 

Why is this?

Simply put, making subject material more relevant to the student or learner makes it easier to remember. Things that we personally invest our time into stick with us better.

The goal of asking questions should often be to personally engage with the material. Knowledge and recall are reliant on the connections that your brain makes with the material. How your brain stores the material will differ according to your connection with it.

By asking questions that relate the information to you, you can boost the number of instances that your brain catalogs the data. That will help you remember it better in the future.