Questioning

8th Light Apprenticeship - Day 19

I’ve noticed that the Craftsmen at 8th Light share the ability to ask leading questions to the apprentices. They give just enough information away to get us thinking differently. This helps us realise alternative solutions and let’s us decide on our path. In a nutshell, it allows us to progress when we are stuck.

At the start of the week I was finding it difficult to effectively get the students to realise their mistakes. I’d start by trying to explain a concept, perhaps giving a hint, or showing them how it’s done.

Today I tried to copy what Felipe has been doing all week. When a pair needed assistance, instead of trying to tell them how, when, why, I simply asked them to talk through their code.I questioned the decisions they had made, asked them what would happen if ‘xyz’, then walked away to let them ponder and experiment. At this point you can almost hear the cogs whirring in their brains, and you can actually see the glee when they realise, for themselves, what they have done wrong. When you return a few minutes later, they are happy to show their correction and explain what they found. I’m going to continue doing this tomorrow, empowering the students to effectively problem solve simply by challenging their thought process.