Luma Connection #29: Tap Into the Power of “Why?”

Collaboration and connection are important for our social-emotional well-being. Importantly, Luma has conducted research and published the benefits for creating learning communities remotely. This year, Luma will provide specific strategies you can implement to connect learners remotely. We are calling these strategies our Luma Connections.

Teaching Tool: LumaLive®
Nugget the MascotThis is Luma’s synchronous or same time meeting tool. This online tool allows learners to interact with each other to explore a topic and to discuss key concepts, share experiences, interact with each other, and to ask questions in real time. Interactions are in real-time and can be mentor-learner, learner-to-content, learner-to-self, and learner-to-learner.

Tip:
Tap Into the Power of “Why?”

Asking “Why?” is such a natural part of thinking. Humans are programmed to wonder and ask “why?”. This one word question holds the power to unlock deeper thinking in live classroom discussions.

Here are some tips for unlocking the power of “Why?” in a live discussion:
 

  • Provide the “why” or rationale for the discussion or discussion question. Knowing the “why” or relevancy increases learners’ satisfaction which leads to greater learner engagement.
  • When learners provide an answer, push their thinking further by asking them to explain the “why” behind their answers including opinion and icebreaker questions.
  • Ask learners to explain “why” an answer is correct or incorrect before providing the correct answer or having another learner provide it (which is an even more powerful learning tool.)
  • Use philosopher Socrates’s’ Socratic method of responding to every wondering or response with a “Why?” to nudge learners towards the answer.
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