When I ask- "What do you think?"

 Picture this- My 8th-grade classroom. Full of young teenagers. Full of awkward hormones. Full of wonder, but also want to look cool, and TERRIFIED of being embarrassed in front of their classmates.

The topic is irrelevant- Here's the question:
"What do you think?"

Silence.
Interesting.

I talk with my students about three types of questions. 

Informational: These questions have exactly one right answer. For example, if the question is, "Who was the third president of the United States?" There is exactly one answer and if you know it you know it and if you don't you don't. A lot of math problems are informational. There is exactly one right answer and you can be right or wrong- there is no in-between. 

Opinion: These questions can have multiple right answers. The catch is that there needs to be some evidence backing your opinion. Opinions vary and this can lead to some GREAT discussion as long as there are some guardrails in place to prevent arguments from getting out of hand.
"What type of speech should be abridged and is not protected by the first amendment?"
As long as you bring some evidence backing your opinion, you are right! These are my favorite types of questions to ask. It forces students to establish an opinion based on facts. This will be a great practice for them as they transition to adulthood.

What do you think: I try very hard to express to my students that when I ask, "What do you think?" you can't be wrong. Most of the time these are hypothetical and so far beyond logic that it would be impossible to have an analytical answer. Something like, "If you were to take a trip to Mars, what would you want to do first?" or "If you just cut a deal with the French to buy the Louisiana territory, how do you start that conversation with President Jefferson?"  

It's interesting to see these types of questions play out in my classroom. When I ask an informational question, hands shoot up from the students who are sure of their answer. No one else moves, fearful of giving a wrong answer. That's understandable. Giving a wrong answer would mean embarrassment.

When I ask an opinion question, I have a lot of hands go up! Amazingly enough, middle school students are HIGHLY opinionated!  (I'll give you a moment to collect yourself from the shock of that last statement!) The best part of opinion questions is that students can be right as long as they justify their answers. Sometimes these justifications are pretty sketchy, but at least they are putting some thought into them. These questions generate the most discussion and are typically the most fun! These questions are great practice for students to explore their thoughts, beliefs, and motivations. When done correctly, it also opens them up to differing opinions and facts they may have missed due to personal bias.

When I ask, what do you think...you can't be wrong. The problem is that it takes a great amount of thinking. When I ask these questions, I am usually looking out over a vast landscape of confused faces. Sometimes we will get some good discussion, but for whatever reason, it's difficult to get students to engage with these types of questions.

But why? They can't be wrong...but they can't make certain that they are right either.
...and if they aren't right- they must be wrong...and that's embarrassing.

Maybe because some students believe that they HAVE to be right. There is no option to fail...at anything...ever. (I wrote a blog post when I was a STEM teacher talking about failure. Read it HERE!) I have students all the time who miss one question on a quiz or worksheet and are at my desk asking for extra credit. 

Maybe it has something to do with our EITHER-OR society. You are either 110% for something or you are 110% against it. There is very little room for anything in the middle. Stating one opinion on one topic can place people into an ideological box that's almost impossible to get out of. That's not good for free thinking or the expression of thoughts.

I'm going to keep asking these questions and I'm going to continue to remind my students that they can't be wrong. Maybe I can help them expand their brains into being able to think a little better.

What do you think?

Leave me a comment!