Brain Friendly Trainer has a great post on asking better questions (Hash teabags, teenagers and great questions) and compares some of the questions that teachers and trainers ask to the Undisputed World Champion Worst Question, "Can I help you?"
The post is on the weakness of asking a group, "Does anybody have any questions?" This reminded me of something we do in our Training the Trainer courses on Concept Checking Questions.
Do You Understand?
Look at the picture above. If I asked you, "Can you see what the picture is?" what would I have learned? Nothing much. You might me seeing the duck or you might be seeing the philosophical rabbit.
This is why asking somebody 'if they understand' is such a 'low-value' question. All too often, the answer is, "Yes." - with an unspoken addition, " but in my own special way..."
Stealing from English teachers
Why is the question so popular if it's so useless? Mostly for the same reason that we ask people if they have any questions or we use Creeping Death as our method of getting everybody to know each other.
It's easy. We're used to it. It's a habit.
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teachers don't have this luxury. For them, the question, "Do you understand?" isn't just a piece of social grooming. It has real meaning - and it doesn't work.
Concept Checking Questions
Concept Questions are usually a series of simple, relatively closed questions that ask somebody to demonstrate that they have understood.
Have a look on the web and see if you think Concept Questions would be appropriate for your group work and meetings. Before you decide against it (and many people who read about them worry they will sound 'patronising' - they won't, trust us) ask yourself this question:
Could it possibly be any worse than asking somebody, "Do you understand?"
[Image from a post on Gestalt Shift]
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