Teaching to Master: The Power of Questions Over Answers
0Top o' the Mornin' to Ya!
TLDR: Teaching leads to mastery. Teaching through questions rather than telling creates stronger learning because when people self-discover something through thoughtful questioning, they care about it more and own the understanding - it's the difference between knowing facts and truly mastering concepts.
We just finished spending seven days talking about The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. I pray that Kingdom Family Leaders become highly effective leaders - not just productive, not just proficient, but effective. I really enjoyed that opportunity to review them by teaching you.
What?
I created a progression of learning levels: I don't know anything about it, I know of it, I know how, I've done it, I've taught it, and finally I've mastered it. That's where I was with The Seven Habits - wanting to teach it one more time to move toward mastery.
This week while driving Spencer to soccer practice, he asked me, "Dad, if there's a mosquito in the car and it's flying around, why does it stay here? We're going 40 miles an hour." Instead of just explaining that the air is contained by the glass, I asked him a series of questions to help him discover the answer himself, from the knowledge and experiences he already had.
Spencer is my questioner - I used to lie on the bottom bunk while he was on the top bunk, and he would ask question after question until he fell asleep. Beautiful father-son moments.
Why?
This illustrates a fundamental truth about learning and teaching: there's a massive difference between knowing something and truly mastering it. Teaching forces you to think about concepts from different angles and helps create deeper understanding.
More importantly, when we help others discover answers through questions rather than just telling them, we create stronger neural pathways in their minds. When people self-discover something, they care about it more and own the understanding in a way that mere information transfer can't achieve. When we teach, we strengthen and add to our neural pathways at the same time. This leads to the mastery.
Lesson
One of my favorite quotes says: "A teacher doesn't tell you what his vision is. He has you stand beside him and see the vision for yourself." That's exactly what happened with Spencer and what should happen in all our teaching moments.
By asking questions, I was able to knit the neural pathways together in his head to create stronger learning. Sometimes in my coaching, people go places I never expected them to go through the questioning process, but it's theirs and they own it because they've connected it to their own thinking and mindset.
Teaching through questions respects what the person already knows as the foundation and builds from there, rather than just dumping information on them. It helps them progress through the stages of learning:
I don’t know – I have no idea what “it” is or what it means.
I know of – I’ve heard about it and I’m aware it exists.
I know how – I’ve learned about it intellectually through training, reading, or instruction.
I’ve done – I’ve applied the knowledge in some real way.
I’ve taught – I know enough and have experienced enough to step forward and teach it to others.
I’ve mastered – I’ve done it, taught it, and applied it across different situations, both directly and through guiding others.
Apply
Think about your relationships - with your children, team members, employees, or people you're mentoring. Are you quick to give answers and explanations, or do you ask questions that help them discover truth for themselves?
This week, practice asking questions instead of telling. When someone brings you a problem or asks for advice, try responding with "What do you think might work?" or "What have you already tried?" or "How do you see this situation?"
Write down in the Doobly Doo below: What's one relationship where you can practice teaching through questions this week instead of just giving answers? Who in your life would benefit from you helping them discover solutions rather than providing them?
You be blessed!
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#TeachingThroughQuestions #SevenHabits #Coaching #ParentingWisdom #KingdomLeadership