Learners engage with big questions when their curiosity is stimulated. That might be through responding to big questions the teacher asks or through being invited to suggest their own. Big questions are questions of significance and meaning, not just recall, and each subject may stimulate a different set of questions that students can engage with. For example, learners may engage in discussion or role-play in response to a question about the difference between humans and computers. In science, creating and discussing diagrams of food chains may prompt students to ask how things fit together.

  • Learners can contribute their own questions verbally or add a question to a board, box, or display. For example, religion class can include the opportunity for students to raise their own questions around Bible stories.
  • Learners can respond to questions posed in class, such as a series of questions in English about the ethics of writing about people who are still living, or questions such as “Where does our creativity come from?” in music.
  • Learners can ask questions about faith and values in subjects other than religion. Big questions like “Where do the patterns in numbers come from?” can be asked in math.

Stimulating curiosity can engage learners in asking big questions that are about meaning and significance, not just information.