More on Making Questions ...

This post is primarily intended for Module 2 students but I would welcome comments from others.

I have been thinking about the features or characteristics of meaningful inquiry questions, and think the following three perspectives might be helpful:

Three possible elements of an inquiry question (?):

a.     The reasons for asking the question

b.     The context in which the question makes sense

c.      The coherency of the question-making

The reasons for asking the question
At the core of a good question may be an assurance that it has some meaning to you, the questioner. Too may questions that arise in schools and universities are motiveless. They stem from the interest of the teacher (through a syllabus) or external interests (say on terms of a discipline). It seems to me, less about the interest (or interests) of the student. Within the space of BAPP Arts, it is essential that the question has relevance and value to you as a student because it is YOUR practice that is the focus of learning. Looking at your emerging questions, try and think in terms of the utility of the answers to you, personally, professionally and creatively. Avoid inquiries that are simply ‘about’ something, and look for inquiry questions that do something meaningful for you.

The context in which the question makes sense
Having thought about the relevance to you of your question(s), it is equally important to think about the context that the question relates to. If the emerging question is about developing your choreography, then a number of contexts are suggested. These might be for example, the nature of dance practice (in a particular place, e.g. UK); choreographic practice (again with specific localised differences); career development in dance; lived experiences of choreographers etc. Each of these are the professional contexts in which the question will, or will not, make sense.

The focus of attention here is on understanding the context so that you can evaluate the question for its appropriateness and value. This considers then the extent to which your question(s) are grounded realistically in the context to which they relate. It is about understanding similar questions posed that relate to the contexts, how others have tackled the questions, the particular conversations, what has been said and what are the conventional ways of understanding this question within the specific context.

The coherency of the question making

This last perspective is about the consideration given to the internal logic and coherence of the question making itself. So for example, a question that seeks the ‘best way’ to do something carries its own internal fault. It assumes there is always a ‘best way’. It carries perhaps also the prejudice of the questioner, i.e, that they think in terms of ‘best ways’. A better internal construction for a question might be ‘in what different ways’ is something constructed. This does not create a hierarchy before any attempt to look at an issue; rather it seeks to simply understand the different ways something is done. The coherency of the question is therefore about the technical method by which a question is framed. It is important because some questions are technically (in terms of research methods) straightforward to tackle, while others carry faults that mean they can never be answered.

I hope that is of interest and prompts ideas.

You might like to look at a previous post I have made on The Art of Asking