You want your students to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. You’ve heard that asking questions is an effective way to help students make connections. And you want to use questions to help your students.

Question: How can you get started?

Answer: By taking the following self-assessment. Rate each item, using the following scale:

4: Strongly agree • 3: Agree • 2: Disagree • 1: Strongly disagree

___ I want my students to connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. (Watch)
___ My students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. (Read)
___ I understand how using questions can help my students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives. (Read)

___ I understand why God asks questions. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students would say that I value asking them questions. (Read, Discuss)
___ I can give a colleague a clear description of what using questions looks like. (Read)

___ I know what questions I want my students to respond to. (Read, Discuss)
___ When faced with an issue, my students know what questions to ask. (Read, Discuss)
___ I can identify and explain 6 characteristics of a good question. (Read, Discuss)
___ I ask good questions. (Read, Discuss)
___ I ask my students questions about creation-fall-redemption-restoration. (Read, Watch)
___ I have documented the questions I want to ask my students. (Read, Discuss)

___ I know what I want my students to learn when I ask a question. (Read, Discuss)
___ My students sincerely respond to the questions I ask. (Read, Discuss)
___ I use questions effectively. (Read, Discuss)

___ I ask questions to help my students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives.
___ I want to learn more about using questions to help my students make connections.
___ I am committed to helping my students connect what they study, the Bible, and their lives.


Now, ask yourself 4 questions about the data:

1. How many 4s, 3s, 2s, and 1s do I have?
2. What satisfies/concerns me about the data?
3. Which items would it be helpful to learn more about?
4. What will I do?

Additional resources:

1. Video: Why ask questions?
2. Tutorial: Use questions to help students understand and apply a Biblical perspective
3. 99 questions
4. Ask questions—help your students increase their understanding and application of a Biblical perspective 
5. Teacher and student testimonials regarding how using questions helps
6. To learn more about using questions, explore these 11 questions