Week 3: Inquiry in the Age of AI – Teaching Students to Ask Better Questions
Big Idea: The future belongs to the curious.
Why Inquiry? Why Now?
As AI tools become more common in our schools, it's easy to focus on what they can do for students. But what really matters is what students are empowered to ask.
Inquiry isn’t just a pedagogy—it’s a mindset. And in an AI-rich world, students who can ask powerful, layered questions will always have an edge over those who rely on tools for answers.
In other words: curiosity > automation.
The Shift from Answers to Questions
AI can generate summaries, solve math problems, or draft essays—but it still struggles with nuance, ethics, and originality. That’s where students come in.
Teaching inquiry helps students:
Identify bias in AI responses
Ask follow-up questions that deepen thinking
Evaluate the quality and relevance of AI-generated content
Make connections between tools, concepts, and real-world problems
Essential Question of the Week
How do we help students ask better questions in a world of instant answers?
3 Ways to Promote Inquiry with AI
1. Model Open-Ended Prompts
Instead of asking AI:
👉 “What is climate change?”
Try:
👉 “What perspectives are often missing in discussions of climate change?”
Use these side-by-side with your students. Show them how a better question leads to a more thoughtful result.
2. Use AI to Analyze Questions, Not Just Answer Them
Have students input their own questions into a chatbot, then evaluate:
What kind of response does it generate?
Is it surface-level or deep?
What could make the question more precise, challenging, or interesting?
Then, revise and repeat. The question becomes the text.
3. Turn the Classroom Into a Lab for Curiosity
Let students co-design a small inquiry project using AI as one of their tools—not the final word. For example:
Topic: Food insecurity in our community
Inquiry question: What solutions have already been tried? Why might they fall short?
AI prompt: Generate a list of policies aimed at reducing food insecurity and the critiques of each.
The focus isn’t what the AI says—it’s what the student does next.
Inquiry is Inclusive
For neurodivergent learners—those with ADHD, dyslexia, or anxiety—structured inquiry can be a game-changer. It centers their ideas, supports multiple pathways to success, and gives them ownership over learning.
AI, when paired with inquiry, becomes a support instead of a shortcut.
Resource Corner
🔍 Right Question Institute: Question Formulation Technique (QFT) – One of the best protocols for teaching students to generate and improve questions
🧠 Paul & Elder’s Critical Thinking Framework – Great for helping students analyze and revise questions
📄 Want a downloadable “AI + Inquiry Starter Kit”? Let me know—I’m creating one right now!
Final Thought: Let Curiosity Lead
In a world where answers are easy to generate, questions are the new superpower. As educators, we don’t need to outpace AI—we need to model curiosity, iteration, and wonder.
Teach students to ask better questions, and you’ve prepared them for anything.
