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Asking Good Questions To Get Better Grades

August 13, 2009

The questions you ask strongly influence your brain. If you ask, “Why am I a loser, and why does no one like me,” what will you learn? Nothing useful. Yet a simple rephrasing of the question to, “How can I become more successful and loveable,” produces very useful information. Your brain is a like a simple computer, and the questions you ask determine what solutions it seeks. It becomes critical for learning success to ask better questions.

Many learners sabotage their success by asking poor questions during studying. A question like, “why am I so stupid, and why do I not I understand this,” will not provide useful information. “What does this mean,” would be a far more useful question to posit. One of the most useful questions you can ask while under stress is, “what is the next best step I can take.” It immediately forces your brain to realistically view your problem, while seeking a positive solution. This question works not only for studying, but during any other life crisis as well.

The importance of questions can not be understated. Just a little over a century ago, the question being asked was, “can man fly?” The answer was an emphatic, “no!” This was an excellent answer given the failure to solving this problem by some of the greatest minds who ever lived including Leonard da Vinci. Yet, two men who built bikes, Orville and Wilbur Wright, did not realize they could not succeed. Their first successful flight lasted only a brief amount of time, and went a very short distance. However, their flight proved that man could fly. After thousands of years of failing to fly, mankind was able to fly to the Moon, and Mars only a little over a hundred years after their short flight. Planes, rockets, and other flight enabling devices of every shape and size have been created. What changed? The questions changed. The questions now being asked were about how to fly higher, faster, longer, and heavier. Questions lead to new insights and significances. They are the secret to supercharging your understanding.

These techniques are part of our College Central and Teen Advantage series. They will help you learn faster and achieve better results whether your a student or professional.

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