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Dalton News
More Beautiful Questions with Author Warren Berger
The Faculty and Staff gathered to see author Warren Berger present his inquiry-inspiring book, "A More Beautiful Question," assigned as required summer reading. Focusing on techniques, rationale and perpetuation of asking more beautiful questions, Mr. Berger's slide-lecture opened Dalton's Professional Development Day on Tuesday, October 13. In later mixed and departmental sessions, the faculty and staff used Mr. Berger's techniques to examine three of the NYSAIS Accreditation Visiting Committee's school-wide recommendations.
Mr. Berger cited research from his book to point out that questioning dies down as students grow older. For many reasons, including fearlessness, brain chemistry, and the sheer excitement of learning, 4-year-olds ask over 390 questions a day. By contrast, that number falls off greatly as students become teenagers and fear mixed with being cool tend to overwhelm unbridled questioning.
Later in the day, the faculty and staff applied Mr. Berger's "Question Storm" technique and formed questions beginning with "How might we...?" they asked:
- How might we explore and resolve the tension between the “more is more” ethos?
- How might we establish a balance between the value of faculty autonomy, creativity, and innovation and the development of a collaborative and coherent educational community?
- How might me reimagine how to allocate time as a limited and treasured resource?
Many enjoyed Mr. Warren's thoughtful and understated delivery, saying that the experience was important for reinforcing the value of using questions in the classroom to help promote understanding and for the chance to apply one of his techniques to a real-school challenge.
In addition to his presentation, Mr. Berger offered the following website for more in-depth resources http://AMoreBeautifulQuestion.com/schools
Grades K-3
53 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128
Grades 4-12
108 East 89th Street, New York, NY 10128
Physical Education Center
200 East 87th Street, New York, NY 10128
