One of the biggest problems with adult learners is that many of them don't know how to ask questions productive for learning, and worse they don't KNOW they don't know how to ask those questions. This leads to large amounts of frustration as they struggle to find information through bad inquiries. - ThreadSky

gaudipern.bsky.social • 39 days ago

One of the biggest problems with adult learners is that many of them don't know how to ask questions productive for learning, and worse they don't KNOW they don't know how to ask those questions. This leads to large amounts of frustration as they struggle to find information through bad inquiries.

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crazyeddie404.bsky.social•39 days ago

70% of my job is disentangling crap like this.

"The app isn't working!"

Ok. What's is it not doing?

"I can't generate reports like I used to! Look!" * Clicks on button, report pops up, user cringes*

What was SUPPOSED to happen?

"The font is supposed to be yellow!"

Ok. Here's how you fix it...

gaudipern.bsky.social•39 days ago

And unfortunately the question doesn't get better for most except through interactive guidance to reconstruct their questions. Most people will never reflect and deconstruct what clarifying questions you asked to improve their own process because they've accepted this is how it should work.

brokenpinion.bsky.social•39 days ago

Literally just had an interaction on this site that exactly encapsulates this. Idk why the adult in particular was trying to instigate an argument with a 15 year old on the internet about two white European political ideologies but who am I to judge

gaudipern.bsky.social•39 days ago

I don't blame folks for not learning this skill; it's a perennial issue with many of the ways that we teach them in preparation for testing... but golly can you see it wrecking people's lives and happiness and they just don't know it.

meetingmayz.bsky.social•39 days ago

What are questions productive for learning? Like if they don't know that what they should know to ask questions, doesn't it mean that they also lack the info to bridge to a question productive for learning? 🤔

gaudipern.bsky.social•39 days ago

Questions that provide a context to understand what you know, what you don't, and what situation you're trying to apply the information.

Compare:
"Why is my bread so flat?"
To
"If I made sure to use 1tsp of active yeast, what else could cause a loaf of sourdough not to rise properly?"

babewiththepower.bsky.social•39 days ago

I read that like a scientist, so to me it's logic/deductive reasoning/scientific method.

gaudipern.bsky.social•39 days ago

It can be, but not always. Similar processes occur in anthropology/history/etc that don't really have a direct use for scientific method and may not be able to build testable hypotheses. Often in their case, they're more interested in learning how to constrain the applicability of knowledge.

hermitqueenjude.bsky.social•39 days ago

didn’t know there was a wrong way to ask a question. can you give an example lol like this might explain a lot for me lmaoooo

gaudipern.bsky.social•39 days ago

"Why won't my computer work?"

- This provides no useful context that would allow either someone to answer without asking you more questions, or for you to successfully search for an answer.

hermitqueenjude.bsky.social•39 days ago

ahh gotcha

gaudipern.bsky.social•39 days ago

A lot of my work with college students was about helping them deconstruct questions they were asking and learning how to frame them more productively so that later they would not need me, they'd have the tools to zero in on information in books or the internet on their own.

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