Embracing Open-Endedness
How old are you? What color is that? Where did we go last night? Who’s that?
Asking our children questions is something we do without even thinking. Well before they are able to even begin to speak we ask them questions. We are eager to imbue their lives with meaning and anxious for the time wherein they can, finally, show us that everything we do and say is sinking in. Questions are beautiful. They are informative to us as adults, answering them correctly helps children solidify knowledge and feel affirmed, and even incorrect answers may lead to further learning and help parents understand the so-called ‘holes’ in their children’s thinking. However, we can do more.
As individuals who know that children need to be invited into occasions of deeper thinking and challenge, we must also be willing to embrace a style of question that has no ‘correct answer’—the open-ended question.
Unlike close-ended questions that have either a single or a confined range of correct answers, open-ended questions have no right answer. They are open for interpretation. When asked an open-ended question, we invite children into imagination, reasoning, and thoughtfulness. Similarly, informative open-ended statements with regard to the work your children do help parents and teachers avoid ascribing value (positive or negative) to the work a child has done before the child has a chance to do it themselves.
Imgine this: Your child has drawn a yellow circle with long red lines emanating from either side. What do you say?
Oh wow! What a nice sun!
(It may be. Or it may be that your child was working on a spider but a) doesn’t say anything or b) becomes upset or embarrassed at their inability to depict their subject in a way that resonates with others.
What did you make?
(Perhaps the child wasn’t making anything. Process art is an important part of early childhood. This may also deter the child from describing their process which, while in the short term not especially damaging, over time leads them to value what they made over the process of getting there—or, to value product over process, which research suggests promotes creativity and exploration.
Open ended questions and statements also allow a child to be an expert, positioning them as someone who knows something about something, meaning that they have an increased sense of efficacy and confidence in themselves as a thinker.
In lieu of offering a chart that says: “Instead of… / Try this…” I figured that offering, two questions/statements to try out would be much more meaningful and effective. So, try to add the following to your repertoire:
“Tell me about your work.”
“I’d like to know more about this.
Will you tell me?”
These statements and this question position the child as the authority in their own work and validate their work by showing them that others can be interested in and curious about it without ascribing or imposing their own opinions on the work.
Give your kiddo the space to think, to grow, and to know.