Asking a Simple Question Can Change Everything for a Student by Mark Reckmeyer

Jessica Stutzman, a Writer and Editor at Gallup, contributed to this piece.

An excerpt:

“I met Morgan while teaching a strengths and entrepreneurship program in the summer of 2012. The program was designed to provide students of lower socio-economic status with the opportunity to discover their strengths using the Clifton StrengthsExplorer,……

In the strengths and entrepreneurship program, Morgan started out as the distracting, off-task student he would have been in any classroom setting. However, near the end of the first week of this course, there was one very small conversation that changed his entire experience.

During a project, Morgan was asked about what he liked to do at home. His answer: Help his mother and grandmother in the kitchen. A follow-up question caused the shift that immediately took him from being that distracting student to one of the most engaged, focused and positive kids for the rest of the program: What did he like about being in the kitchen? Morgan stopped working on his assignment and started explaining the types of food he cooked, his mom’s favorite food that he made, his favorite food, how he made all of it and how much fun he had doing it. Morgan immediately went from being a constant distraction in class to a motivated learner and an engaged student.”

http://www.gallup.com/opinion/gallup/183476/asking-simple-question-change-everything-student.aspx