Beyond the Answer Key: Why Teaching Questions Is Critical in the Age of AI

Guest blog post provided by 
​Ayo Jones of NoodleNook.net

We’ve all been there. The student with their hand shooting up, eager for the “right” answer. The pressure to cover the curriculum often feels like a race to the finish line of factual recall. But in a world where information is instantly accessible through the screen in our pockets, is our primary focus on delivering answers still serving our students best?

​Last week, I had a conversation with a principal that crystallized this very dilemma. “We blocked ChatGPT,” he confessed, a hint of exhaustion in his voice, “and now kids are just using different AI tools. We can’t win this war.”

My response? “You’re fighting the wrong battle.”

Most of us grew up at the dawn of or deeply rooted in the Information Age. We witnessed the explosion of readily available data and saw encyclopedias give way to the Internet. In order to keep up, we had to get better at finding information, doing simple searches, and discerning fact from fiction. But that era of focusing primarily on access and retrieval is over.

We are officially in the Intelligence Age, where Artificial intelligence can surface and process information at an unprecedented scale. The answer to almost any factual question is, quite literally, a few taps away. This fundamental shift means the competitive edge for our students won’t lie in the breadth of their memorized knowledge. Instead, it will be in their ability to ask the questions that nobody else thought to ask. It’s about the depth of their curiosity, the sharpness of their inquiry, and the sophistication of their critical thinking.

This shift may sound like a philosophical ideal, but it's a practical necessity in this moment where we are shifting to a new AI-powered reality. It’s time to embrace this tech tool and its capacity to be a thinking partner for students and for educators!

​Building 21st-Century Skills with The PEACE Framework

To help educators navigate this transition, I developed the PEACE Framework. It’s a simple yet powerful approach to develop AI literacy and cultivate critical thinking, innovation, and creativity:
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• Provoke: Spark student curiosity and establish a clear purpose for learning. Instead of starting with a topic, begin with a compelling question or a puzzling scenario.
• Enquire: Guide students in formulating deep and meaningful questions. Teach them the art of asking "why," "how," and "what if."
• Analyze: Equip students to critically and comparatively analyze the information they gather, especially when using AI-generated content. Encourage them to evaluate sources, identify biases, and synthesize different perspectives.
• Create: Challenge students to create solutions or content that demonstrates a genuine understanding, moving beyond simple recall. This could involve presentations, arguments, designs, or even further questions.
• Engage: Foster opportunities for students to authentically share their learning and insights with others, refining their understanding through communication.

This framework isn't revolutionary in its individual components. In many ways, it echoes
timeless pedagogical principles. However, its intentional application in the context of
readily available AI makes it particularly potent for this moment. In other words, it’s having
it’s glow up moment!

Seeing Inquiry in Action

In a middle school classroom, I saw this revolution in action! Instead of the rote question, “When was the Civil War?”, students were grappling with complex inquiries like, “How might different Southern newspapers have reported on Lincoln’s election?” They then used AI tools to generate examples of such reporting, allowing them to analyze varying perspectives and identify potential propaganda techniques.

The result? A far deeper understanding of the historical context, the power of media, and, yes, they also learned the target TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) in the process... organically and meaningfully.

We are long past the stage of simply integrating ‘tech’ into the classroom. We’ve been chasing that since Google was unveiled. The imperative now is to fundamentally reshape how our students interact with knowledge itself. In this AI-saturated world, the ability to enquire (to ask insightful, critical questions) is the central skill our students need for success.

The Challenge Ahead? Moving Beyond Answers!

The transition from an answer-focused to a question-focused learning environment isn't always easy. It requires a shift in mindset, curriculum design, and assessment practices. It means valuing the process of inquiry as much as the final product.

What’s the biggest hurdle you see in making this shift in your own context?

What Can I Do?

As a teachers, we have to take this moment to move beyond the simple act of finding answers and force our students to become skilled questioners, thinkers, and innovators. Honestly, the future depends on it!

But how do we actually implement this change inside of our classrooms?

Here are a few simple steps you can take starting tomorrow:

• Start your lessons with thought-provoking questions. And let your students stew in this curiosity moment for longer than you normally might.
• Allow your students time to ‘question storm’. This is where they generate as many questions as possible about a specific topic before you get into the meat of your lesson.
• Even if AI is blocked on your campus, model how you interact with a chatbot by building a robust questions.
• Try one activity or task where you don't teach the lesson first, you ask students to create the product or proof of learning, and then tell them to figure it out! I know this sounds ridiculous, but providing them with a few key terms to define, some reference material, or even some questions they may want to ask AI means they are in charge of their learning momentum and direction. This typically means deeper knowledge and students who are more engaged and invested in the process.
• Use AI to find real-world applications to the lessons you’re teaching in the classroom. This lets students better understand the context of the material they're working through.

Pick any one of these ideas and run with it! A lot of what needs to happen as we shift towards a more AI-powered world is stepping outside our comfort zone to try something different than what we're used to.

What Next?     

When it comes to keeping up with AI trends, blockbuster tech announcements, and the newest shiny object digital tool everyone is using, there's just no way to squeeze all that in between recessed duty and laundry. In this moment, it really is not about the tools specifically. The more important piece that we all need to grapple with is the idea that our instructional pedagogy has got to change. We cannot keep doing what has always been done, because those things will no longer work for our students (or ourselves) in the AI-powered world of tomorrow.

In other words, we need purposeful professional development for teachers, curriculum adaptations at all levels, and to fundamental rethink instructional pedagogy.

If you’re ready to learn more about AI integration, the PEACE Framework, or improving outcomes through access, then please reach out. The future of learning depends on our willingness to shift.

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Ayo Jones is an educator, speaker, and instructional designer with over 20 years of experience in education. She specializes in accessible instruction, assistive technology, and AI integration, helping teachers rethink how they support all learners. As the founder of Noodle Nook, Ayo shares practical strategies that improve learning and access in every classroom. You can find her book, ​The PEACE Framework, at online retailers.

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How do you currently encourage your students to ask deeper questions in your classroom?

What challenges do you face when shifting from answer-driven lessons to inquiry-based learning?

Which step of the PEACE Framework do you think
​would have the biggest impact in your classroom right now?

If you could redesign one lesson to focus entirely on student inquiry,
which topic would you choose and why?
​
What excites you most about the possibilities of teaching in an AI-powered world?

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​Please leave your comments below.  
Your feedback is always appreciated.

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