Why students need space to question, experiment, and learn

A learner who asks, “Why does this happen?” or “Is there another way to solve it?” is beginning to engage with a subject beyond simply finding the expected answer. Questions can encourage learners to examine an idea more closely, consider alternatives and develop their own understanding. Schools can support this process by creating classroom environments where curiosity is treated as an important part of learning. Academic knowledge and foundational skills remain essential. At the same time, learners need opportunities to apply what they know, particularly when a problem does not have a single obvious solution. Experimentation can provide such opportunities. By testing ideas, examining outcomes and revising their thinking, students can understand that learning is often a process rather than a straightforward path to one answer.

Making experimentation part of everyday learning

Experimentation need not be limited to science laboratories or occasional project activities. It can be incorporated into different subjects through classroom activities that encourage students to investigate questions and consider different approaches. A science lesson, for example, can involve testing a hypothesis and examining the results rather than simply confirming an expected outcome. In mathematics, students can be encouraged to find more than one method for solving a problem and compare the reasoning behind each approach. A history lesson can invite learners to examine an event from different perspectives and consider how interpretations may differ.

Connecting classroom lessons with real life

Students may engage more deeply with a subject when they can see how concepts relate to situations outside the classroom. Schools can create these connections through community projects, field experiences, interdisciplinary assignments and practical activities. Consider a lesson on sustainability. Instead of discussing waste management only as a theoretical concept, students could examine how waste is handled within their school or neighbourhood.

They could gather information, identify challenges, speak to people involved in the process and suggest possible improvements.

Giving learners ownership of ideas

Problem-solving can become more meaningful when students have some ownership of the questions they explore. Teachers can allow learners to identify questions, select appropriate methods and present their findings in different formats, while ensuring that activities remain connected to learning objectives. For instance, a mathematics lesson on ratios and percentages could be built around a practical budgeting exercise. Students could be asked to plan a healthy school event for 50 learners with a fixed budget of ₹10,000. They would need to identify requirements, research or estimate costs, apply mathematical concepts and explain their spending decisions.

Supporting educators

Teachers play an important role in creating classrooms where questioning and experimentation are part of learning. They provide the subject knowledge and structure that students need while also helping them explore ideas independently. For this approach to work effectively, educators need appropriate time, resources and professional support. Teachers also need flexibility to adapt activities to the age, subject and learning needs of their students while keeping academic objectives clear. A classroom where a teacher says, “Let us investigate this together,” can help students understand that learning involves inquiry as well as instruction.

Preparing students for unfamiliar situations

Questioning and exploration can also support students in developing the ability to examine information from different perspectives. In language lessons, for example, students could analyse a text, advertisement or image by asking whose perspective is represented, whose perspective may be absent and how different readers might interpret the same message. Such exercises encourage students to examine assumptions and support their views with reasoning. They also demonstrate that a thoughtful response may involve considering more than one interpretation.

(The author is Principal, JBCN International School)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Neelu Kalro

Neelu Kalro