How to Get Students to Actually Think in Your Classroom
Some of the best learning happens when students make a connection themselves. I use “Big Thinking Questions” to connect students' personal experiences and opinions to academic content. The goal isn't simply getting students to remember information. It's getting them to think—and creating those powerful “aha!” moments.
9/1/2026
At the beginning of the school year, I tell my students something that probably sounds a little strange coming from a history teacher.
I'm not overly concerned about whether they remember every person's name or every historical date.
Don't get me wrong. Those things are important.
But there's something I want them to leave my classroom with that's much more valuable:
The ability to think.
I want students to question things. I want them to make connections. I want them to ask themselves, “Do I really believe what I say I believe?”
One of the ways I try to make that happen is through something I call Big Thinking Questions.
Here's how it works.
Before teaching a historical topic, I'll give students a situation they can understand personally.
For example, imagine you're about to fight someone and that person's friend hands them a knife. Would you have a right to be angry at the friend who gave them the weapon?
There's no complicated historical knowledge required to answer that.
Students already have opinions.
But here's an important part of the strategy: I have them write their answer down first.
I've found that when I simply ask a question and immediately open it to the class, fewer students participate. When everyone has to write an answer, however, they've already been forced to think about the question.
Then we can share.
📝 First, students write their own answer.
🤝 If we have time, they discuss it with someone nearby.
🗣️ Then we bring the conversation to the entire class.
That's when I introduce the academic content.
In this example, we're learning about the French and Indian War. After teaching some of the history, I bring the original question back—but now I change the context.
Suddenly we're not talking about two students fighting anymore.
We're talking about Britain, France, and Native Americans.
And that's when something happens.
“Ohhh...I get it.”
That's the moment I'm looking for.
Students realize that the opinion they formed about an everyday situation can help them think through a much larger historical question.
And you don't have to teach history to use this.
The same basic idea can work in English and many other subjects. Start with something students can understand personally. Give them an opportunity to form an opinion. Then connect that thinking to what you're teaching.
The goal isn't for us to do all the thinking for our students.
It's to create the conditions that help them make the connection.
Because sometimes the best learning happens when the teacher doesn't give students the answer.
We guide them toward the “aha!” moment.
👉 Watch the full video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwrdo3YCU40&list=UULFQOIbqNhb_gseSVU6bE3uUA