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When leading a class, it's important to gently steer conversations and periodically check for understanding. To do that effectively, you'll need to ask the right questions.

Open vs. Closed

It's common to ask closed-ended questions, especially for newer facilitators. "Do you understand?" "Does that make sense?" These types of questions typically illicit one word answers, which gives you nothing to go off of.

A better strategy is to ask open-ended questions. "How does that topic relate to your role in this program?" "How can you use what you've learned in this lesson to improve yourself in the next week?" It's best to be specific, but enough to give the learner room to give a personalized answer that forces then to apply new concepts to their world.

Strategy

Using the right questions helps you, the facilitator, drive effective discussions that aid the learning process. Remember that closed-ended questions aren't bad, but should be used sparingly.