Developing Learning Questions

Does the question state clearly what you want to learn? What have been the effects of climate change in Central America? ‘Black Hole’ - Taking on too much Better: What have been the effects of climate change on coffee productivity on farms below 1000 masl in Central America? Is it clear and focused?

Is the question likely to stimulate fresh or innovative thinking? Were the farmers participating in the project Farmer Field Schools satisfied? ‘Term Paper’ – Taking on too little Better: How effective were the project Farmer Field Schools in developing sustainable production and natural resource management skills? Is it open-ended and arguable?

Is the question feasible to answer? How can farmers adapt to climate change in Central America? ‘Nobel Laureate’ – Taking on your life’s work Better: What practices are farmers in Central America currently using to adapt to climate change?

Is the question open-ended? Are expert patients a cost-effective intervention to increase patient retention in HIV care? Yes/No answer Better: What are feasible and effective ways of capacitating and supervising expert patients in rural vs urban areas?

Types of Questions Types Purpose Examples Theories of Change Test and explore theories of change USAID/Uganda Theory of Change: If Ugandans have a strong health system and high-quality service delivery that is accessible, then they will use health services and Ugandans will become healthier. Question: In what ways does the strengthening of Uganda’s health systems improve the quality, availability, and accessibility of health services in the country?

Types of Questions Types Purpose Examples Technical Evidence Base Fill critical gaps in our technical understanding USAID/Pakistan: What are the barriers to women receiving higher education scholarships provided by USAID/Pakistan’s Merit & Needs Based Scholarship Program (MNBSP)?

Types of Questions Types Purpose Examples Game Changes & Scenario Planning Identify game changers and develop scenarios USAID/DRC: What, is any, unanticipated game changers developed during the life of the country strategy and impacted results? Other examples: What if conflict worsens? How will we adjust approaches? What if a specific law passes? How can we support targeted groups?

Characteristics of good questions Answerable and realistic in scope Answers will help you make better, more informed decisions Relevant to real work and real world problems Developed together with those who will be answering Asks how, what, where, when or who Not yes/no Why questions don’t work as well as they can create defensiveness

Added value of good questions Stimulates fresh or innovative thinking Avoids hidden assumptions or beliefs Generates hope, imagination, engagement, creative action and new possibilities Encourages new and different questions to be asked as the initial question is explored Potential benefits of answering the question are worth the effort

Discussion How many questions are appropriate? How do you ensure that you start from new questions and not questions that have already been answered? How do you best align with the external landscape for questions with relevance beyond your project?