Asking a question is often thought of as a way to solicit information, or in some situations, assess what one already knows—as in taking a test. Research from the learning sciences, however, has shown that questions can benefit learning in yet other ways. For instance, we can use questions to practice recalling important information or to help us think more deeply about a topic.

Another useful purpose of questions is to engage in a little-known learning technique called pre-questioning. It involves guessing the answers to questions about an unfamiliar topic and then learning the correct answers. For example, imagine you are learning about the theory of relativity. Before a lesson on the topic, you might try to guess the answers to questions such as, “What is the speed of light?” or “How does time change for an object moving very fast?” You make your guesses, then proceed with the lesson, during which you learn the correct answers.

A growing body of research has found that pre-questioning can substantially improve one’s ability to pay attention to, learn from, and remember the content of textbooks, videos, and lectures. Given this phenomenon—which is formally known as the “pre-questioning effect”—it might seem sensible for teachers to implement pre-questioning in their classrooms, or for individual learners to use........

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