Asking a student big questions like ”what do you want to do” ”where do you want to go” can be overwhelming for some. Here are 4 questions you can add to your toolbox to get students to dig deeper when deciding on their next steps toward the future.
1. Who is someone you admire?
This question can help reveal possible aspirations for themselves (college, career, etc.) and give you space to explore this person's journey to where they are today to determine if any of it resonates with your student.
2. What things do you appreciate in others?
A key to exploring life after high school (college or career) is getting an understanding of what they value, but asking what they value directly might not get the necessary response. By focusing the question on others, you can ease into a conversation about what is important to them to determine the appropriate paths that support them.
3. When do you feel the most like you?
Preferences are another important part of students' explorations of their futures, and they can often be derived from this question. Do they prefer being around people or alone? Do they prefer solving a specific challenge or helping others? This will give you good insights to direct future exploration.
4. What do people come to you for advice about?
This is another way to ask, “What skills do you have?” It is sometimes easier to create awareness of a student's skills by starting with how others perceive them and working back from there to determine how students feel about these skills that are valued by others.
Since interactions with students are often brief, pick one question to try with a student in an upcoming meeting.
Encourage is a free college & career planning program for busy educators based on best practices related to college, career, and life readiness. You can guide students to our majors and career quiz in our student app to connect their interests to future majors and careers and get insights to make the most of your student interactions and inform programming.