What happened
In a Hechinger Report opinion essay, Hiranya K. Nath, Distinguished Professor of Economics at Sam Houston State University, describes asking students to prepare three questions for a senior Federal Reserve official. He graded their questions rather than answers. Nath reports that some students hesitated while others engaged more deeply, prompting his argument for greater emphasis on inquiry.
Why it matters
Nath’s central distinction is between reproducing information and deciding what is reliable, relevant and worth attention. For educators and learning designers, his example raises a practical assessment question: do tasks reveal learners’ ability to define a problem, or only answer one already defined for them? He argues that AI makes question formulation especially important because the usefulness of generated answers depends on the questions and instructions supplied. These are his interpretations, not reported study findings.
What to do next
Consider adapting Nath’s exercise within an existing course: ask learners to formulate questions about material they have studied, rather than only supply answers. Keep attention on the curiosity, reasoning, judgment and engagement with complexity that he advocates. Review where assessments leave room for learners to frame problems themselves. Treat the essay as a starting point for examining practice, not proof that grading questions improves learning; it reports classroom observations without a measured comparison of outcomes.
About this briefing
Reviewed by TutorFlow Editorial. We link the primary source, preserve its publication date, and distinguish reported claims from TutorFlow analysis. Our commentary focuses on practical decisions for educators and training teams.
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