Ask the Expert

Learning Objectives

Students will:

• Define and identify the characteristics of an expert.
• Generate insightful questions to gain knowledge about a particular area of expertise.
• Practice asking and answering questions through a panel discussion with peers.

Resources:

Materials

For each student:

• Notebook paper or writing paper
• Writing Utensil

Resources:

Preparation

• Read through and familiarize yourself with the entire activity.
• Organize the activity space to accommodate student groups.

Resources:

Activity Steps

1. Ask students to define the word expert. 
   
   • Allow 2-3 students to share their understanding of the word and provide examples (if desired). 
   • Prompt students to think about experts they know in their own life; allow 2-3 students to volunteer.
   • Then, ask students to share any expert knowledge they have on a particular topic. 
2. Tell the students that today they will be interviewing experts in the room with them right now. 
   
   • Explain to students that they will interview their "expert" in a panel-style interview. 
   • Teach students that in a panel-style interview, people in the panel take turns asking the expert questions. 
   • Inform students that there will be one expert assigned per group, all other groupmates will participate in the panel-style interview. 
3. Organize students into groups and reiterate directions:
   
   • Instruct each group to choose 1 student in their group who knows a lot about a specific topic. 
   • The chosen expert should know a lot of information about their given topic; examples include:
     
     • A book, anime, or graphic novel they’ve read
     • A sport
     • An animal
     • A movie
     • A video game
4. Once groups have chosen their experts, explain that the panel will work on questions they can ask based on their expert’s topic. 
   
   • Explain to students that all questions should be asked to learn more about the expert's topic. 
   • Students should avoid questions with a “yes” or “no” answer. 
   • If there are questions that lend themselves to a “yes” or a “no” answer, encourage students to follow up with “why” to achieve a deeper answer. 
   • Tell students that the goal of the activity is to learn more from the expert, not to stump them.
5. Outline the panel protocol to groups.
   
   • Distribute a sheet of paper to each student.
   • Instruct panel interviewers to generate 5 questions they would like their expert to discuss.
   • Then, the panel will review their questions together and eliminate any repeats. 
   • Inform each group that each panel interviewer will ask 2-3 questions once repeats have been eliminated.
6. Encourage experts to write down notes regarding their expertise while the panel prepares their questions. Examples of notes include:
   
   • Facts about their topic
   • Rules related to their topic and their importance
   • Authors, illustrators, or important figures associated with their topic
   • Characters, significant events, and/or settings related to their topic
   • The adult should circulate the room while the students work and answer any questions.
7. Let the interviews begin!
   
   • Once the panel members have solidified their questions, instruct the panel interviewers and the expert to sit facing each other.
   • Then, the panel will then take turns asking the expert questions, and the experts will answer the questions to the best of their ability. 
   • Remind students that the expert may not have an answer to every question, which is okay. 
   • During the interviews, circulate the room and offer assistance, positive reinforcement, or redirection as needed.
8. When all groups have completed their interviews, have the students come back together for a short discussion using the following questions:
   
   • What were the topics each of your experts chose?
   • What was something new you learned from your expert?
   • What did you learn about asking questions?
   • What do you think was the most exciting or toughest question you heard asked?

Resources:

Variations

1. Have a device connected to the internet available for the expert to use to prepare or look things up. Have panels interview their experts in front of the entire group.

Resources: