Shared Inquiry™ is a method of learning that enables people of all ages to explore the ideas, meaning, and information found in everything they read. The Shared Inquiry method centers on interpretive questions—questions about a text that have more than one plausible answer. Discussion leaders employ the Shared Inquiry method to get participants thinking, listening, and responding to questions and answers from others in their discussion groups.
When used in schools, the Shared Inquiry method promotes a special relationship between teachers and their students. Instead of presenting the right answer, teachers guide students in reaching their own interpretations and understanding the interpretations of others. Teachers do this by expressing their own curiosity about the selections, posing questions to get students to base their ideas on evidence in the text, and following up purposefully with additional questions that encourage students to look deeper and further define their ideas. For teachers, adopting the Shared Inquiry method provides a consistent approach to instruction that they can employ effectively in a wide variety of subject areas.
Please read the Shared Inquiry Handbook from the Great Books Foundation and compare the current way you conduct classroom and group discussions to the shared inquiry method. Also please take a look at the example of the Gettysburg Address for yet another look at the types and level of questions posed by the Great Books Foundation.