How do you get help today? Why don’t you get help? (10 minutes)

Goal: Reflect on how you get help for your questions today

Answer the following questions, then find a partner and discuss any significant differences you have in your answers.

Q1. When you come across something you don’t understand, which of the following ways do you use to get answers?  

• Search Google / Bing / …
• Search Stack Overflow
• Search YouTube
• Ask ChatGPT or other AI
• Ask a peer
• Ask an expert/senior
• Post a question on a forum / Slack channel
• Read the documentation 
• Other (_________________________)

Q2. What stops you from asking others when there is something you don’t understand?  Check the ones that apply to you.

• I feel I should probably already know the answer and asking would reveal my ignorance
• I don’t want to waste anybody’s time
• I don’t want people to think badly of me
• Nothing stops me because most people usually get pleasure from helping, and often even enjoy showing off their knowledge.
• Nobody has ever had my problem before, so there’s no point asking anyone
• Other (_________________________)

Good Question Improvisation! (45 minutes)

Goal: Practice framing a good question and get feedback on it

1. Pick ONE of the technical issues that you have thought of during the prep.  Use the good questions concepts that you have learned to write down a well-structured question (10 minutes).
2. Working in groups, you should each take turns to ask your question of the others in your group.  The others should provide constructive feedback on your good question and suggest possible ways it might be improved. (~5 minutes per person, no more than 30 minutes)
3. As a group, reflect on the concepts that you think have been most beneficial to asking good questions.  Take turns and share with the group one or two of the changes that you made (or someone else made) to a question that resulted in it being easier to answer and therefore more likely to give a more valuable answer. (5 minutes)