Abstract:

Questioning is widely recognised as fundamental to creativity and innovation, yet questioning training remains underdeveloped in higher education pedagogy. This gap is particularly important in the AI era, where students may use Generative AI for idea generation but still struggle to formulate useful and creative questions.

This study develops and examines MOR-E Questioning Pedagogy, a theory-driven, structured questioning method designed to support students’ creative problem-solving projects in higher education. MOR-E consists of three rounds: Map (self-questioning and ownership-building), Open (divergent questioning to expand possibilities), and Refine (convergent questioning to refine and reduce options), with an evaluative reflective element embedded across rounds to prompt students to consider how their questions support curiosity, creativity, and project helpfulness.

The study adopts a qualitative multiple-case design across five higher education teaching contexts (one pilot case and four full implementations) in the UK and South Korea, involving students in tourism, hospitality, events, and business-related modules. Data are drawn from educator-researcher field notes, student comments, and classroom artefacts where available. In line with multiple-case research logic, the analysis combines within-case write-ups and cross-case comparison.

Findings suggest that MOR-E Questioning Pedagogy is a promising scaffold for creative project work, but that student engagement and uptake vary by questioning round and classroom context. The Open round (divergent questioning) with gamified elements was consistently the most energising and positively received, with students showing greater willingness to ask unusual and imaginative questions. The Map round (self-questioning) with Questioning Formulation Technique (QFT) modified for creative project, was valuable for helping students pause and rethink their projects, but it was also cognitively demanding and could impact student engagement. The Refine round (convergent questioning) was highly sensitive to delivery medium (e.g., Padlet versus memo paper) in terms of its impact on student engagement.

The paper contributes a theory-driven questioning pedagogy for creative project-based learning and a structured creativity-support intervention in authentic higher education classrooms. It provides both educator and student perspectives on how it contributes to student engagement and level of confidence in asking questions and being creative.

Please choose your submission type: Full Paper

Primary Track: Tourism and Hospitality Experience Management

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Dr. Iris Sheungting Lo