Summary for Educators 

Article: Using the 5 Whys Approach to Deepen Student Thinking Author: Andrew Paull
Publication: Edutopia
Publication Date: January 20, 2026
Source: https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-5-whys-approach-deepen-stude...

In his Edutopia article, Andrew Paull offers a practical and timely strategy for helping students strengthen their reasoning skills, overcome conversational hesitancy, and clarify their thinking in both discussion and writing. Drawing from the business world rather than traditional pedagogy, Paull adapts the “5 Whys” method, originally developed by Sakichi Toyoda at Toyota, to classroom settings. His core argument is simple: when students are prompted to ask “Why?” repeatedly in structured ways, they learn to uncover deeper insights, articulate reasoning, and develop more thoughtful claims.

The article begins by acknowledging a problem teachers will recognize instantly: when posed with higher-order or open-ended questions, many students respond with silence—sometimes even when assured there are no wrong answers. Paull notes that this pattern has become more common in recent years, and while the causes are debated (pandemic effects, digital habits, anxiety, etc.), the instructional need is clear. Students require accessible structures that help them start thinking, not just share thinking.

The 5 Whys method originated as a root-cause analysis tool in industrial settings, where problems like workplace injuries or missed business targets are traced back through repeated questioning. Rather than stopping at surface explanations, asking “Why?” multiple times exposes underlying systems or conditions. Paull recognized that this structure could be repurposed to help students uncover the layers beneath their opinions or interpretations.

His first classroom adaptation merges the strategy with a familiar routine: the think-pair-share. While think-pair-share invites students to talk in low-stakes settings, it can stall when students agree too quickly or do not know how to elaborate. Paull’s modified version assigns roles: Student A responds to the prompt, while Student B asks “Why?” five times in succession. This prevents premature conversational closure and forces elaboration. For example, in a warm-up on the American Dream, a student initially states, “I don’t believe the American Dream is real,” but through repeated questioning provides an increasingly complex sociological explanation involving family influence, economic mobility, and cultural modeling. Paull notes that students not only gain confidence but develop the habit of supporting claims with reasoning.

The second adaptation uses the 5 Whys to support evidence-up hypothesis building, particularly in English classrooms. Rather than starting with a formal claim (which can overwhelm students), Paull asks students to begin with a piece of textual evidence and interrogate it upward. In one example, students tackling the question “Is Gatsby great?” begin with evidence about Gatsby’s wealth accumulation and, after repeated whys, arrive at insights about class pressures, family expectations, and mismatched values. This bottom-up method shifts the cognitive load: instead of guessing at a thesis, students build one through reasoning.

Across both applications, Paull highlights several instructional advantages:

1. Accessibility: Students who struggle with essay writing, formal argumentation, or abstract thinking find a simple entry point.

2. Oral rehearsal: Students verbalize reasoning before writing, a research-supported pathway to improved analytical writing.

3. Confidence building: Students learn that complex ideas emerge through sustained inquiry, not instantaneous brilliance.

4. Perspective taking: When shared out, classmates hear how ideas were formed, not just what the final answer was.

Importantly, Paull argues that the strategy cultivates intellectual patience, a skill increasingly threatened by instant-answer culture. By modeling that deeper insight comes from slow questioning, teachers reinforce a growth mindset around thinking itself.

Paull concludes by emphasizing that the 5 Whys is not just a technique but a mindset: insight is accessible to any student willing to examine their own thoughts carefully. For educators seeking practical tools to strengthen student discourse, argumentation, and synthesis, the method offers a low-prep, high-impact approach that travels well across disciplines.

Original Article

Citation: Paull, A. (2026, January 20). Using the 5 Whys Approach to Deepen Student Thinking. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/using-5-whys-approach-deepen-stude...

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