Question Development

  1. Generating questions

Catalyzing student questioning behavior is a matter of providing an appropriate climate for questioning through modeling (the facilitator constantly asking questions of nature) and through accepting (valuing student inquiries). Various situations lead students to generate questions, for
example:

  • Discrepant events: demonstrations or centers (see T.L. Liem’s
    Invitations to Science Inquiry)
  • Newspapers and magazines
  • A new piece of scientific apparatus
  • A chapter from a textbook or trade book
  • Special events such as assemblies, field trips, or guest speakers
  • Photographs
  • Laboratory investigations

II. Teaching strategies for generating questions

  1. Before beginning a new unit it is helpful to get students thinking about what they already know about the new topic and what they would like to find out. An idea checklist such as Who? – What? –When? – Where? – and How?, is a way to prompt and organize questions. The same technique applies after the unit. What did you learn? What do you still want to find out?
  2. A brainstorming session is useful in compiling researchable ideas.

The following rules should be taken into consideration:

  1. The more the better
  2. Unusual ideas are OK.
  3. Piggybacking (expanding on each other’s ideas) is OK.
  4. Defer judgment until after the brainstorming session.

Some teacher-tried management ideas for brainstorming include:

Having each student write ideas if it’s not his/her turn to talk

Having each student record ideas that sound interesting (this will help later)

Asking students to individually write some ideas before the group session begins

Recording all ideas on the overhead projector

Tape recording (and later transcribing) the brainstorming session

Going around room and taking turns, but a student can “pass”

Modeling of examples of researchable questions by the teacher

Announce upcoming topics in advance of the brainstorming session

  1. Encourage individual groups, or the whole class to create a web around a particular topic (see example on next page). The web could be composed of phrases and/or complete questions.

III. Narrowing the list

  1. Have a student organize the list.
  • Omit duplications
  • Clarify unclear items
  • Combine ideas
  • Add new ideas
  • Categorize the ideas
  1. Student can narrow the topic by focusing in on one part of the web.
    (See attached web)
  2. Begin to evaluate the list:
  • Omit questions that are not researchable (“why” questions often are of this sort)
  • Omit questions that would be impossible based on time or equipment constraints
  • Select questions that are of high interest

IV. Selecting the final problems

Several decision-making strategies are described below. The use of criteria
aids students in selecting their best final problem. Students should select
and use the criteria most relevant to the topic being investigated.
Possible criteria for problem selection:

  • Interest
  • Facilities/equipment
  • Time
  • Safety
  • Practicality
  • Purpose/relevance
  • Knowledge of advisor
  • Background/skills of researcher
  • Available literature

V. Refining the question

  • The problem statement should be clear, simple, and concise
  • The statement should explain exactly what the researcher wants to find out
  • All necessary conditions and parameters are specified
  • All nebulous terms are defined

Vaguely written research questions Refined research questions

1. Is there a difference in lung 1. Does a difference exist in lung
sizes? capacity of sixth grade boys and
girls as measured by a lung
volume bag?

2. Is there a relationship between 2. How does chest size of fifth
chest size and lung capacity? Graders correlate (compare)
with their lung volume as
measured by lung volume bag
and a tape measure?

3. Can exercise increase one’s 3. Does running twice a day for
lung capacity? thirty minutes over a three
week period increase lung
volume as measured by a lung
volume bag?

4. Is there a difference in lung 4. Does a difference exist in lung
capacity of athletes and volume as measured by a lung
musicians? volume bag between football
players and wind musicians?

Note: The research question should be specific and take into account how
measurements will be determined. Capacity or volume can be measured
with a lung volume bag, either absolutely (in liters) or relatively (in
increments of same volume). A plastic bread bag can be used for the
latter method.