Generating questions really begins the work of the classroom in figuring out what is going on. So how do you get your students to offer questions, offer relevant questions, and agree (by some kind of consensus) on what question the class will pursue? Is it ever OK to just give students the question we want them to take up?
1. Why not just ask the question yourself?
Sometimes in the interest of time it is ok for the teacher to pose the question, but it is preferable to use student-generated questions whenever possible. It gives students a sense of ownership and vested interest in the process of model development, but also often reveals misconceptions and areas of confusion up front, which allows you to address them as you develop the model.
2. How do you get students to ask questions?
If we just asked students to raise their hands and ask questions orally we probably would get very few. Instead we ask that they write down at least one question about the phenomenon on their Doodle Sheets – much less intimidating, and they get points for the completed Doodle Sheet so they get “credit” for doing it. Once they have written their own question(s) we give them a chance to discuss with one or more classmates before we call on anyone. Talking with others first makes them much more comfortable about speaking out. Now select students in random order (Stickpick etc.) to share a question from their list. Write these on the board or powerpoint slide, continuing until all questions students want to include are on the list. Next you will work together to generate a driving question from this list.
It is also helpful to establish norms around student talk-- not only how we talk, but when we are in the business of evaluating ideas. If you are clear about when the class is brainstorming ideas or questions, students will be more willing to offer nascent ideas and questions if they understand what "brainstorming" means and feel safe with the process. When you switch to evaluating ideas (either as individuals, groups or a whole-class), be clear with yourself and the students about how that works. Students feel more at ease when they are aware of the expectations.
3. What kinds of questions make good driving questions?
For each lesson sequence you will have a general idea of the question you need in order to drive the development of that particular model. Within that context, a driving question should be open-ended as opposed to closed-ended. Closed questions can be answered with “yes or no”, or just a few words, but open-ended questions ask “How?” or “Why?” and require explanation. For example, “When is high tide?” is a closed question, but “Why is there high tide twice a day?” is open-ended. “What causes rabies?” is a closed question, but “How do people get rabies from dog bites?” is open-ended.
4. How do you guide the class to agree on a good question?
One strategy (assuming you have a good question on the list – and usually you will) is to ask the class “Is there one question on the list that is broader than the others? Is there a question that, if we knew the answer, we would be able to answer all the other questions?”. Sometimes you can get there by combining questions. Sometimes questions need to be tweaked a little, particularly if they are closed-ended. Teach students the difference between open and closed-ended questions early on, and they will be able to identify and rephrase closed-ended questions as you go along.
5. How do you ensure that at least one student asks the question you want?
Since you take questions from the whole class, you almost always get at least one that is close to what you want, or that can be tweaked in that direction (see #3), so usually this is not a problem. However if you sense students are going in a different direction you can always mingle and interact with them as they discuss their ideas and “seed” one group with the question you need.
6. What can you do with student questions that don't track the direction of the curriculum?
We want students to ask lots of questions, and the kinds of questions they ask (depth, scope, open-endedness) will improve over time. Even then, following their interests may not always be possible or productive in the moment. One way to recognize and affirm student questions is to place them in the "Parking Lot", a poster space where ideas can be picked up later. Some ideas/questions you'll be able to identify as components of later models. Others may be handled by a short in-class conversation at a better moment. Only move a student's question to the parking lot, if you intend to address it at some point. (It's not the "cemetery".)