Skip to Main Content

The Research Process

What Makes a Good "Really Get You Thinking" Question?

What Makes a Good
Really-Get-You-Thinking Question?

 

Effective driving questions share a number of qualities, regardless of the topic.
Why are these qualities important to a question’s strength to drive a project?

 

Driving Question
                                                                                                      Source: Department of Education Y4Y

Typical Questions vs.
Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions

Typical Question:

What are the basic tenets of democracy?

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions:

Who has authority over me? When does authority becomes authoritarian?

Typical Question:

What are the core values of democracy?

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions:

Do the people serve the government or does the government serve the people? In what ways do restrictive laws allow us to have freedom?

Typical Question:

What were the causes of the Civil War?

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions:

Is anything worth fighting and dying for?

Typical Question:

What is microgravity? ​

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions:

What would you like about being weightless? What opportunities would it afford? Is being weightless in space an “altered” state? Where would you rather live: in a world that is unpredictable or predictable? What might be challenging?

Typical Question:

What are the factors that influence solubility?

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions:

What is the difference between magic or mystery and science?

Typical Question:

What is the significance of cell specialization? ​

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions:

When is being different an advantage? What differences between you and your siblings or cousins are significant? ​

Typical Question:

Who were the most important leaders in the ancient world?

Really-Get-You-Thinking Questions: 

What makes someone worth remembering? ​