Designing Quality Driving Questions

First Presented at the 2008 Teacher Leadership Institute

Session Overview

Know: The characteristics of a driving question

Understand:The value of a driving question in PBLA quality driving question can

• Motivate students• Increase participation• Encourage deeper thinking

Clinic Overview, ContinuedDo:• Complete a “Know/Need to Know” document based on this

session’s driving question.• Complete and discuss a Frayer model.• Watch a video demonstrating the process of developing a

good driving question.• Work through an online tutorial on developing driving

questions.• Identify examples of quality driving questions.• Craft a quality driving question.• Use a checklist to self assesses the driving question written

during this clinic.

Driving Question:

Why should a teacher invest time and effort in crafting a quality driving question?

Know Need to Know

Developing a Driving Question

According to the PBL Handbook…

“A good Driving Question makes a project intriguing, complex, and problematic.

…requires multiple activities and the synthesis of different types of information before it can be answered.

…should address authentic concerns.”

Page 37

Different Types of Questions

Quality Driving Questions Are• Provocative• Open-ended• Go to the heart of a discipline or topic• Challenging• Can arise from real-dilemmas that students

find interesting• Consistent with curricular standards and

frameworks

Points to Remember

• Make the Driving Question feasible.

• Don’t let technology become the focus of a project.

• For the best Driving Questions, plan to revise and/or refine your first draft.

Teach Students How to Ask Questions

Driving Question: What is the impact of climate on a civilization?

Open-Ended Question:How does climate determine the foods we eat?

Direct/Closed Question:What kinds of foods do we eat?What season do we eat those foods?

Now, it’s your turn!

Project Based Learning Online Resource

http://www.pbl-online.org/

Identify Quality Driving Questions

• Sort the questions in the packet on your table into one of two piles: •Quality and Needs Refinement

• Select one of the questions that needs refinement and make it a quality Driving Question.

Craft a Driving Question

• Revisit the driving question you designed for the PBL experience you are developing.

• Use the new knowledge you have on quality driving questions to refine or revise yours.

• Work with those sitting at your table to ensure you have a quality Driving Question at the end of this clinic.

Self Assess

Use the DQ2 Self-Assessment Checklist

to self assess your driving question.

Exit Slip

Respond to this clinic’s driving question.

Why should a teacher invest time and effort in crafting a quality

driving question?

Resources

Markham, Thom. Project Based Learning Handbook. 2nd Edition. Novato, CA: Buck Institute for Education, 2003.

Project Based Learning Online Resourcehttp://www.pbl-online.org/

Stanfill, Jack and RD Drake. “An Instructional Organizer” http://www.jetspost.com/eportfolio/pbl/driving_questions.htm