Watch the video below.
Driving questions captures the heart of the project by providing purpose using clear and compelling language. Driving questions should:
pose predicaments that one finds interesting and actually wants to answer
drive one to discuss, inquire, and investigate the topic
push one toward a production or solution
In the process of investigating the question and sharing the answers, one learns important content and skills.
When writing your own driving questions for your Genius Hour project consider the Thin Question vs the Thick Question
There’s an art to developing driving questions, because there isn’t a specific formula you must follow. Though, you can find some examples and structures to help you out. Below are some types of driving questions. Maybe some of these will be the spark that helps you write your driving question for your Genius Hour project.
📐 Solve a Problem: There’s a real-world predicament with multiple solutions.
How can we stop phantom traffic jams?
How can we beautify the vacant lot across the street for $200?
What’s the best way to stop the flu at our school?
Design a better lunch menu for our school.
Design a safe and sturdy bridge to replace one in our city.
🎓 Educational: The purpose of the project is to teach others.
How can we teach second graders about helpful insects.
Create a campaign to teach senior citizens how to use an iPad.
What do the students at our school need to know about being respectful?
👍 Convince Others: Students persuade a specified audience to do something or change their opinions.
Create a public service announcement (PSA) that persuades teens to drink more water.
Drive yourself to define a question and then Prove It to your classmates.
Convince grocery shoppers to return their shopping carts.
How can we convince our principal that we should have a party in December?
🌏 Broad Theme: The project tackles big ideas.
What does it mean to read?
How does conflict lead to change?
How does math influence art?
How do writers persuade others?
How are good and evil depicted in different cultures?
💬 Opinion: Students need to consider all sides of an issue in order to form and justify their opinions.
Should pets be allowed to attend class?
Why has a woman never been a U.S. president?
What makes a good astronaut?
🚥 Divergent: Students make predictions about alternative timelines and scenarios.
What if Rosa Parks gave up her seat?
What if the world ran out of oil tomorrow?
How might your city change if the climate became an average of 10°F warmer?
What if the USA switched to the metric system?
🚀 Scenario-Based: Students take on a fictional role with a mission to accomplish.
You’re a NASA engineer, and you are in charge of building a moon base. What are the ten most important things to include and why?
Imagine that you are King George. What would you have done differently to keep American part of England?
You are the CEO of a company that is designing a new social media app. Present a business plan to your investors that explains how your company will make money.
You’ve been hired to revamp your local shopping mall. Come up with a plan to increase business.
How would you spend $1,000,000 to help your community?
🚧 Scaffolded Around Framing Words: BIE has a tool to help you develop driving questions called a Tubric. It provides possible framing words, actions, audience, and purpose. If you’d rather not take the time to construct a tube, you could use Rhoni McFarlane’s Developing Inquiry Questions chart, or TeachThought's PBL Cheat Sheet.
How can I create a campaign to reduce bullying in my school? (from Rhoni McFarlane)
How can we find a solution to reduce the litter in our school permanently? (also from Rhoni McFarlane)
How can we as first graders create geocaching sites to promote physical fitness in our neighbourhood? (from Washington Discovery Academy)
Take some time to write your own Genius Hour questions.
Click here for additional sample Genius Hour questions
Below is a checklist to help you refine your question. You might not be able to check off all the items, but the more the merrier!
‼️ The question is appealing to you.
🗜 The question is concise.
💦 The question has no easy answer.
😍 The question taps into students’ interests and passions.
💤 The question does not sound like a test question.
💗 The question leads to more questions.
🔀 There is more than one answer to the question.
🔰 The topic is personal or local.
🏡 You can relate to the question in their daily lives.
🤔 You will have choices for end products.
💬 There is an authentic audience for the project.
🕵️♀️ The question requires serious investigation.
ℹ️ You will learn important skills and content.
💥 The project will somehow make a difference in the world.