Now that you’ve chosen your topic, it’s time to develop some essential questions about your topic to help guide your study. Begin by completing a web or a KWL to brainstorm what you already know and what you wonder about your topic.
Developing questions to guide your study may be the most important (and sometimes, difficult) task of your independent study. Your questions will guide the direction of your research. Simple, “yes” or “no” questions will lead to a simple, basic understanding of your topic. QUEST students should seek a higher level of understanding of their topics, so their questions will be broad, somewhat abstract, and will not be easily answered.
For example, here is a simple question: What does a polar bear eat?
A more complex question: What kind of environment does a polar bear need in order to survive?
A complex QUEST question: How is the polar bear affected by the changes in its environment caused by man?
Remember:
• Your questions should have broad answers and can’t be answered with a single word or short phrase.
• Your questions should be complex and drawn from the entire range of thinking according to Bloom’s Taxonomy, and not just the basic levels of knowledge and understanding.
• You don’t need a lot of questions, just a few good ones!
Question Words:
Who... What... Which... When...
Where... How... Why...
What burning questions do you have about your topic?
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