One of the SEP’s (Science and Engineering Practices) in the NGSS (Next Generation Science Standards) process of 3-Dimensional teaching and learning is Asking Questions. One resource that I use to get students to ask questions is called QFT (Question Formulation Technique) from the Right Question Institute.
On the first day of school, I pose the Question Focus for my students: Making our Classroom a Safe Learning Environment. I ask my students to write down as many questions they can think of about what the students can do as a community to ensure that we establish a safe learning environment. This is the first day of school and students do not know what to expect from Chemistry as a course as well as myself as the teacher. Doing this activity allows the students to ask all of the questions they have about the grading practices, behavior expectations, course content and the laboratory safety portion of the class. It is also a good way to practice asking good questions and having the students feel comfortable realizing that they are all in the same boat starting with a blank slate. Whenever I do a QFT, I have the students write down their own thoughts and questions first before they share. It's important for them to have some reflective time before anyone shares, otherwise I find that some students take over the entire conversation and others won't participate at all. Once every student has a list, we break into small groups that create lists of questions on poster boards.
As you can see from the student sample questions from previous school years, some typical questions are whether chemistry is similar to biology, if the lab portion will be dangerous, if there is going to be a lot of homework, and how hard the tests/quizzes are. After each group presents their top questions to the class, we use these ideas as the guidelines to set the course expectations and classroom rules for learning and lab safety.
Student sample questions from previous years:
NGSS
Asking questions and defining problems in grades 9–12 builds from grades K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.
Asking questions and defining problems in grades 9–12 builds from grades K–8 experiences and progresses to formulating, refining, and evaluating empirically testable questions and design problems using models and simulations.
questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument, the interpretation of a data set, or the suitability of a design.
Scientific questions arise in a variety of ways. They can be driven by curiosity about the world (e.g., Why is the sky blue?). They can be inspired by a model’s or theory’s predictions or by attempts to extend or refine a model or theory (e.g., How does the particle model of matter explain the incompressibility of liquids?). Or they can result from the need to provide better solutions to a problem. For example, the question of why it is impossible to siphon water above a height of 32 feet led Evangelista Torricelli (17th-century inventor of the barometer) to his discoveries about the atmosphere and the identification of a vacuum.
Questions are also important in engineering. Engineers must be able to ask probing questions in order to define an engineering problem. For example, they may ask: What is the need or desire that underlies the problem? What are the criteria (specifications) for a successful solution? What are the constraints? Other questions arise when generating possible solutions: Will this solution meet the design criteria? Can two or more ideas be combined to produce a better solution?