Developing a driving question

Driving questions need to be open ended with multiple possibilities for an answer.  Ideally there would be no right answer, though that doesn’t mean there isn’t a wrong answer.  Many teachers find it best to keep the driving question posted in the class during the project so students always know the purpose of the days lesson.  In their PBL 101 workbook, the Buck Institute for Education (BIE) lays out possible elements to a solid driving question.

Start with one of these openers:

How can...

How do...

Should...

Could...

What....

Then add the person or group that is the focus of the project with:

I/we

We as [roles, organization]

[town, city, state, nation]

[organization]

Next, add in the challenge that the group or person is trying to accomplish:

build...

create...

make....

design....

plan....

solve....

write...

propose...

decide...

Finally, add the audience or the purpose of the challenge:

real-world problem

for a public audience

for a school

for a classroom

for an online audience

for the community

This driving question stayed up throughout the project so the students never lost track of what the goal was.

Some examples of driving questions would be:

What way could I best demonstrate the origins of my family through a 3-D map that that will be shared with the classroom?

How can we, as apprentices to William Shakespeare, create and act out an extra scene to Romeo and Juliet that enhances the storyline for an upcoming Royal performance?

How can our group demonstrate the center of gravity on various objects through a movie that can be seen by the class and YouTube community?