Asking Good Questions

Another aspect of questions as the driving force of research is asking mind-stretching questions. From lower order thinking skills (What is a fig?) to higher order thinking skills (What would a fig be like if the fig plant were grafted onto an apple tree?), questions will determine the level of thinking and the level of answers that result.

Putting a topic through these 7 mind-stretching questions helps push a point of view beyond the obvious:

Quantity Question -- How many ways might a fig be used?
Reorganization Question -- What would happen if figs became the most valuable fruit in the United States?
Supposition Question -- How would fig commodities change if they became the most commonly used medicine for common ailments?
Viewpoint Question -- How would a story of figs be interpreted by JK Rowling and Avi?
Involvement Question -- If you started a fig orchard, what would you do?
Forced Association Question -- How is a fig harvest like gifted learning?  
Evaluation Question -- What is the ultimate value of growing figs in a backyard?

Each of these questions would, of course, generate further questions. Several could actually serve as an Essential Question for a research project. The question in italic may serve as my Essential Question; they are certainly options.

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Not that figs gets rid of corns...but WHAT IF THEY DID?