The Launch: Guiding Questions and Motivation

How to create an "Essential Question" that engages

The successful implementation of a project in the classroom depends, to a large extent, on the quality of its initial trigger. This starting point takes the form of the guiding question or essential question.

It is not a rhetorical statement or a question that can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no", nor with a quick search on an Internet engine.

The question should be open-ended, provocative, and connect directly to the students' vital interests, challenging them to investigate in order to construct a complex and reasoned answer.

To formulate it correctly, the teacher should avoid purely academic statements.

Instead of asking "What are the parts of the cell?", a guiding question under the PBL approach would be "How could we design a sustainable human colony on Mars based on plant biology?".

This type of approach places the learner in an active role as a problem solver.

The question acts as the common thread that will maintain the coherence of the project throughout all its phases, ensuring that each activity carried out has a clear purpose: to get closer to solving the posed enigma.

Detection of previous knowledge and brainstorming

Once the question has been launched, it is imperative not to start the instruction immediately, but to stop and explore the "fertile soil" on which the new knowledge will be sown.

This phase of detecting prior knowledge is vital for meaningful learning.

The teacher facilitates an initial brainstorming or discussion session where students expose what they know (or think they know) about the topic, what prejudices they have and, most importantly, what they need to learn to solve the challenge.

This stage has a dual function: diagnostic and motivational. On the one hand, it allows the teacher to gauge the real level of the group and adjust the complexity of the project. On the other hand, it empowers students by validating their previous experiences.

Visual stimuli, such as physical objects, current news or shocking videos, can be used to trigger curiosity and generate derivative questions.

The objective is that the need to learn arises from the student himself ("I need to know this to solve the project") and not from curricular imposition.

Summary

The success of the project depends on an open and provocative "essential question" that connects with the students' vital interests. It should position the student as a real problem solver.

Prior to instruction, the teacher must screen for prior knowledge to ensure meaningful learning. Brainstorming sessions allow to gauge the actual level of the group and adjust the challenge.

Visual stimuli or shocking news are used to trigger curiosity and generate derivative questions. The objective is that the need to learn arises from the learner and not from impositions.