Curriculum-Framing Questions can help learners work through projects in a meaningful way. In this module, you will discuss the general types of questions used in the classroom, practice with and create Curriculum-Framing Questions for your own classroom, and reflect on how these questions can affect and support deeper levels of thinking.

Activity 3.1

Ranking Questions

Step 1: Ranking Questions

Different types of questions elicit different types of answers and different types of thinking. With a partner, use the Visual Ranking Tool to rank questions (based on the River City Water project idea from Module 1) according to their potential for generating deeper thinking in the classroom. Use the Intel® Education Help Guide for ICT assistance, if necessary. 

1. Open your Internet browser and select Visual Ranking from your Favorites menu. (www.intel.com/education/visualranking)
   
   
2. Click Student Log-In. 
   
   
3. Log in to the Student Workspace with the Student login created for the Seeing Reason “Thinking” project used in Modules 1 and 2.

4. The learner workspace will open. Under Project Name, click the project Ranking Questions and the Visual Ranking workspace will open.

5. Working with your partner, decide the appropriate locations for the various questions. Click and drag an item up or down to the location where you think it belongs in relation to the other items.

6. Add a comment to any of the items to explain your ranking choice. Your comment should reflect the criteria for ranking (that is, defend the item's location in the list and why it is higher or lower than the others).

   Note: The amount of text in the comment box is not limited since it is scrollable. An item with a red triangle in the upper right-hand corner means a comment has been added.

   
   
   
7. After you have finished ranking, click the Compare button to get a comparison with another group's list.
   
   
   

   Note: You will not be able to edit or add to another team's comments. You can only edit comments that you created.

   
   
   
8. Note the correlation number as another way to determine two lists’ similarities.
   
   

Note: Correlation varies from -1 (the lists are completely opposite) to 0 (we can't tell how well they compare) to +1 (the lists are the same). The closer the correlation number is to +1, the more similar the lists. Click here for additional information about correlation.

 

Step 2: Discuss Your Ranking

After you have completed your ranking and have viewed comparisons with some of the other teams, discuss any significant variations of the rankings with your partner.

As a whole group, discuss your experience ranking the questions from the River City Water project idea.

• What did you discuss with your partner as you decided on the order of the list?
• How did your ranking differ from other teams? Did their comments help you understand other ways of thinking about the items?
• What was your highest ranked item and why?

Next: Proceed to Activty 3.2