Calibration

Once students have investigated the driving question, they will move into the Calibration Stage. This is comprised of:

The Check In

Ensuring that students have an adequate grasp of the driving-question and what the main issue is behind it prior to proceeding to generating ideas and solutions.

While you should have many informal and formative check-ins with students throughout your unit, having a more formal process to ensure that students have the proper understanding of the driving question and what they are solving for is essential. This is especially true when students are working with a driving question that is open-ended and could lead in a variety of directions.

Taking time for the Calibration Stage will allow you to help students make course corrections before they head somewhere that you do not want them to.

PROTOCOLS/TECHNIQUES/STRATEGIES

How Might We...

After students have completed the Investigation Stage, in small groups have them complete the following statement in a couple of different ways based upon what they found out about the driving question: “How might we _________________________ for ___________________________?”

For example, if students were investigating the driving question “How can we improve our local beach?” different ways to complete this phrase could include:
“How might we design a new board walk for young families to use?” or “How might we include a more effective way to dispose of trash and recyclables for people who BBQ at the beach?”

Brainfiring

Based upon what they discovered about the driving question in the Investigation Stage, have students brainstorm all of the different ways that they can re-phrase or re-structure the driving question.

For example, if students were investigating the driving question “How can we design a winning sundae for the ice cream store we are working with?” possible ways that this question could be rephrased include: “How can we design a sundae that is both sweet and salty for our ice cream store?” “How can we design a sundae that looks mouthwateringly delicious?” “How can we create a great sundae that does not cost a lot?”