SEPs: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Science and Engineering Practices: Asking Questions and Defining Problems

Similar to crosscutting concepts (CCCs), science and engineering practices (SEPs) are designed to be taught in context—they highlight the skills that scientists and engineers actually use, such as modeling, developing explanations, and engaging in critique and evaluation. Simply put, they are the things that almost all scientists and engineers do as part of their daily work. The SEPs require students to learn by doing and seeking out their own information rather than being given it, thus acquiring skills that can be applied to problems across all STEM disciplines. 

Throughout our second series of 3–D learning blog posts, we will take an in-depth look at the eight science and engineering practices: 1) Asking questions and defining problems, 2) Developing and using models, 3) Planning and carrying out investigations, 4) Analyzing and interpreting data, 5) Using mathematics and computational thinking, 6) Constructing explanations and designing solutions, 7) Engaging in argument from evidence, and 8) Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information.

What Does Asking Questions and Defining Problems Mean?

Science always begins with a question, a question that can be driven by several motivations—perhaps out of curiosity or in response to another piece of work. But the goal is always the same—to understand and explain phenomena.

All of humanity’s scientific discoveries came about this way. In 1928, Dr. Alexander Fleming returned from a vacation to find mold growing on a contaminated petri dish of Staphylococcus bacteria—and he asked why? This question led to the development of penicillin. And a question about a falling apple resulted in our understanding of gravity (or so the legend has it). 

In engineering, the goal is to design solutions to a problem, and to do this the problem first needs to be defined. When the Wright brothers first designed the world’s first working airplane, they did so in response to other, more primitive airplanes that were under development at the time—which they deemed to lack suitable controls. A problem defined led to a solution… and now we have jumbo jets!

Asking Questions and Defining Problems: Progression

Primary School (K–2)
1. Ask questions based on observations to find more information about the natural and/or designed world(s).
2. Ask and/or identify questions that can be answered by an investigation.
3. Define a simple problem that can be solved through the development of a new or improved object or tool.
Elementary School (3–5)
1. Ask questions about what would happen if a variable is changed.
2. Identify scientific (testable) and non-scientific (non-testable) questions.
3. Ask questions that can be investigated and predict reasonable outcomes based on patterns such as cause and effect relationships.
4. Use prior knowledge to describe problems that can be solved.
5. Define a simple design problem that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process, or system and includes several criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
Middle School (6–8)
1. Ask questions that require sufficient and appropriate empirical evidence to answer.
2. Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, models, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.
3. Ask questions to identify and/or clarify evidence and/or the premise(s) of an argument.
4. Ask questions to determine relationships between independent and dependent variables and relationships in models.
5. Ask questions to clarify and/or refine a model, an explanation, or an engineering problem.
Ask questions that can be investigated within the scope of the classroom, outdoor environment, and museums and other public facilities with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on observations and scientific principles.
6. Define a design problem that can be solved through the development of an object, tool, process or system and includes multiple criteria and constraints, including scientific knowledge that may limit possible solutions.
7. Ask questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument or the interpretation of a data set.
High School (9–12)
1. Ask questions that arise from careful observation of phenomena, or unexpected results, to clarify and/or seek additional information.
2. Ask questions that arise from examining models or a theory, to clarify and/or seek additional information and relationships.
3. Ask questions to determine relationships, including quantitative relationships, between independent and dependent variables.
4. Ask questions to clarify and refine a model, an explanation, or an engineering problem.
5. Evaluate a question to determine if it is testable and relevant.
Ask questions that can be investigated within the scope of the school laboratory, research facilities, or field (e.g., outdoor environment) with available resources and, when appropriate, frame a hypothesis based on a model or theory.
6. Ask and/or evaluate questions that challenge the premise(s) of an argument, the interpretation of a data set, or the suitability of the design.
7. Define a design problem that involves the development of a process or system with interacting components and criteria and constraints that may include social, technical and/or environmental considerations.
8. Analyze complex real-world problems by specifying criteria and constraints for successful solutions.

Grades K–2 Progression

Young people are inherently curious, asking questions from the moment they learn to talk—and learning how to ask critical and scientifically accurate questions is a skill that all young people need regardless of whether or not they become scientists or engineers. In the early elementary grades, teachers should encourage their students’ curious questioning of the world, but also begin to develop upon the quality of the language and reasoning used by them. In K–2, students should start to ask ask questions based on observations, with the objective of finding out more information about the natural and/or design world.1  The key at this age is to allow students to develop their own line of questioning and, as a class, you can decide together which questions you could investigate further. The goal is not necessarily to come up with the “right” answer, but also to help them to learn how to ask effective questions. In fact, at this age, it can be a positive learning experience for students not to find the right answer to a question because they will learn from it—and ask more questions. Reiterate to them that no scientist ever started with the right answer, and in fact, a lot of scientific questions have a lot of different—but still correct—answers.  

But how can you encourage your younger students to ask “better” questions? First, it is important to set up a culture within the classroom that enables students to ask questions without fear of it being “silly” or “wrong.” Encourage strategies such as “See, Think, Wonder,” where students will share their thinking process out loud as it occurs—a strategy that can enable much richer and more careful observations and interpretations.2 

Grades 3–8 Progression

By upper elementary, students will be well versed in asking questions in the science classroom. In Grades 3–5, the practice becomes a little more complex, and students will start to learn how to distinguish between scientific (testable) questions and nonscientific (untestable) questions and have confidence in their abilities to determine which questions are “science questions.” To help them with this, you can use more advanced techniques than “Think, See, Wonder”, such as the Question Formulation Technique from the Right Question Institute. As students progress into middle school, their questioning should become more relevant and complex, and they should be making predictions too. They should be given ample opportunity to formulate their own questions and design investigations to answer their hypotheses—it’s important to remember that students in middle school will still require guidance and help with really focusing on asking well-thought-out questions.  


Learn More About Asking Questions and Defining Problems with Twig Science

Download our free printable Asking Questions and Defining Problems poster to serve as a reminder for your students that this practice is an important part of the process of scientific investigations.  

To ensure that you hit the three dimensions of science learning, you need the support of a comprehensive 3-D science program. Twig Science is a phenomena-based science program that ensures all students have an interwoven understanding of Crosscutting Concepts, Science and Engineering Practices, and Disciplinary Core Ideas.