2. Thing we Know and Want to KnowBrainstorm under
the two columns as much as you can about the topic already and ideas about what you could or want to find out about it. You can
use this tool to help with your question generation. DON’T JUDGE ANYTHING AT THIS STAGE!!
• Think we know
• climate change will mostly have negative effects on
Hong Kong
• includes economical effects as well as changes in
weather patterns
• hotter weather
• heavier rainfall
• temperature has been increasing in the past 60 years
• HK’s air quality is getting worse
• the sooner we take action, the better (less severe
consequences, economically easier, etc)
• Want to know
• to what extent does the air quality in Hong Kong affect
children?
• what are some ways to prevent the air quality from
getting worse?
• how will a change in weather patterns affect Hong Kong?
• why exactly is Hong Kong’s air so bad?
• what has HK been doing so far to avoid climate change?
• how does climate change link to any future economical
issues HK might face?
• what will the effect of “no winters” be?
3. 10 of the
Best!
!
1. To what extent does the air quality in Hong Kong affect children?
2. What are some ways to prevent the air quality from getting worse?
3. How will a change in weather patterns affect Hong Kong?
4. Why exactly is Hong Kong’s air so bad?
5. What has HK been doing so far to avoid climate change?
6. How does climate change link to any future economical issues HK
might face?
7. What will the effect of “no winters” be?
8. Are there any positive effects of climate change? If so, what?
9. Aside from fossil fuels, what else contributes to global warming?
10. How does the air quality affect the elderly in HK?
1. Copy the best 10
statements/
questions from the
last exercise.
!
1. Change any
statements to
questions at this
point.
!
1. Identify any closed
question by
highlighting them.
4. Closed to OpenFor genuine effective enquiry it is better to have a series of open
questions. These are questions that cannot be answered simply but instead, need research and analysis to
be addressed. If any of the questions in your list are closed, then now is the time to try and make them open.
Closed
e.g. “How can climate change be stopped?”
This is a relatively closed question because the
answer is simply to stop putting CO2 into the
atmosphere.
Open
An improved version of this question might
be…”To what extent can the effects of climate
change be off set?”. This question requires
investigation and analysis of the conflicting
information that will be out there.
Closed
Write any closed questions here
Open
Write the open versions of your questions here
5. Review and
Improve
Your improved questions here
!
1. To what extent does the air quality in Hong Kong affect children?
2. What are some ways to prevent the air quality from getting worse?
3. How will a change in weather patterns affect Hong Kong?
4. What is more important, improving the air quality and avoiding climate
change or using cheap fossil fuels and adding to the ozone layer?
5. What has HK been doing so far to avoid climate change?
6. How does climate change link to any future economical issues HK
might face?
7. What will the effect of “no winters” be on Hong Kong?
8. Are there any positive effects of climate change? If so, what?
9. Aside from fossil fuels, what else contributes to global warming?
10. Who’s responsibility is it to improve the air quality of HK?
Question stems are a good way
of helping to improve your
questions. The stems below are
useful in constructing good
research questions. Use these
to modify your questions and
see if you can improve them.
!
To what extent…?
How far…?
Whose responsibility
is it…?
Should…?
Do the benefits of…
outweigh the
disadvantages?
What is more
important…?
7. Evaluate Your Final QuestionThis tool might help you take
a final critical look at your question. How does it score on the scales? A “good” question will score highly
in all areas.
