Project-based learning scope management
When students are working on a longer, they can be struggling to scope their research or development questions appropriately. Some choose topics too broad, others too narrow, and the teacher or facilitator cannot meet with each team multiple times to help them refine their focus while also managing other course responsibilities. Here are two examples of strategies that can be used by the facilitator to support the students and ensure that they all start on the same page.
The scope refinement pathway
Flow: START → Tutor Mode (Conversation Starters) → Tutor Mode (Deep Dive) → Coach Mode (Study Planner) → Assessor Mode (Critical Reasoning)
What it achieves: This strategy helps students systematically test whether their research or design question is appropriately scoped by first exploring the breadth of their topic, then examining depth, creating a realistic timeline, and finally critically evaluating feasibility. Students emerge with a well-calibrated research question that…
