hypothetically, to use their imagination, to expose a value system, or to
make a judgment. These questions lend themselves most powerfully to
the research process because their answers cannot be found in books or
other data sources. Students must make sense of the resource material
and answer an inquiry that requires them to invest in the material. Verbs
that describe this cognitive level include applying, imagining, evaluating,
judging, hypothesizing, generalizing, model building, predicting, extrap-
olating, speculating, forecasting, and transferring. For example, consider
these questions:
•“What do you suppose will happen to our weather if a high-pressure
area moves in?” (Forecasting)
•“If our population continues to grow as it has, what might life be
like in the 22nd century?” (Speculating)
•“Because the amount of heat does affect the speed of movement of
the molecules, what do you predict will happen when we put the liquid
in the refrigerator?” (Predicting)
•“Imagine what life would be like if we had no laws to govern us.”
(Imagining)
•“What might you say about all countries’ economies that are depen-
dent upon only one crop?” (Generalizing)
•“Design a way to use this bimetal strip to make a fire alarm.”
(Applying)
•“How could you use this clay to make a model of a plant cell?”
(Model building)
•“What would be a fair solution to this problem?” (Evaluating)
•“What makes this painting unique?” (Judging)
•“Given what we have learned, what other examples of romantic
music can you cite?” (Applying)
•“What do you think might happen if we placed the saltwater fish in
the tank of fresh water?” (Hypothesizing)
Here are examples of typical research questions at this level:
•“As you consider the periodic table and the invention of the micro-
scope, which was more essential to organizing chemistry?”
142 Learning and Leading with Habits of Mind