Before students at ISL run an experiment, they spend time learning to ask a good question — one that's specific, testable, and actually interesting to them. It's a skill we teach explicitly, not one we assume they'll pick up along the way.
This term's science classes spent the first two weeks entirely on question-formation, using everyday observations as raw material before touching any lab equipment.
The payoff shows up later: when students do get to the research stage, they're not stuck waiting for a teacher to tell them what to investigate.