Essential questions help students engage with their existing knowledge base and draw new patterns between the ideas – there is no singular right answer. They help students move to higher-order thinking. You have challenges that test your ability to adapt, plan strategically, and engage students at different learning levels. Too often, you may be in a position where your unit plans and ongoing curriculum development do not always line up with long-term, meaningful learning outcomes for students. You are expected to keep test scores up and set the stage for students to become lifelong learners – a delicate balance. Integrating essential questions into your curriculum will help drive long term learning, as well as help students engage and frame your unit plans. An essential question helps students engage with their existing knowledge base and draw new patterns between ideas. They are provocative and generative. They create a difference of opinion, are catalysts for in-depth discussion, and bring absolute truths into question. Education has evolved past the days of the teacher, letting knowledge flow to students. Modern instruction, curriculum development, and best pedagogical practices put the student in charge of their learning – the teacher acts as their guide. Essential questions stimulate thinking and inquiry beyond just the time in which they are posed. They help students develop the thinking tools to question their surroundings and drive real learning over the long term. The goal is for the ideas and processes your students learn from tackling essential questions to transfer outside of school. Essential questions also help set the framework for unit plans and short-term learning. They help unpack complicated subject matter – addressing the depth vs breadth concern many educators have. When deciding what you want/need students to learn, remember to think about core content power standards and enduring understandings. What do you want your students to recall: The 40/40/40 – rule plays a considerable role in shaping any forward-thinking curriculum plan and instructional design you adopt into your students’ every day. Quick Tip What are “ the fun to knows,” “important things to remember and test for,” and “foundational understandings to carry this human being forward for the rest of their life.” Non-essential questions still play a role in every day of education. They supplement the learning process driven by essential questions and help when demonstration-based learning is required – i.e tests and evaluations. There are several types of non-essential questions. Hook Questions Hook questions are buzzworthy -they grab the attention of your students. Hook questions are great for starting a new unit plan and drives early student engagement. Leading Questions Leading questions help you suggest particular answers, and contain part of the information required to answer the question. Guiding Questions Guiding questions allow students to move to higher thinking levels by providing more open-ended support that calls students’ attention to necessary details without being prescriptive. Your goal is to drive Socratic discussion and long-term foundational learning. Focus on the arch of the story you are trying to frame and how/why the question fits into the larger unit and curriculum development plan. Essential questions hammer on core human-centric concepts: A question is timeless if students will likely continue to face the ideas and concepts in the short and long term. Reflects on key/foundational topics ideas within the unit topic. The question must point to big ideas and require technical knowledge to engage in a meaningful way. Is crucial for personal understanding of core content. An essential question helps students engage with their existing knowledge base and draw new patterns between the ideas – but no leading questions, please! Quick Tip The intent of the question is always more important than the way it is asked. Not all questions that begin with Why, How, In What Ways are not inherently Essential Questions. Remember, essential questions (and key understandings) differ in scope. You can have specific essential questions topical to a unit plan or more overarching questions mapped to your curriculum plan. It is only through essential questions your students may one day become knowledge experts in a given subject. You are responsible for developing the inquiry-based, interrogative, and thought-active learning skills students need to succeed. While the big questions are still left for you to ask, Chalk’s planning and analytics platform can help you align impactful lessons – helping you get your arch right. If you have any questions about building and managing a centralized personalized digital curriculum for student success, get in touch. Check out these Chalk articles to continue learning: [Infographic]: What Should Be Included In An Individual Teacher’s Curriculum, Don’t Be Fooled: Textbooks Are Not Your Curriculum, and How to Audit Your Curriculum: An 8-Step Guide.Essential Questions Are The Questions That Students Will Remember.
What is an Essential Question (EQ)?
Essential Questions:
Why Essential Questions Drive Purposeful Learning
Core Content & Essential Questions
Non-Essential Questions
Types Of Non-Essential Questions
How To Write A Good Essential Question
A good essential question: Is timeless.
Examples Of Good EQ’s
Science (Grade 8-12)
Social Justice (Grade 8-12)
Love, Community, & Sacrifice (Grade 8-12)
Language & Literature (9-12)
EQ’s At The End Of The Day