Chapter 5: Essential Questions: Doorways to Understanding Interpreted by Dr. Rich Hawkins and Dr. Deborah De Luca Presented By:Laura Mastrogiovanni

Essential Questions Given particular subject matter or a particular concept, it is easy to ask trivial questions…It is also easy to ask impossibly difficult questions. The trick is to find medium questions that can be answered and that take you somewhere. ~ Jerome Bruner 1960

Essential Questions If the goal is to help students make good sense and use of what they learn, then the design and resultant teaching must explicitly focus on the big ideas that connect and bring meaning to all the discrete facts and skills

Essential Questions The best questions serve not only to promote understanding of the content of a unit on a particular topic; they also spark connections and promote transfer of ideas from one setting to others. We call such questions “essential”

“Understanding is always fluid, transformable into a new theory.” What we want students to be able to do is to take information and skills and apply them in new situations rather than “spewing back the particular fact, concepts, or problem sets that were taught.”

Essential Questions: Are arguable ~ and important to argue about Are at the hear of the subject Recur ~ and should recur ~ in professional work, adult life, as well as in classroom inquiry Raise more questions ~ provoking and sustaining engaged inquiry Often raise important conceptual of philosophical issues Can provide organizing purpose for meaningful & connected learning

An Essential Question: is a provocative question designed to engage student interest and guide inquiry into the important ideas in a field of study. does not have one “right” answer is intended to stimulate discussion and rethinking over time raises other important questions When using more than one, essential questions can be differentiated to meet student needs.

Essential Questions The six criteria make clear what the aim must be for the question t be deemed essential: The goal must be robust and revealing inquiry, leading to deeper understandings and new questions.

Essential Questions Essential questions can be framed around 4 categories of big idea relevant to effective skill learning: 1. Key Concepts 2. Purpose and Values 3. Strategy and Tactics 4. Context of Use~ page 113

Example: Topic – Martin Luther King What events and people influenced MLK to become a leader in Civil Rights? How did MLK change the world today? What techniques did MLK use to persuade the world that his ideas were important? How did MLK’s leadership and philosophies influence the US position?

Two Types of Essential Questions: Over-Arching – Point beyond a unit to a larger, transferable idea. May link a topic to other topics and subjects. Ex: What in Shakespeare’s plays make them “classic” literature? Topical – can be answered by uncovering a unit’s content. They stay within the bounds of the topic. They can be answered as a result of in-depth inquiry. Ex: After reading Merchant of Venice, answer the question: Is Shakespeare prejudice? Let’s review page 115

Three types of knowledge Good to know; knowledge worth being familiar with; covered in class Essential, important to know; uncovered in class Enduring knowledge; has understanding beyond the classroom; student come to the realization

How has electricity changed the world? How is electricity an energy source in my world? How is electricity helpful and harmful? A circuit is a continuous loop of energy and motion. Static electricity is caused by friction/ transfer of electrons There are different energy sources and they all produce electricity 3 types of circuits: simple; series; parallel Vocabulary: protons, electrons, friction, volts, etc. Lightning facts Make up of a molecule Schematics Parts of a circuit Grade 4 Unit: Electricity; Reports Enduring knowledge: These have value beyond the classroom.. Student come to the realization. Knowledge worth being familiar with; facts covered in class Knowledge and skills important to know. These are uncovered in class.

Knowledge worth being familiar with; facts covered in class Whose job is it to solve America’s problems? Choose a national park – Whose job is it to preserve this park? Grade 8 Unit: Role of Government Reports/ Persuasive Vocabulary: self-interest, government, democracy, law, etc. Federal/state/local How a law Is made? length of terms of office Background – growth of industrialism Names and locations of national parks Why national parks were created What is the difference between government and committed group? The enduring knowledge question may embed the facts learned in the other parts of the circle. Enduring knowledge: These have value beyond the classroom. Student come to the realization.. Knowledge and skills important to know. These are uncovered in class.

How do individuals, groups, towns, and countries make a difference? How can we make a difference?. Knowledge and skills important to know. These are uncovered in class. Enduring knowledge: These have value beyond the classroom.. Student come to the realization. High School Unit: Holocaust: Reports/Persuasive/ Project The enduring knowledge question may embed the facts learned in the other parts of the circle. Courage to Care: Warsaw Ghetto; Denmark; Avenue of the Just Difference between bias, prejudice, discrimination Preparing for obedience: propaganda, role of education, indoctrination of people Nazi philosophy; fascism; totalitarian government; racism; anti-Semitism Leaders Progression of laws Events

Essential vs. Leading Questions used in teaching (Stage 3) Essential ~ Asked to be argued Designed to “uncover” new ideas, views, lines of argument Set up inquiry, heading to new understandings Leading ~ Asked as a reminder, to prompt recall Designed to “cover” knowledge Point to a single, straightforward fact - a rhetorical question

Essential Questions & Six Facets of Understanding UNDERSTANDING Let’s look at page 120 to put it all together

Bloom’s Taxonomy Remembering Recalling information Recognizing, listing, describing, retrieving, naming, finding Understanding Explaining ideas or concepts Interpreting, summarizing, paraphrasing, classifying, explaining Applying Using information in another familiar situation Implementing, carrying out, using, executing Analyzing Breaking information into parts to explore understandings and relationships Comparing, organizing, deconstructing, interrogating, finding Evaluating Justifying a decision or course of action Checking, hypothesizing, critiquing, experimenting, judging Creating Generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things Designing, constructing, planning, producing, inventing