1. What are the “Facets of Understanding”
How do I understand new information?
What are the “Facets of Understanding”

2. To construct meaning the learner needs to...
raise questions, propose explanations, and use observations.
ask questions (verbally and through actions).
use questions that lead them to activities generating further questions or ideas.
observe critically, as opposed to casually looking or listening.
value and apply questions as an important part of learning.
make connections to previous ideas.

3. The Language of Questioning Critical Thinking/Metacognition
How do you know?
Can we (I) ever know that?
What is the evidence? How reliable is it?
How did I learn that?
How did you arrive at that…?
Have we run across this idea before?
From whose viewpoint? From what angle…?

4. Types of Questions Inference Questions Interpretation Questions
Transfer Questions
Questions are at the
heart of inquiry.

5. Inference Questions Go beyond immediately available information.
Push beyond the factual to find clues, examine them, and discuss what inferences are justified.
Requires filling missing information.

6. Interpretation Questions
Requires understanding the consequences
of information or ideas.
Probes into deeper thinking.
Requires students to make connections.

7. Transfer Questions Provoke a kind of breadth of thinking.
Takes their knowledge to new places.

8. Ambiguity is Normal AMBIGUITY !!! Not all answers are equally valid.
No clear right answers may exist, but some answers are better than others … the ones that have better argument, evidence, and predictability on their side.
AMBIGUITY !!!

9. Common Characteristics of Essential Questions
Has no obvious right answer.
Raises other important questions, often across subject-area boundaries.
Addresses the philosophical or
conceptual foundations of a discipline.
Occurs naturally.
Are framed to provide and sustain interest in further inquiries.

10. Essential Questions Spark curiosity and sense of wonder
Answers must be invented -- the “proof is in the pudding”
Creates meaning from the information they gather -- they create insight
Engage students in real-life applied problem-solving

11. Interpretation Explanation Application Empathy Self-knowledge
Use the “lenses” of the six facets of understanding to generate possible questions.
Interpretation
Explanation
Application
Empathy
Self-knowledge
Perspective

12. Interpretation Sample Questions
What is the key idea in ______________?
What are examples of _______________?
How did this come about? Why is this so?
What caused _______________________?
What are the effects of _______________?
How might we prove/confirm/justify _______?
How is __________ connected to ________?
What are the common misconceptions about _____?

13. Explanation Sample Questions
What is the meaning of ____________?
What are the implications of _________?
What does ___________ reveal about ___________?
How is _________ like _________ (analogy)?
How does _______________ relate to me/us?
So what? Why does it matter?

14. Application Sample Questions
How and when can we use this _______ (knowledge)?
How and when can we use this _______ (process)?
How is ______________ applied in the larger world?
How might ____________ help us to ___________?
How could we use _________ to overcome_________?

15. Empathy Sample Questions
What are different points of view about __________?
How might this look from ______________’s perspective?
How is ________ similar to/different from _______?
What are other possible reactions to _____________?
What are the limits of ________________________?
What is the evidence for ______________________?
Is the evidence reliable? Sufficient?

16. Self-Knowledge Sample Questions
What would it be like to walk in ___________’s shoes?
How might ___________ feel about ___________?
How might we reach an understanding about _____?
What was _________ trying to make us feel/see?

17. Perspective Sample Questions
How do I know ____________________?
What are the limits of my knowledge about ____________?
What are my blind spots about ____________?
How can I best show ____________________?
How are my views about _____________ shaped by _______________ (experiences, habits, prejudices,
or style?
What are my strengths and weaknesses in ____?

18. References Wiggens and McTighe “Understanding by Design”
Naperville Community Unit School District 203