CED505 Essential Questions Website Evaluation

1. Essential Questions Evaluation
CED505
by
Mary Railey

2. What are Essential Questions?
Taken from a series of articles first printed in Technology Connection 1995
 Essential questions reside at the top of Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, 1954).
They require students to EVALUATE (make a thoughtful choice between
options, with the choice based upon clearly stated criteria), to SYNTHESIZE
(invent a new or different version) or to ANALYZE (develop a thorough and
complex understanding through skillful questioning).
 Essential questions spark our curiosity and sense of wonder. They derive
from some deep wish to understand some thing which matters to us.
 Answers to essential questions cannot be found. They must be invented.
Students must construct their own answers and make their own meaning
from the information they have gathered. They create insight.
 Have no one obvious "right" answer: essential "answers" are not self-
evidently true. Even if there are "truths" and essential theories in a
discipline, the student comes to know that there are other plausible theses
and hypotheses to be considered and sorted through along with the
"sanctioned" views.
 Answering such questions may take a life time, and even then, the answers
may only be tentative ones. This kind of research, like good writing, should
proceed over the course of several weeks, with much of the information
gathering taking place outside of formally scheduled class hours.

3. What are Essential Questions?
Taken from a series of articles first printed in Technology Connection 1995
 Essential questions engage students in the kinds of real life applied problem-
solving suggested by nearly every new curriculum report or outline
curriculum standards such as the NCTM and the Science Standards.
 Essential questions usually lend themselves well to multidisciplinary
investigations, requiring that students apply the skills and perspectives of
math and language arts while wrestling with content from social studies or
science.
 Essential questions Go to the heart of a discipline. They can be found in
the most historically important (and controversial) problems and topics
in the sciences.
 Recur throughout one's learning. The same important questions get
asked and re-asked, if they are essential. Our answers to essential
questions may never be adequate, but they should become increasingly
sophisticated.
 Are framed to provoke and sustain student interest.
 Link to other essential questions. Good questions engender other
good questions.

4. Creating Essential Questions
WEB ADDRESS SUMMARY REVELATIONS
Galileo.org Educational The article lists components of I found the idea of
Network essential questions which essential questions
©1993-2007 Essential include: develop foundational helping indentify the
Questions created knowledge, invite individual unique gifts and
perspectives, foster the perspectives of
By Pat Clifford and Sharon development of deeper individuals in an
Friesen understanding , promote educational setting novel
“Essential Questions develop individuality within a group as and interesting. If we are
foundational understandings. well as a sense of community, to prepare students for
They provide the and stimulate imagination, and real life, it is important to
fundamental organizing creates a bridge between the learn that what they have
principles that bound an known and unknown. to contribute is important;
inquiry and guide the that unique perspectives
development of meaningful, lead to new knowledge
authentic tasks.” and discoveries.
http://www.galileo.org/tips/es
sential_questions.html

5. From Trivial Pursuit to Essential
Questions and Standards-Based
Learning
WEB
SUMMARY REVELATIONS
ADDRESS
From Now On Asking questions which have no meaning In life and the workplace,
The Educational or purpose is a fruitless endeavor. Just projects are not typically
Technology because a question is hard to answer divided into disciplines such as
Journal doesn’t mean it provokes thought. Math, English, and Social
Vol 10|No Essential questions cause students to Studies. Cross disciplinary
5|February|2001 think about why information is important problems are more suited to
as opposed to having them obtain authentic learning experiences,
by Jamie knowledge without regard for it’s once students have a base of
McKenzie usefulness. Essential questions help knowledge to use to draw from
“There is a huge students understand phenomenon, and build on.
difference between issues and events. They don’t have
knowledge on the simple answers. I had never heard the term
one hand and “infotective” before reading this
understanding or article. It would be a great term
insight on the to use with students to
other hand.” describe what they should be
doing as they search for the
http://www.fno.org/f
answers to questions.
eb01/pl.html

6. Framing Essential Questions
WEB ADDRESS SUMMARY REVELATIONS
From Now On In addition reiterating descriptive Guiding research
Vol 6 |No 1| information about essential with thought
September| 1996 questions, Framing Essential provoking
Framing Essential Questions discusses how students questions and
Questions can actually break these broad teaching students
“Essential questions set questions down into “subsidiary” how to generate
students and staff free questions. Forming smaller essential
from this tedious and questions based on the main questions on their
wasteful ritual. question and categorizing them will own will go a long
Research becomes help students use research to way towards
motivating and
actually learn instead of just find supporting
meaningful.”
information. Some of the questions success in higher
http://www.fno.org/sept will be posed as hypotheses and education and jobs
96/questions.html
suppositions which may or may not which require
be supported by research. Even if workers to solve
the research doesn’t support the problems and e
hypotheses, students learn. innovative.

7. Classroom Strategies to Engender
Student Questioning
WEB ADDRESS SUMMARY REVELATION
S
From Now On The Educational Several strategies for The methods used
Technology Journal stimulating the processing to teach students
FILLING THE TOOL BOX of information and how to use the
understanding are tools presented
Classroom Strategies to Engender presented. Generating were ways teachers
Student Questioning essential questions, in a traditional
“As one of the primary goals of categorizing, selecting the classroom can use
education is to develop autonomous right type of question, to foster critical
but interdependent thinkers, students developing a taxonomy, thinking. I thought
deserve frequent opportunities to test taking strategies, the method of
shape and direct classroom inquiry. To question stems, and telling students how
fuel this inquiry, it is also essential that problem solving heuristics much time they
we validate the importance of curiosity are some of the should think about
in the process of learning. While questioning tools teachers a question before
curiosity may have killed the cat, there can equip students with to answering was a
is no reason for us to kill curiosity.” shift their classrooms from really good
“mastery and technique for
© 1986 by Jamie McKenzie, Ed.D.
memorization” encouraging
and Hilarie Bryce Davis, Ed.D. all rights
environments to deeper thinking
reserved.
authentic learning instead of “off the
http://www.fno.org/toolbox.html environments. top of my head”

8. A Questioning Toolkit
WEBSITE SUMMARY REVELATIONS
From Now On Subsidiary questions, when Teaching individuals to
The Educational answered, help us understand think using essential
Technology Journal the Essential question they are and subsidiary
Vol 7|No 3|November- derived from. A questioning tool questions beginning at
December|1997 kit describes each type of Kindergarten level
question, the components, would change education
A Questioning Toolkit keyword, and circumstances entirely. Mastery and
“If we were to draw a cluster each is best suited for. Some of memorization have its
diagram of the Questioning the types of subsidiary place at the earliest
Toolkit, Essential Questions questions are Hypothetical, levels of education so
would be at the center of all Telling, Planning, Organizing, that students have a
the other types of questions. Probing, Sorting and sifting, solid base to build on.
All the other questions and Clarification, and Strategic. Applying the questioning
questioning skills serve the Each type will shed light on a toolkit as early as it can
purpose of "casting light different aspect of the essential be applied and where it
upon" or illuminating question. can be used would
Essential Questions.” This article promotes making change the way
http://www.fno.org/nov97/to questioning toolkits available students view
olkit.html near computers and research education. It would
areas beginning at seem that this view
Kindergarten to help them would be more positive
develop questioning techniques and motivate students to
before high school. become active learners.