Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding

Author and Educational Consultant e-mail: jaymctighe@verizon.net website: jaymctighe.com

Jay McTighe

Understanding by Design

Intro

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

resources template

Working with Standards using UbD

What Standard(s) will the unit focus on? Given your reasons for teaching the unit, which Standard(s) are most relevant? What big ideas and transfer goals are embedded in this Standard? What should students eventually be able to do on their own if they can meet the Standard?
What important questions are raised by this content? What essential questions will guide inquiry into it? What specific skills are stated or implied in the Standard? What proficiencies must students attain to meet the Standard? What evidence of learning is called for by the Standard (and its indicators)? What assessments are needed?

Stage 1 Desired Results

What should students come to understand if they really learn this content well? What factual knowledge must students acquire to meet the Standard? What real-world tasks will reveal students understanding and proficiency? What transfer performances should students be able to do well if they have met this Standard?

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Stage 3 Learning Plan

What instruction is needed to equip students to meet this Standard? What learning experiences will help learners acquire the knowldge and skills, make meaning of the important ideas and equip them to transfer their learning? 2004 Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe page 2

Understanding by Design

Intro

Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

resources template

: Understanding(s):

Established Goal(s): G G What relevant goals (e.g., Content Standards, Course or Program Objectives, Learning Outcomes etc.) will this design address? What are the big ideas? What specific understandings about them are desired? What misunderstandings are predictable?

Stage 1 Desired Results

Essential Question(s): What provocative questions will foster inquiry, understanding, and transfer of learning?
Students will be able to...

Students will know...

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit? What should they eventually be able to do as a result of such knowledge and skill?

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s):

Other Evidence:

Through what authentic performance task(s) will students demonstrate the desired understandings? By what criteria will performances of understanding be judged?

Through what other evidence (e.g. quizzes, tests, academic prompts, observations, homework, journals, etc.) will students demonstrate achievement of the desired results? How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?

OE

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Learning Activities: What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results? How will the design

W = help the students know where the unit is going and what is expected? Help the teacher know where the students are coming from (prior knowledge, interests)? H = hook all students and hold their interest? E = equip students, help them experience the key ideas, and explore the issues? R = provide opportunities to rethink and revise their understandings and work? E = allow students to evaluate their work and its implications? T = be tailored (personalized) to the different needs, interests, abilities of learners O = be organized to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as effective learning? page 3

2004 Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe

Essential Questions

Understanding(s):

Established Goal(s): G G What relevant goals (e.g., Content Standards, Course or Program Objectives, Learning Outcomes etc.) will this design address? What are the big ideas? What specific understandings about them are desired? What misunderstandings are predictable?

Stage 1 Desired Results

Essential Question(s): What provocative questions will foster inquiry, understanding, and transfer of learning?
Students will be able to...

Students will know...

What key knowledge and skills will students acquire as a result of this unit? What should they eventually be able to do as a result of such knowledge and skill?

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

Performance Task(s):

Other Evidence:

Through what authentic performance task(s) will students demonstrate the desired understandings? By what criteria will performances of understanding be judged?

Through what other evidence (e.g. quizzes, tests, academic prompts, observations, homework, journals, etc.) will students demonstrate achievement of the desired results? How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?

OE

Stage 3 Learning Plan

Learning Activities: What learning experiences and instruction will enable students to achieve the desired results? How will the design

W = help the students know where the unit is going and what is expected? Help the teacher know where the students are coming from (prior knowledge, interests)? H = hook all students and hold their interest? E = equip students, help them experience the key ideas, and explore the issues? R = provide opportunities to rethink and revise their understandings and work? E = allow students to evaluate their work and its implications? T = be tailored (personalized) to the different needs, interests, abilities of learners O = be organized to maximize initial and sustained engagement as well as effective learning? page 4

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

Essential Questions Title: ___________________________ Subject/Course: ____________________________ You Are What You Eat Health Topic: __________________ Grade(s): _______ Designer(s): _______________________ nutrition 5-7 Bob James

Established Goal(s)

Stage 1 Desired Results

Understanding(s)

Standard 6 - Students will understand essential concepts about nutrition and diet. 6, a - Students will use an understanding of nutrition to plan appropriate diets for themselves and others.

Students will understand that...

Essential Question(s):

A balanced diet enhances health and appearance, while poor nutrition leads to a variety of health problems. Just because food tastes good, doesnt mean it is good for you. Dietary requirements vary for individuals based on age, activity level, weight, and overall health. Healthful living requires an individual to act on available information about diet even if it means breaking comfortable habits.

What should we eat? To what extent are you a healthy eater? How could a healthy diet for one person be unhealthy for another? Why are there so many health problems in the modern world caused by poor nutrition despite all of the available information? Students will be able to...

Students will know...

key terms - protein, fat, calorie, carbohydrate, cholesterol, etc. types of foods in each food group government nutritional guidelines variables influencing nutritional needs

Performance Task(s) Summary in G.R.A.S.P.S. form

Stage 2 Assessment Evidence

read and interpret nutrition information on food labels analyze diets for nutritional value plan balanced diets for themselves and others

Key Criteria:

You Are What You Eat Students create an illustrated brochure to teach younger children about a balanced diet and the importance of good nutrition for healthful living. Camp Menu Students develop a 3-day menu for meals and snacks for an upcoming Outdoor Education camp experience. They write a letter to the camp director to explain why their menu should be selected (by showing that it meets government guidelines, yet tasty enough for the students).

accurate application of nutritional concepts clear and thorough explaOther Evidence Quizzes - on vocabulary, food groups, USDA Food Pyramid
Prompt - Describe two health problems that could arise as a result of poor nutrition and explain how these could be avoided.

OE
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2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

Essential Questions

Essential Questions
(examples)
Arithmetic (numeration)

What is a number? Why do we have numbers? What if we didnt have numbers? Can everything be quantified?

Arts (visual and performing)

Where do artists get their ideas? How does art reflect, as well as shape, culture?

Culinary Arts

When is it o.k. to deviate from the recipe? What makes a safe kitchen?

Dance

How and what can we communicate through the language of dance? In what ways can motion evoke emotion?

Economics

What determines value? Can macro-economics inform micro-economics (and vice-versa)?

Foreign Language

What distinguishes a fluent foreigner from a native speaker? How can I express myself when I dont know all the words (of a target language)?

Geography

What makes places unique and different? How does where we live influence how we live?

Government

Who should decide? How should we balance the rights of individuals with the common good?

Health

What is healthful living? How can a diet be healthy for one person and not another?

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Essential Questions

Essential Questions
(more examples)
History
Whose story is it? Is history the story told by the winners? What can we learn from the past?

Literature

What makes a great book? Can fiction reveal truth? Should a story teach you something?

Mathematics

When is the correct answer not the best solution? What are the limits of mathematical representation/modeling?

Music

How are sounds and silence organized in various musical forms? If practice makes perfect, what makes perfect practice?

Physical Education/Athletics

Who is a winner? Is pain necessary for progress in athletics? (No pain, no gain agree?)

Reading/Language Arts

What makes a great story? How do you read between the lines? Why do we punctuate? What if we didnt have punctuation marks?

Science

To what extent are science and common sense related? How are form and function related in biology?

Technology

In what ways can technology enhance expression/communication? In what ways might technology hinder it? What are the pros and cons of technological progress?

Writing

Why write? How do effective writers hook and hold their readers? How do purpose and audience influence a writers style? 2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins page 7

Essential Questions

Part 1 - Examine the following examples and non-examples to determine the common characteristics of Essential Questions. List these in the box below.

Concept Attainment Essential Questions

Essential Questions Not Essential Questions

1. How are form and function related in biology? 2. How do effective writers hook and hold their readers? 3. Who wins and who loses when technologies change? 4. Should it be an axiom if it is not obvious? 5. What distinguishes fluent foreigners from native speakers? 6. How would life be different if we couldnt measure time?

7. How many legs does a spider have? How does an elephant use its trunk? 8. What is foreshadowing? Can you find an example of foreshadowing in the story? 9. What is the original meaning of the term, technology (from its Greek root, techne)? 10. By what axioms are we able to prove the Pythagorean theorem? 11. What are some French colloquialisms? 12. How many minutes are in an hour? How many hours are in a day?

List common characteristics of the Essential Questions:

Part 2 - Use your list of characteristics as criteria to determine which of the following are Essential Questions. Check yes or no after each example.

13. What is the relationship between popularity and greatness in literature? ___ ___ 14. When was the Magna Carta signed? 15. Crustaceans whats up with that? 16. Which president of the U. S. has the most disappointing legacy? 17. To what extent are common sense and science related? 18. Whats the pattern? ___ ___

YES NO

___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___

Refine your list of key characteristics of Essential Questions:

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Essential Questions

Essential Questions...
have no simple right answer - they are meant to be argued.
Essential questions yield inquiry and argument -- a variety of plausible (and arguable) responses, not straightforward facts that end the matter. They serve as doorways into focused yet lively inquiry and research. They should uncover rather than cover (up) the subjects controversies, puzzles, and perspectives. They are intended to result in conclusions drawn by the learner, not recited facts. Does art reflect culture or help shape it? Can we look but not see? Why do seers see what the rest of us dont? Does the artist see more clearly or look elsewhere?

Essential Questions work best when they are designed and edited to be thought-provoking to students, engaging them in sustained, focused inquiries which culminate in important performance. Such questions often involve the counter-intuitive, the visceral, the whimsical, the controversial, the provocative. Is the Internet dangerous for kids? Are censorship and democracy compatible? Does food that is good for you have to taste bad? Why write? Students develop and deepen their understanding of important ideas as they explore these questions.

are designed to provoke and sustain student inquiry, while also focusing learning and final performance(s).

often address the conceptual or philosophical foundations of a discipline.

Essential questions reflect the most historically important issues, problems and debates in a field of study. Is history inevitably biased? What is a proof? Nature or nurture? By examining such questions, students are engaged in thinking like an expert (i.e., doing the subject).

raise other important questions.

Thought-provoking essential questions are naturally generative. They lead to other important questions within, and sometimes across, subject boundaries. For example: In nature, do only the strong survive? leads to other questions and inquiries into human biology and the physics of physiology. What do we mean by strong?, Are insects strong (since they are survivors)?, What does it mean to be psychologically strong?

naturally and appropriately recur.

The same important questions get asked and re-asked throughout ones learning and in the history of can be overarching or topical, convergent or divergent. the field. For example: What makes a great book great? Are the Harry Potter novels great books? can be productively examined and re-examined by first graders as well as college students. Over time, student responses become more sophisticated, nuanced, well-reasoned and supported as their understandings deepen. 2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins page 9

Essential Questions

Four Types of Essential Questions

Philosophical and Timeless One meaning of essential is important and timeless. Essential questions in this sense arise naturally and recur throughout ones life. Such questions are broad in scope and universal by nature. What is justice? Is art a matter of taste or principles? How far should we tamper with our own biology and chemistry? Is science compatible with religion? Essential questions of this type are common and perpetually arguable. A good education is grounded in such life-long questions, even if we sometimes lose sight of them while focusing on content mastery. Such big-idea questions signal that education is not just about learning the answer but about learning how to think, question, and continually learn. Epistemological Queries Essential questions in this sense reflect the key inquiries within a discipline. Such questions point to the big ideas of a subject and to the frontiers of technical knowledge. They are historically important, and very much alive in the field. Is history inevitably biased? What makes art enduring? Are science and religion compatible? have been widely and heatedly debated among scholars for the past one hundred years, and compels novices and experts alike to think deeply. Meaning Making for Content Understanding There is a third important connotation for the term essential that refers to what is vital or necessary in this case, what students need for learning core content. In this sense, a question can be considered essential when it helps students make sense of seemingly isolated facts and skills or important but abstract ideas and strategies findings that may be understood by experts, but not yet grasped or seen as valuable by the learner. In what ways does light act wave-like? How do the best writers hook and hold their readers? What models best describe a business cycle? By actively exploring such questions, the learner is helped to connect disparate and confusing information and arrive at important understandings as well as to more effective (transfer) applications of their knowledge and skill. Metacognitive and Reflective General questions of this type are truly essential to effective learning and performance, within and outside of school. What do I know and what do I need to know? Where should I start? When should I change course? How will I know when I am done? What is working? Whats not? What adjustments should I make? Is there a more efficient and effective way to do this? What have I learned? What insights have I gained? What will I do differently next time to improve? Such questions have proven particularly fruitful in subjects that focus on skill development and performance They can be fruitfully posed and considered across the grades, as well as at home and throughout life! 2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins page 10

Essential Questions

Philosophical Essential Questions on the French Baccalaureate Exam

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Can we prove a scientific hypothesis? Is man condemned to create illusions about himself? Is it our duty to seek out the truth? Would we have more freedom without the state? Can natural desires exist? Is the only purpose of working to be useful? What does one gain from working? Is every belief contrary to reason? Can desire be disinterested?

10. Are we prisoners of the past? 11. Do artworks have to be pleasurable? 12. Do technological developments threaten our liberty? 13. Is it absurd to desire the impossible? 14. Are there questions that no science answers? 15. What does one gain by exchanging? 16. Does technical development transform humans? 17. Does language betray thought? 18. Does historical objectivity presuppose an impartial historian?

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Essential Questions

Unpacking Standards - Inside Out Method

STANDARD

Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. Source: Common Core College and Career Readiness Standards Writing

Stated/implied big ideas in NOUNS:

Stated/implied performances in VERBS:

arguments claims topics or texts evidence reasoning

write support (claims) analyze (topics/texts) reasoning

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

valid relevant sufficient

Understandings
The effectiveness of an argument is dependent upon the quality of the supporting evidence used (validity, appropriateness) and how it is conveyed.

Transfer Goal(s)

produce clear and coherent writing to persuade a target audience

Performance Task(s)

Essential Questions
What makes an argument convincing? What is the best evidence I can use to support my argument? How do I best organize and present my argument?

Based on your reading of informational texts on a local or national issue, prepare a (report, letter to editor, essay) for a specific audience to convince them of your position. Your argument should follow a logical sequence with supporting evidence for your position (claim).

Criteria

relevant evidence sufficient evidence valid reasoning

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Essential Questions

Unpacking Standards - Inside Out Method

STANDARD
Mathematically proficient students can apply the mathematics they know to solve problems arising in everyday life, society, and the workplace....routinely interpret their mathematical results in the context of the situation and reflect on whether the results make sense, possibly improving the model if it has not served its purpose.

Model with Mathematics

Source: Common Core State Standards Mathematics

Stated/implied big ideas in NOUNS:

Stated/implied performances in VERBS:

mathematical model(s) real life problems disciplines and life

model apply solve

interpret reflect on improve

ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS:

Understandings

Mathematical models simplify and connect phenomena to assist in understanding and problem solving. Mathematical models must be viewed critically so that they do not mislead. Effective problem solvers always check for the reasonableness of solutions.

Transfer Goal(s)

Apply the mathematics they know to develop mathematical models for solving real world problems
Performance Task(s) Create a mathematical model for a selected real-world situation (e.g., seasonal temperatures). Critically review and improve a mathematical model for its appropriateness to a given situation. Criteria appropriate modeling accurate reasonableness of solution
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Essential Questions
How can I best model this phenomena in this situation? Do these results make sense? What are the limits of this mathematical model in this context? What do effective problem solvers do?

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

Essential Questions

Essential Questions in Two Strands

Content (Concepts)
Social Studies

Processes

How should we balance individual rights with the common good? Does capitalism insure economic inequality? What truths can we learn from fiction? Can anyone be a hero?

How do we know what to believe about historical claims? Whose story is this?

English/Language Arts Reading

How does what I read influence how I should read it? How do you read between the lines?

What do good problem solvers do? What do numbers show? What are the limits of this mathematical What makes an answer reasonable? model (e.g., a linear equation)? How do the arts reflect and shape culture?

Mathematics

Visual & Media Arts

How do tools and materials influence artistic expression? How can/should we read a work of art? No pain, no gain agree? If practice makes perfect, what makes perfect practice?

How and why do artists break with tradition? When and why should we change the rules? Why and how do we create space when on offense?

Physical Education & Athletics

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Essential Questions

Types of Essential Questions

Overarching Questions These questions point beyond the particulars of a unit to the larger, transferable big ideas and enduring understandings. Practically speaking, the specific topics, events, or texts of the unit are typically not mentioned in the framing of overarching questions. For example: Is science fiction great literature? is an overarching question for any unit on a specific text such as Stranger in a Strange Land.

Topical Questions are subject- and topic-specific. Topical questions frame a unit of study. They guide the exploration of big ideas and processes within particular subjects. For example:What aspects of Stranger in a Strange Land are plausible? guide inquiry within a specific literature unit. This unit question links to the overarching question, How true is a fictional story? addressed within other English/Language Arts units.

examples

Art

In what ways does art reflect culture as well as shape it? How do artists choose tools, techniques, and materials to express their ideas?

unit on masks

What do masks and their use reveal about the culture? What tools, techniques, and materials are used in creating masks from different cultures?

Literature

What makes a great story?

unit on mysteries

How do effective writers hook and hold their readers?

What is unique about the mystery genre? How do great mystery writers hook and hold their readers?

Science

How does an organisms structure

unit on insects

enable it to survive in its environment? How do organisms survive in harsh or changing environments?

How do the structure and behavior of insects enable them to survive? How do insects survive when their environment changes?

Mathematics

If axioms are like the rules of the game, when should we change the rules?

unit on the parallel postulate

Why is this an axiom if its so complex? What no longer holds true if we deny it?

History/Government

unit on the U.S. Constitution

How do governments balance the rights of individuals with the common good? How and why do we provide checks and balances on government power?

In what ways does the Constitution attempt to limit abuse of government powers ? Does separation of powers (3 branches of governement) create a deadlock? page 15

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

Essential Questions

Overarching Understandings and Essential Questions for Writing

Enduring Understandings:
1. Audience and purpose (e.g., to inform, persuade, entertain) influence the use of literary techniques (e.g., style, tone, word choice). 2. Writers do not always say what they mean. Indirect forms of expression (e.g., satire, irony) require readers to read between the lines to find the intended meaning. 3. Punctuation marks and grammar rules are like highway signs and traffic signals. They guide readers through the text to help avoid confusion. 4. A writer selects a form based on his purpose. 5. A writers point of view is influenced by his experience. 6. Conventions of language help readers understand what is being communicated. 7. The purposeful use and non-use of language conventions help readers understand. 8. A writers word choice and syntax are characteristics of voice which help to personalize text.

Essential Questions:

1. Why write? What if writing didnt exist? Why share personal experiences in writing? 2. How is written language different from spoken language? What makes writing worth reading? 3. How do writers express their thoughts and feelings? Where do ideas for writing come from? What makes writing flow? 4. How do effective writers hook and hold their readers? What makes writing easy to follow? What is the best beginning? What is the best ending? What is the best order (sequence)? What is a complete thought? 5. Why am I writing? For whom? What am I trying to achieve through my writing? Who will read my writing? What will work best for my audience? 6. Why does a writer choose the form of writing he/she does? 7. What is the relationship between reader and writer? 8. How do writers communicate clearly? 9. To what extent do conventions of language impact communication? 10. What makes writing worth reading? 11. Why do we need grammar? 12. To what extent is the pen mightier than the sword?
Source: Delaware Department of Education ELA Design Team 2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins page 16

Essential Questions

Overarching Essential Questions for MATHEMATICS

I. How is mathematics used to quantify and compare situations, events and phenomena? II. What are the mathematical attributes of objects or processes and how are they measured or calculated? III. How are spatial relationships, including shape and dimension, used to draw, construct, model and represent real situations or solve problems? IV. How is mathematics used to measure, model and calculate change? V. What are the patterns in the information we collect and how are they useful? VI. How can mathematics be used to provide models that help us interpret data and make predictions? VII. What are the limits of mathematical modeling/representation? VIII. In what ways can data be expressed so that its accurate meaning is concisely presented to a specific audience? IX. How do the graphs of mathematical models and data help us better understand the world in which we live? X. What does it mean to reason mathematically? XI. How can mathematics support effective communication? XII. What do effective problem solvers do? What do they do when they get stuck?
adapted from Pomperaug Region #15 Schools, CT

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

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Essential Questions

Essential Questions in World Language

Motivation/Goals/Benefits Why learn another language? Where does this language live in my community? How will learning a language enhance my life? How might learning a language open doors of opportunity? Learning Process What language learning skills do I already have? What are language patterns and how can they help me learn and use a new language? How can I use my existing communication skills to learn a new language? What are different language learning styles? How do I determine the most effective language learning style for me? What strategies and resources will help me learn another language? How can I sound more like a native speaker? How can one express complex ideas using simple terms? How do I figure out meaning when words are not understood? What do I do when I am stuck? What can I do to help me improve my fluency and accuracy? Communication Why isnt a dictionary enough? Why dont you have to translate everything? How do native speakers differ from fluent foreigners? In what ways do languages convey meaning? How do people communicate without using language? What strategies can I use to communicate more effectively? How fluent do I need to be in speaking and/or writing a new language in order to be able to communicate effectively? How does language change in different situations? Why dont you use the same words, expressions, etc. with everyone? ... in every situation? What do I do when my ideas are more sophisticated than my ability to communicate them? What can I do when I do not have the words to say what I am thinking? How do I keep a conversation going? How can you speak without words? How does body language complement the words? How and when might it compete with them? What are the benefits of taking a chance in language? the risks? What mistakes are worth making? How is spoken language different from written language? How do good speakers express their thoughts and feelings? What makes a speaker easy to follow? 2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins page 18

Essential Questions

Deriving Overarching Essential Questions from VISUAL ARTS Standards

Standard 1. Understands that visual art communicates different ideas, experiences and stories to the viewer - What is the purpose of art? - How do we understand what is communicated visually? - What is important about art? - How does art tell us about a place or time? - Why do we need special vocabulary to discuss art? Standard 2. Understands that history, culture and the visual arts influence each other - Who is an artist? - Why make art? - How have artists in other times and places communicated? - What is the connection between media and time period? - Who is an artist responsible to? (themselves, the community, the world, etc.) Standard 3. Understands that the visual arts can be evaluated based on various criteria - What is art? - What makes art good? What makes art bad? - What is the difference between how a subject appears and how we think of it? Standard 4. Understands that artists vary media, techniques and processes according to their purpose - What effect does working in different styles of Art have? - How is art like other pieces that authors and musicians create? - Is there a particular way a media should or should not be used? - What is the connection between media and time period? - How does the media influence the message? Standard 5. Identifies, uses, and adjusts principles of design effectively and according to purpose. - How can we make a work of art appear to be unified? Why does it matter? Standard 6. Identifies, uses, and adjusts elements of art effectively and according to purpose. - What is the connection between color and emotion? - How can we arrange the elements of art to express our ideas and knowledge?

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Essential Questions

Framing a Course Using Essential Questions

Viruses, Protists, Fungi & Bacteria Ethics of Biology Ecology and Interaction Invertebrates & Vertebrates

Biology
Essential Questions
What are we made of? What is everything made of? What makes any living thing what it is? What is alive? How are structure and function related in living things? Why does this creature do this and look like that? How are characteristics of living things passed on through generations? What is inherited and how does it happen? What is nature and what is nurture? Whats determined and whats an accident? How and in what ways are accidents beneficial? What is that creature? How do we know? Whats in a name?How should we classify the things around us? How do living things obtain and use energy? Coordinate the actions of cells and organs? Move nutrients? Breathe? Manage water, salts, and wastes? How much interaction, stress, growth, and change (to individuals and species) is possible, even desirable, biologically? What is the evidence for evolution? How much of the controversy is science-based and how much is cultural? How do diseases and medicines work? What can biology teach us about human health? What analogies have been most helpful in understanding life? How and when do the analogies permit and how and when do they inhibit further understanding? Is there a moral limit to how far we should go in tinkering with human bodies and life more generally?
Taxonomy Evolution

Key Topics
Heredity The Cell

Plants

44 4 44 4 4 4

44

4 44

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

Human Body Systems

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Essential Questions

Essential Questions in Skill Areas

There is a common misunderstanding among many educators that teaching for understanding of big ideas are not really central to the teaching of skill-focused areas, such as beginning literacy, physical education, and mathematics. On the contrary: everything we know about learning tells us that that teaching for conceptual understanding is essential to more accurate and efficient skill performance. Essential questions in skill areas may be considered in terms of the following categories: key concept(s) What are the big ideas underlying effective skill performance? purpose, value Why is the skill important? strategy, tactics What strategies do skilled performers employ? How can skill performance become more efficient and effective? context When should you use the skill?

Use the space below to brainstorm possible essential questions for important skills.

underlying concepts
What makes an appropriate sample? How do you know that you comprehend what you are reading? How is torque applied in sports?

purpose, value
Why would we want to sample instead of counting everything? Why should readers regularly monitor their comprehension? How does torque affect power?

examples from:

- mathematics - reading - physical education

strategy, tactics
When and how should we sample? What do good readers do when they dont understand the text? How can you hit with greatest power without losing control?

context
When is sampling sometimes better than counting? When should you use the various fix-up reading strategies? Why does follow-through matter?

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

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Essential Questions
T he U nd e r s t a nd i ng b y D esign G u ide to Cr ea tin g H igh - Q u a lity U n its

Essential Questions in Skill Areas

M o d ul e F : E s sen tia l Q u estion s a n d U n der sta n din gs

Fig ure F.2

examples

Essential Questions for Skill-Related Goals

Subject
Reading

Skill
Sound out unfamiliar words.

Strategy
Use context clues to gure out the words meaning.

Essential Questions
Whats the author trying to say? How can I nd out what these words might mean? If thats my purpose and audience, what follows for my writing? How can I turn unknowns into knowns? What form must this end up in?

Writing

Follow the ve-paragraph essay structure.

Match your word choices with your purpose and audience. Problem solving: Simplify equivalent expressions. Work backward from end result.

Mathematics

Dividing fractions: Invert and multiply.

Visual Arts/ Graphic Design

Use the color wheel to select complementary colors.

Use colors to reinforce the mood you want to evoke in the viewer.

What am I trying to make the viewer feel? How can I best evoke mood using color? How can I best save time, money, and energy?

Carpentry

Apply proper techniques when using a band saw.

Measure twice, cut once.

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

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Essential Questions

Revising Essential Questions

Original Draft
Are there any benefits from the deforestation of the rain forests?

Commentary
The question calls for some information gathering and analysis, but ends in a list.

Revision
Do the benefits outweigh the costs of deforestation?

Commentary

The revised question broadens the inquiry and calls for a more sophisticated analysis; far more likely to spark debate and deeper inquiry into any list of pros and cons. How does this diet The question requires A much more open match up with the some analysis and evalu- What should we version with lots of USDA Guidelines? ation, but there is a cor- eat? inquiry and debate rect answer. potential. What is non-fiction? A definitional question How much license This version of the with an unambiguous does a writer of question explores an answer. non-fiction have to interesting grey area make a point? having both historical and contemporary relevance. Who speaks Spanish in A straightforward quesHow well can you A more provocative our community? tion asking for a list. thrive speaking version calling for only English? greater analysis and a shift of perspective. What is an axiom? A straight-forward Why should we A much more open question calling for a assume that? question that gets at definitional answer. why some things are given even if they do not seem obvious or necessary. What distinguishes A leading question with Why and how do These questions reImpressionist art? an expected set of charac- artists break with quire an examination teristics. tradition? of artistic trends and call for a generalization by learners. What types of exercises This question involves No pain, no gain A more provocawill improve fitness? research but is leading agree? tive question, likely toward expected answers. to spark discussion, debate and further inquiry. 2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins page 23

Essential Questions

Tips for Using Essential Questions

1. Organize programs, courses, units of study, and lessons around the questions. Make the content answers to questions. 2. Select or design assessment tasks (up front) that are explicitly linked to the questions. The task(s) and performance standards should clarify what acceptable pursuit of, and answers to, the questions actually look like. 3. Use a reasonable number of questions per unit (2-5). Make less be more. Prioritize content for students to make the work clearly focus on a few key questions. 4. Frame the questions in kid language as needed to make them more accessible. Edit the questions to make them as engaging and provocative as possible for the age-group. 5. Ensure that every child understands the questions and sees their value. Conduct a survey or informal check, as necessary, to ensure this. 6. Derive and design specific concrete exploratory activities and inquiries for each question. 7. Sequence the questions so they naturally lead from one to another. 8. Post the essential questions in classroom(s), and encourage students to organize notebooks around them to make clear their importance for study and note-taking. 9. Help students to personalize the questions. Have them share examples, personal stories, and hunches. Encourage them to bring in clippings and artifacts to help make the questions come alive. 10. Allot sufficient time for unpacking the questions examining sub-questions and probing implications mindful of student age, experience, and other instructional obligations. Use question/concept maps to show relatedness of questions. 11. Share your questions with other faculty to make planning and teaching for cross-subject matter coherence more likely. Ideas to promote overarching questions school-wide ask teachers to post their questions in the faculty room and/or in department meeting/planning areas. Type and circulate questions in the faculty bulletin. Present and discuss at faculty and P.T.S.A. meetings. Other tips: _______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

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Essential Questions

Six Elements of Classroom Culture Within Our Control

Cultural element Conditions in support of a questioning culture Conditions that undercut a questioning culture Students believe (and teacher actions reinforce) that the point of learning is solely mastery of content knowledge. Students believe that teacher questions are after THE answer, and that extended inquiry and discussion, no matter how intellectually engaging, are distractions from or not related to the real goal.

1. Nature of the Students recognize the various kinds of learning goals learning goals, especially that inquiry into open-ended questions is different from (but as important as) the goal of content mastery.

2. Roles of teacher and students

3. Protocols and codes of conduct

Teacher and student roles are explicitly defined to support of collective inquiry into essential questions. Active intellectual engagement and meaning making is expected of the student. Essential questions serve as touchstones and answers are to be questioned. There are explicit protocols and a code of conduct for appropriate behavior related to asking questions and responding to questions and answers. All learners are expected to participate and contribute, and all contributions will be treated with respect.

The teacher assumes the role of expert, while the student is expected to be a willing recipient of knowledge. Questions are used to probe student grasp of material, and answers are either correct or incorrect. There is no explicit protocol or code of conduct for how to engage in inquiry and discussion, or how to respond to teacher questions or student answers. The teacher routinely calls only on students who volunteer, so that student passivity and dis-engagement are tacitly accepted. The teacher fails to model and reinforce the climate necessary for helping students feel safe and willing to take intellectual risks. Students may be made to feel stupid or inadequate.

4. Safety and supportive- ness of classroom climate 5. Use of space and physical resources

6. Use of texts and other learning resources

Essential Questions are prominently posted or otherwise visible and referred to regularly. Classroom furniture and use of space are deliberately organized to support free-flowing, engaged and respectful conversation.

The teacher establishes and models a safe and supportive climate for intellectual risk- taking and challenges to ideas. Inappropriate behaviors (e.g., put downs) are firmly but tactfully addressed.

2013 Jay McTighe & Grant Wiggins

Texts and other support materials are chosen to advance inquiry. The teacher makes it clear that textbooks and related resources are limited in their ability to drive inquiry into essential questions.

The arrangement of furniture prevents everyone from seeing each other in the class. Neither teacher nor students take steps to re-arrange the setup to support group inquiry; thus sustained discussion is undercut. The textbook is treated as the syllabus rather than a supportive resource. Teachers march through the text sequentially, making it seem as if coverage matters more than inquiry.

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Essential Questions

Title: ___________________________ Subject/Course: ____________________________ Topic: __________________ Grade(s): _______ Designer(s): _______________________

Stage 1 Desired Results

Established Goal(s)

Understanding(s)

Students will understand that...

Essential Question(s)

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