What is this ? Essential Questions

What ´s this ? Essential Questions.

We are born with an innate capacity of questioning. From the very beginning,  we ask questions tha lead us to understanding the world we live in .Lightbown and Spada (2006) based on Bloom (1991)  pointed out   that there are developmental   stages through  which children learn to ask questions. There is a predictable order through  which  the wh-question emerge. WHAT is the first wh-questions to be used. After that, WHERE and WHO arise very soon. WHY emerges at the end of  the second year end becomes a repeated question. As children get awareness of time and manners WHEN and HOW  come up. As you see, from the very beginning  we are tied to interrogations.

Since questioning is an essential part of our cognitive development , educational designs must include  this aspect  as a way of achieving understanding, Every single  interrogation can spark more questions and stimulate deeper thought. I have to say that I consider this  idea quite interesting from the learners´ point of view,   because they can take an active part in the process of building knowledge and developing skills on their own.

Considering the Essential Questions as a relevant feature of this kind of design, we can define them as interrogations that point to and highlight big ideas and their main purpose is to promote  thinking  skills. Students should move certain inner mechanisms in order to answer them. The best questions are the ones that promote understanding of the content of a unit, foster connections and promote transfer of ideas from one setting to another. Therefore Essential Questions must require certain characteristics:

-They must involve questions that cause genuine and relevant inquiry into the  big ideas and core content .

-They refer to core ideas and  inquires within a discipline

-They require students to consider different alternatives to solve the problems stated in the questions

-They encourage transfer of big ideas from one setting to another.

-They must provoke discussion  and deep thought. They must stimulate the emerging of more questions.

- They must foster connection with prior and personal experiences

Taking into consideration the Essential Questions in lesson planning means to be willing to make an effort in terms of  developing  interrogations that can lead our students  to effective skill learning.

In sum, I would say that, Essential Questions are highly related to big ideas which connect the facts and skills, that is to say, they link external events with our personal lives. The best questions can encourage thoughtful and varied students responses and therefore, promote understanding.

Gaining Clarity

Gaining Clarity on our goals.    

Have you ever planned a trip? If you are a concrete- sequential   and open- oriented person, you will have enjoyed organizing the route of your trip. The steps are carefully planned in order to reach the place where we go. The same image comes to my mind , when we talk about  clarity  on our  educational aims. Have we developed clarity  on the stages   that enable our students to achieve  understanding as a  goal ?   Sometimes, I have ;  some others ,I have lost the way , the motivation and the energy to go on.

According to Wiggins and Mc Tighe, the backward design entails three interrelated stages. Each of them   is  highly connected  to the other, since Stage 1 tells what to do in relation to the kind of the   evidence  required   in Stage 2 and  recommends  the best learning experiences  (stage 3 )  to accomplish  the stated  objectives. Therefore, we have to consider some  important aspects  found in Stage 1.

This phase has five points that we should take into account in order to gain clarity when stating the goals.  This would help us to establish clear and delimited understanding objectives. It also contributes to avoid blurred aims. There are some key concepts that we have to know and understand established goals, understanding, essential questions, knowledge and skills.