Essential Questions ????????
Essential Questions are not something new to me however I always have struggled with writing them and making them so kids get into them. I think I am at the time in the year when kids have shut their minds off and they are not wanting to do work but we are left to still try to teach them. I love hearing about all this wonderful ways to write questions and ask questions and try to get kids to think but in the end how do you make them do this. As I often tell my classes I can only do so much for you.. I already have passed high school. It seems every time I try to higher order thinking type activities with my students they break down. I am not sure where the missing piece is and maybe I will find an answer to this but then information that was shared with us did state it may take a lifetime to answer some of these questions so maybe when this kids are 40 they will come to the answers and send me a card.. LOL
2 Comments:
I agree with you 100%. This is a tough time of year to discuss essential questions. Maybe I can try again this summer when I am feeling a little more "fresh." LOL
Essential questions and inquiry based learning have as a premise that students can and will think creatively and in an original way. Instead of repeating facts back to the teacher students are expected to dig deeper into the subject as well as deeper into their own brains. Some kids get this but many don't really know what an original idea is or feels like. I don't mean it in a derogatory way but simply that meta-cognition comes late to many people.Also kids have become used to "the right answer" type of learning. We can help kids become better detectives with well designed inquiry-based lessons and webquests.
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