Essential Questions How can I motivate students Can

Essential Questions • How can I motivate students? • Can students have fun, find meaning, and still do well on standardized tests? • How can I rekindle my passion for teaching? • Does what I teach matter? Will it equip students with necessary real world skills? CELL PHONES FOR SOLDIERS TO PROVIDE 750, 000 FREE COMMUNICATION TOOLS IN 2011 Inquiry Project by 13 year old as part of inquiry project—one that has been adopted by cell phone companies now!

– ) 4 0 0 2 ( y Cove with the n i g. e d B n i m n i d en Marzano ( 2007) – re when stud ports that ents know what they are suppo s e student ac d to be learning hievemen t increase from 16 to s 4 1 p e r c entile poin (average o ts f 21 perce ntile point s).

SHIFT your teaching? Move from Topical Coverage, information retrieval, repetitive, kid as consumer of information. Towards a SHIFT Of Learning Centered Inquiry Use Essential Question to stimulate curiosity to guide research of information Students make connections, evaluate, create new understandings and PRODUCE something to express their new understanding/ insights

The 3 S’s and 6 M’s of Inquiry Set up. Motivate Students with essential questions and frontloading to personally connect kids to curriculum Set stopping points. Map learning experiences that tap into different learning styles and are measureable. Use Multiple ways for students to learn and demonstrate understanding. Sequence lessons/inquiry in order to scaffold. Model Mentor Monitor

GO TOP DOWN!! No one gets excited about a letter, a sentence, a molecule, practicing stance, or a verb, a date in history all by itself. Start with the BIG issues, questions, and problems that drive your content area. Than they will want to find out how those little things impact the bigger thing they really care about.

Students who can identify what they are learning significantly outscore those who cannot. ~ Robert Marzano

Discussion Points Students who can identify what they are learning significantly outscore those who cannot. ~ Robert Marzano • To what extent do your students understand what they need to learn in your class? • How do you know? • How do you share learning goals with your students?

Designed in student-friendly language in their point of view so it is relevant to THEM. Edgy-lending itself to debate, open ended and complex enough to house multiple perspectives and more than one answer. Essential Questions Addresses the heart of the content area, therefore essential content knowledge will be needed to answer it. Empower students to take ownership of their own learning-leads to student created questions and student taking action with this new knowledge.

Stepping Stone Question Samples 3 rd Grade Language Arts • What methods can be used to collect and record data over a period of time? 6 th Grade Science • What are the impacts of overpopulation? English IV • What are the major symbols of order in the novel, and what effect do these symbols have on the characters?

Stepping-Stone Question Samples Biology • What is the structure and function of carbohydrates? (2. 01) Spanish I • What are appropriate greetings, farewells, and expressions of courtesy used in Spanish? (1. 01) Vocal Music II • What jargon should be used to describe musical elements (this encompasses technical vocab. , compositional techniques, and accompaniments)? (6. 02, 6. 03, 6. 04)

Bloom (19 questions 54) – Essential require st udents to E l V A ia L U t A n T E e ( m s ake a thou Es k r – c o ) h o 6 w ghtful i c e between 9 o 9 t 1 s ( t. e n options, w nzi d stude xonomy the choice e K c ith M a a b a T e y s l e f s d s ’ s i u pon clearl ion f Bloom s to sat t s s t e a y t e u d t q c o r n i t e e p f r i d o a o ) t , u SYNTHESI t e ZE (invent to at the otivate s and sens ts to a new or n y m different v They ir curiosit help stude tter to ersion) or A a N A the. They to m L Y ZE (develo t a h t r s e p a thorou and comp wond tand thing m. gh l e x u n s d e rsta through sk th unde illful ques nding tioning). Ump “ h Esse rey ( n tial q 2005 imp conn ortant uestio ) – ect c beca ns ar e use lass the t r l issu arge a oom w hey es th n at a d endu ork to ffec t ou ring r live “ s.

Essential Questions: The Paradigm Shift Standardized testing: The current measuring stick • Lower-levels of Bloom’s • Specific “right” or “wrong” answers • Promotes “drill and kill” instruction • “Live and Die” by the EOC mentality New Age of Assessments • Demonstration of understanding through openended responses • Reflective of real life Higher-Order Thinking Connection • High expectations for all • “But, we aren’t being tested like this yet…”

Working Definition of EQ • Two minutes • Define Essential Question • Is there anything you want to add to your definition after viewing the video?

Teacher creates essential question. What is your focus and why does it matter? Identify Final Project. Where do we want to go with this? Purpose for learning? Is my Question Essential? Create a Backwards Plan How can we help students get there? Encourages critical thinking not just memorization of facts. How will we know that we arrived? Culminating project and assessment?

Recur and should be revisited Focus on key concepts implicit in the curriculum Suggest Inquiry ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS Initiators of creative and critical thinking Set the focus of the lesson or unit

Each student brings…

Kid-Friendly Edit Initial Teacher Question How are adolescent beliefs and actions influenced by peer pressure? Student-Friendly Revision Why do kids sometimes act foolish when they are in groups?

EQs • Which President of the United States had the most disappointing legacy? • To what extent are science and common sense related? • What do you suppose would happen if we took away all television? • How can our nation best handle the influx of immigrants?

Revised EQs • Who were the real winners and losers of the Civil War? • Are Toad and Frog really friends? • Why should you evaluate web sites? • Why was the Declaration of Independence important? • How do insects survive so well? • Why do you suppose the character in the story decided to abandon his friend? • What are communities? • Why are rules important? • Why are there patterns in numbers? • Who are the real winners and losers in war? • Who is a true friend? How will you know? • How can you create a tool to teach kids to evaluate web sites? • What qualities guarantee that a political document endures over time? • In nature, do only the strong survive? What is “survival strength”? • Why do some friendships end? • What makes kids break rules? • How do patterns make life easier? • How does nature use patterns?

Why are questions valued over statements? Promotes student inquiry Develops responsibility and relieves anxiety for the student Initiates discussion and improves retention Engagement

Essential Question Samples 3 rd Grade Language Arts • If you were asked to find out what book genre is the most popular in your class, how would you collect the information and how would you organize the data? 5 th Grade Science • How does the weather influence human/animal behavior? Kindergarten • Are books more alike or more different? • How do does an author decide what pictures to use? • What can we tell about an author from what he/she writes about?

Essential Question Samples Social Studies 4 th grade • If they were going to have the Olympics in NC, which city (region) would be the best? Why? Fluency • Can noticing punctuation help me read better out loud? General…. Can a kid make a difference? How do some kids test better online than on paper? What is the best test strategy?

o t n o i t a t n s e t s Pre tuden S • Important that EQs are posted for students to access, ponder and begin formulating responses. Board Overhead Presentation Visible Online Handout Oral

Writing Essential Questions Review Goals, Targets, and SS Questions Ask Yourself Write Essential Questions Focus on “big ideas” and concepts What connections can I make to real life, other curricula, etc? Use the template Regard connections beyond the curriculum What are the enduring ideas students need? Think BROAD! Incorporate all targets.