If you have ever spent time around a two year old, you know what it’s like to be peppered with questions. How?, why? and what? asked in rapid succession can be exhausting and it puts us on the spot to feel like we have all of the answers. A really smart mom once shared her secret with us. She told us to turn the question around on the child. Answer the questions with a question… "What do YOU think?” The trick is, you have to listen to the answer and listen closely. In their answer is insight into how a child sees the world around them. This is our entry point into our learning.
Developing essential questions to guide a learning experience is an early and challenging conversation for many teams. It asks us to step back from the content we know and are eager to share and requires us to look at the bigger picture. The time spent on this conversation supports all of the other big rocks and supports the team in their norming around the experience.
Watch this video of a learner sharing his learning experiences and consider what essential question may have sparked his curiosity into the topics he is exploring. Keep in mind that an essential question is broad, but should provide opportunities for learners to investigate topics they’re interested in more specifically.
During Hawthorne’s STEM PD on Wednesday morning (Sept. 13 @7:30), there will be time for teams to: 1) view the video above, 2) have a conversation about possible essential questions that inspired this learner, and 3) dive into planning STEaM/Inquiry for the current or next unit. Please bring all relevant materials that your team needs to support this work to the meeting.
At the end of our time together, teams will be asked to share a poster demonstrating the Essential Question for your learning experience. Specifically, teams will be able to answer:
+ What is your essential question?
STEM Randall teachers, this could be an activity your teams complete during your Level PLCs.
Enjoy your week and BE CURIOUS!
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