Essential Questions
The aim of essential questions is to stimulate thought, to provoke inquiry, and to spark more questions, including thoughtful student questions, not just answers. They are provocative and generative. By tackling such questions, learners are engaged in uncovering the depth and richness of a topic that might otherwise be obscured by simply covering it.
~ McTighe & Wiggins
Using essential questions is key in engaging students in authentic, meaningful, inquiry-based investigations. An essential question is tied to the standards, learning outcomes, and based on the knowledge and skills you want your students to learn. Essential questions help students focus on what they are learning. Asking students to respond to essential questions at the end of the lesson is a way to summarize their learning and demonstrate understanding.
Wiggins & McTight (2013) write that there are three connotations of the term “essential” in essential questions:
Essential refers to important and timeless. How one answers the question may change over time because they are arguable and may be approached from multiple perspectives.
Essential refers to elemental or foundational. Essential questions should point to the big ideas and key concepts of a discipline.
Essential refers to vital or necessary for understanding. Essential questions should be aimed at learning core content and help students make sense of the subject.
Resources to Learn More
What Makes a Question Essential? - Wiggins & McTighe
Big Ideas & Essential Questions - Larry Ainsworth