4. Strategy: Essential Questions/Questioning
Essential questions (EQs) express concepts or skills
in question form to guide lesson development.
Questioning engages students’ thought processes in
order to deepen student learning.
5. Focuses the lesson for teacher and students
Increases and improves student’s cognitive
ability
Models good question stems for students
Differentiates expectations based on questioning
Fosters natural curiosity
Why is this Strategy Critical to
Student Achievement?
6. Focus on important learning in the lesson with the EQ
Create an EQ that supports the level of desired learning
Avoid yes/no and definition type EQs
Post/verbalize the EQ at the beginning of the lesson
Utilize the EQ throughout the lesson for distributed
summarization
Use the EQ to determine level of student understanding
Use Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised) for deeper learning
Use assessment prompts throughout the lesson
Allow for wait time
How do We Effectively Use EQs /
Questioning?
7. Activity
Share your essential question with your partner
Answer the following:
What is the focus of the lesson?
Does the answer to the question show mastery of a
skill/concept?
Does it require higher level thinking skills to answer? If so,
what skill?
8. Monthly Goal
•Review your Use of EQs
-Do your EQs challenge students?
-Do you utilize EQs throughout the lesson?
•Evaluate your Questioning Practices
-Do you utilize all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy?
-Do you scaffold questioning to assist students?
-Do you utilize cues to increase thinking?
-Do you allow sufficient wait time?
