Assessing Questions

1. An essential question is NOT a question that can be answered with a "yes" or "no,"

2. It is NOT a question that can be answered quickly or through information retrieval by means of a Google search.

3. It is NOT a blurry or overly abstract question.

1. An essential question IS a question that guides inquiry as a problem to be solved.

2. It IS a question that will give inquiry a frame, a focus, and an immediate context of use.

3. It IS clear and concise.

4. It IS a question that has no single "right" answer but does have justifiable answers.

5. It IS a question that tells us as questioners - and our fellow learners/audience - what a project will address.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey. "Learning to Love the Questions: How Essential Questions Promote Creativity and Deep Learning." Knowledge Quest 42.5 (2014): 36-39. Print.

Used with permission.