Tatum Middle School Library

What is worth knowing? This is one of the primary components of the PLC concept. Although the TEKS give framework, there is quite a bit of leeway allowed for individual teacher interpretation. Our scope and sequence give us a more concrete framework, but is this enough?

Some schools have attempted to address the issue of what students should learn by collaborating on school-wide essential questions. You can learn more about what essential questions are and find examples of these at the following web sites:

Asking Essential Questions
Creating Essential Questions
Writing Essential Questions
The Questioning Tool Kit

Read and think about the ideas expressed in the Coalition of Essential Schools common principles. More information on the essential schools movement may be found at Change Lab. Finally, as Joyce Valenza says, technology can make it "easy for students to take it easy. Teachers need to challenge them to think and analyze." Read more about the importance of challenging questions when it comes to integrating technology in her article, For the Best Answers, Ask Tough Questions.

Research shows that teachers aren't the only ones who should be doing the questioning. Allowing students to guide their learning by creating and seeking to answer their own questions adds meaning and motivation to their work. The questioning phase is a vital component of authentic research as well. Helping students develop questions also encourages the natural curiosity necessary for life-long learning. Some excellent resources to help include Filling the Toolbox, Classroom Strategies to Engender Student Questioning . To help students generate questions that focus research projects, have them complete think tank .