0.2 A summary of principles  (Page 4/5)

How does this product relate to the developmental needs and interests of students?

How does this focus on a central, real-world issue or problem?

How can students document production, perception, and reflection - creating footprints along the way?

Assessment

How will you know what students know?

What types of authentic and alternative assessments will you use?

What criteria will be used for assessing students' products?

What work will students be able to include in a portfolio?

Schedule

How will you use the block of time most effectively?

How might you creatively group students to learn?

How might you optimize students' and teachers' use of time?

Lesson Plans

What will students do to learn?

What resources will you use?

How are these lessons related to students' interests?

How are these lessons related to students' needs?

What questions will you ask?

Strategies for asking good questions

Organize and prioritize your units of study and courses around questions . Make the "content" of the course the answers to those questions. If you could design the entire coursearound a question or questions, you might be surprised at what happens.

Below, you will find a synthesis of research on how curriculum designed around questions creates a learning environment that lasts, and encouragesinquiry , rather than rote learning:

• Use a reasonable number of questions (2-5) per unit of study.
• Analyze the questions to avoid repeating them.
• Make them open-ended and alive so that "yes" or "no" answers are avoided.
• Derive your lessons from how and where students gain their answers.
• Sequence your questions so that one naturally leads to another.
• Post questions around your classroom so that everyone is reminded of them.
• Make certain that students' notebooks address the central questions.
• Ask students to provide ideas, notes, physical objects that help them during the process of answering the questions.
• Make certain that you provide time to ask and address questions so that students know that questions are central. Please be mindful ofstudent age, experience, and other factors so that you don't expect too much or too little.
• Provide instructions that demonstrate what a solid answer looks like - not the answer itself - but the quality of the scholarship andinquiry.
• Share your questions with the faculty at your school and celebrate the questions and responses of your students.

Assignment 2: the power of questions

For the Certificate of Teaching Mastery, we have already started a Question Wall - a place where our entire community of Learners can make their questions visible.

To see our Question Wall at the TWB Learning Cafe , click here .

Now, it is time to create a personal Question Wall. You can do this on a sheet of paper - either typing the questions or writing them out by hand. Thispersonal Question Wall is for your eyes only, and it is does not have to be related to the field of education. The instructions are listed below, andthe process can be an on-going gift to yourself.