Chapters International

A good essential question serves as a doorway for engaging student inquiry, helps teachers in “uncover” the big ideas of the curriculum, and lead students to deeper understanding. In this session, we will examine key ideas from the best-selling book, Essential Questions:Opening Doorways to Student Understanding (McTighe and Wiggins, 2013). We’ll explore a number of critical questions including:If the content represents the “answers”, then what were the questions that led to that content knowledge in the first place? How do we “uncover” the key ideas within a Standard or a topic, not just skim (cover) the surface? How can a classroom culture best support student engagement and inquiry?

Jay McTighe

Jay McTighe is a veteran educator, having served as a teacher, resource specialist, program coordinator, director of a state program for gifted students, and administrator for innovative programs at the Maryland Department of Education. He is an accomplished author, having co-authored 18 books, including the award-winning and best-selling Understanding by Design® series with Grant Wiggins. His books have been translated into fourteen languages. Jay has also written more than 50 book chapters, articles and blogs, and is a regular speaker at state, national and international conferences. He has made presentations in 47 states within the United States, in 7 Canadian provinces, and internationally in 38 countries on six continents