CONNECTIONS
Editorial
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS “Socrates himself said, ‘One thing only I know, and this is that I know nothing.’ … Any one question can be more explosive than a thousand answers.” Jostein Gaarder, Sophie’s World
American author James Thurber once reflected that he would “rather know some of the questions than all of the answers.” The best way to predict the future is to invent it now. To invent we must look for great questions; questions that lead us to new understanding and new inventions. Questioning is the art of learning. Learning to ask important questions is the best evidence of understanding there is, far surpassing the temporary feeling one gets when finding a ‘correct answer’. Over recent years the College staff have been challenged to shape essential questions – questions that seek to discover the understanding we hope all students gain from their time at ELTHAM College. This constant discussion of big and essential questions assists the staff to construct learning environments that reveal student understanding. When students autonomously make sense of, and transfer their learning, they will invent and engage
with learning at a much deeper and authentic level. Educators Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins outline the following six facets of understanding: the capacity to explain, interpret, apply, shift perspective, empathise and self-assess. All these attributes can serve as indicators of understanding. McTighe and Wiggins encourage teachers to be coaches of understanding, not mere purveyors of content knowledge, skill or activity. Teachers should always aim, and check for, successful meaning making and knowledge transfer by the learner. (Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins 2012) In this edition of Connections you will see how we are creating an environment, both within the classroom and outside the walls of conventional learning spaces, where our students are delving into ideas in a way that asks big questions and encourages deep understanding.
Mr Simon Le Plastrier Principal ELTHAM College
1