topic, essential question, and unit question

Topic

You need to choose a topic for your unit portfolio.  The topic is what you will teach to K-12 students.  It is a topic that should fit K-12 school curriculum.  You should choose a topic you are interested in teaching and have passion for since you will need to complete numerous projects centering on this topic.

Essential Question

An essential question:

·        An essential question is broad

·        An essential question does not have one correct answer

·        An essential question is interdisciplinary.

e.g. What are essentials of economy?

This essential question is broad.  What are essentials of economy?   Economy is a broad topic.  It relates to government policies, culture, political systems, markets, labors, capitals, and resources.

This question does not have one correct answer.  It does not seek a definite answer.  It sets a boundary and scope where in you explore and research on related issues.

This essential question is interdisciplinary.

·        Students in the class of social studies can research on factors that facilitate or hinder the development of economy

·        Students in the math class can study the mutual impact of economy and stock markets.  They can create charts and graphs of the stock market to predict the trend and development of economy.

·        Students in the language class can write essays arguing that governments should/should not regulate markets.

Unit Question

§  Unit questions support the essential question.

§  Unit questions deal with  particular aspects of the essential question.

§  Unit questions are more specific.

e.g. Essential question: What are essentials of economy?

 

Unti questions: 

• How does a government policy affect the economy?
• Should the economy be market driven?
• Does a war destroy or boost economy?

·     These unit question support the essential question.  If the essential question is about economy, the unit questions should be about economy.  It cannot be about rainforests, for example.

·     These unit questions deal with particular aspects of the essential question.  All these unit questions deal with particular aspects of economy.

• How does a government policy affect the economy?
• Should the economy be market driven?
• Does a war destroy or boost economy?

• 
  

·        These unit question are more specific.  See above examples.

 

 

 

 

Welcome

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to EDT 610. I am Yu-mei Wang, the instructor of the course. The course is ready on Blackboard. Please view the course and let me know the questions you have.

Although it is an online class, I am available for a face-to-face meeting every week at 2:00 pm. If you would like to seek help from me, you can e-mail me and I'll be meeting you down in the lab 149D on the first floor in the education building.

I would also like to schedule a webinar (video conference) this Thursday at 7:00 pm. I'll present an overview of the course during the webinar and answer any questions you have about the course. You will receive an invitation through e-mail that contains a link. You can click the link and attend the webinar. If you need any help, please let me know. I will offer webinars throughout the semester whenever there is a need from students.

There is also an virtual office available on Blackboard, you can post your questions there. If you would like to e-mail me about your questions, you can do so. Your e-mail will be answered as soon as possible.

For the work of this week, please access Blackboard and view the course. Get familiar with Blackboard. Post an e-mail to introduce yourself and complete an online computer skill survey. The survey is anonymous. The record will only show that you have completed the survey and will not associate you in any way with the content of the survey.

This post will also appear in my blog - Teacher's Blog. The blog is available on Blackboard.

Have a good semester,

Yu-mei W.