Essential questions are open-ended—relevant to academia, students’ lives and the world beyond school—expressed in student-friendly language. They encourage diverse thinking and further inquiry.

Essential questions can come from students or teachers, can be created at the start of a project or later in the planning processes, and can be revised and revisited. Essential questions often appear simple, but encourage multidisciplinary thinking, deep inquiry, rigorous reflection, and even differing conclusions as students explore alternative answers.