In education, teachers often create Essential Questions to help students connect with their learning. The idea of letting these type of questions guide learning is not a new one to me. However, a friend of mine shared the idea of Favorite Problems. They are similar to Essential Questions, but rather than focus on a specific curricular topic Favorite Problems focus on a lifelong desire to learn.
Tiago Forte breaks down Feynman’s Favorite Problems and defines them as, “a concrete set of questions you rely on both to filter the information you consume and to connect the dots between challenges and potential solutions.”
The idea being to create a set of questions surrounding things you are passionate about and when you learn something new, see if it corresponds to any of the questions.
In terms of how I plan to use them, I am working on a set of Favorite Problems that include both personal passions and the things I am passionate about in education/work. I enjoy learning, and including both personal and professional passions increases my chances of finding answers and connections for my Favorite Problems.
I definitely believe the best teachers are also continuous learners. As leaders, how can we support teachers in creating Favorite Problems in order to create a culture of learners? Additionally, once teachers create their Favorite Problems, how can we build in time to pursue answers and make connections beyond required professional learning?
Doing this as an educator is a perfect way to model the idea for students. As teachers, how do we help students in the same manner? How do we build in a way for students to connect their Favorite Problems to the Essential Questions we create for learning?
In the end, not only could this lead to a love of learning throughout a lifetime, it could also help condition our minds to be curious and open to a variety of ideas.
An Educational Cup of Tea 