Improving Classroom
Questions in
Mathematics
Title I Directors’ Meeting
October 4, 2010
Morgantown
How Could AskingWhat does Socrates have
Questions Lead toto do with all of this?
Wasn’t he forced to
Higher-Level
drink hemlock?
When is the best
time to ask
a
Thinking?
Isn’t hemlock poisonous?
question?
What might be the
danger in using
questioning as an
instructional strategy
– or is there any?
John Ford, Title I Mathematics Coordinator
There are 10 types of
people in the world.
Those who
understand binary
and those who don’t.
An exercise in using questioning to
teach about the binary number system
based on the work of Rick Garlikov.
http://www.garlikov.com/Soc_Meth.html
What Was Being
Asked?
R
E
C
A
L
L
TO
HT
I H
E
NR
K
I T
H
NA
GN
{
R
E
C
A
L
L
• Content (yes/no) questions – one
right answer
 “What are words made of?”
 “How many letters in the English Alphabet?”
 “How many numerals do we use?”
• Questions with more than one
correct answer
{
 “Who can write 10 another way?”
 “Why do you think we have 10 numerals?”
 “How can you show ‘55’ with your fingers?”
Learning begins with
Questioning
• Socrates 469 – 369 B.C.E.
• Children’s Thinking - David Russell, 1956
• Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
- Benjamin Bloom, 1956
• Classroom Questions: What Kinds?
- Norris M. Sanders, 1966
• Teaching Strategies and Cognitive Functioning in
Elementary School Children - Hilda Taba, 1966
• Teacher Effectiveness Training
- Thomas Gordon, 1974
• Involving Students in Questioning
- Francis P. Huskins, 1976
• Improving Classroom Questions
- Kenneth R. Chuska, 1995 and 2003
Planning Lessons Planning Questions
• Integral to lesson planning
should be question planning
• Questions should be
open-ended
• Question selection should consider
students’ knowledge and allow for
personal input
Six Motivation
Strategies
• Ask Fewer Questions
Six Motivation
Strategies
• Ask Fewer Questions
• Provide Time for Answers
Six Motivation
Strategies
• Ask Fewer Questions
• Provide Time for Answers
• Pay Attention to the Student
Six Motivation
Strategies
• Ask Fewer Questions
• Provide Time for Answers
• Pay Attention to the Student
• Less Talk
Six Motivation
Strategies
• Ask Fewer Questions
• Provide Time for Answers
• Pay Attention to the Student
• Less Talk
• Give Students Time to Write Answers
Six Motivation What does Socrates have
to do with all of this?
Strategies
• Ask Fewer
Wasn’t he forced to
Questionsdrink hemlock?
Isn’t hemlock poisonous?
• Provide Time for Answers
What might be the
in using
• Paydanger
Attention
to the Student
questioning as an
• Less
Talk
instructional
strategy
– or is there any?
• Give Students Time to Write Answers
• Activate Background Knowledge
Six Motivation
Strategies
• Ask Fewer Questions
• Provide Time for Answers
• Pay Attention to the Student
• Less Talk
• Give Students Time to Write Answers
• Activate Background Knowledge
Components for
Effective Questioning
Components for
Effective Questioning
• An Issue, Problem or
Challenge
Components for
Effective Questioning
• An Issue, Problem or
Challenge
• Real-World Reference Points
Components for
Effective Questioning
• An Issue, Problem or
Challenge
• Real-World Reference Points
• An Appropriate Approach
Components for
Effective Questioning
• An Issue, Problem or
Challenge
• Real-World Reference Points
• An Appropriate Approach
• A Reasoning Goal
Designing Questions
• What gives rise to the
question?
– Origin, Purpose, or Reason
– From what sources does the
question arise?
Designing Questions
• What gives rise to the
question?
• How is the question framed?
- How does the teacher determine which
questions and in what order?
- What criteria should the question meet?
- How might students approach
answering it?
Designing Questions
• What gives rise to the
question?
• How is the question framed?
• What answer is anticipated?
- What kinds of responses might
students make?
- How will the teacher treat the student
responses?
- What follow-up questions might the
teacher or students ask?
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
When is the best
time to ask a
question?
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins










To Motivate
To Promote Student Goal Setting
To Determine Readiness
To Stimulate Thinking
To Convey Purpose
To Create a Positive Learning Atmosphere
To Discern Student Interest or Knowledge
To Activate Background Knowledge
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins










To Motivate
To Promote Student Goal Setting
To Determine Readiness
To Stimulate Thinking
To Convey Purpose
To Create a Positive Learning Atmosphere
To Discern Student Interest or Knowledge
To Activate Background Knowledge
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
The “Big Four” Questions
1. What do you know you know about
the topic?
2. What do you think you know about the
topic?
3. What do you want to know?
4. What do you feel or believe about an
issue or problem?
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
Timing
- Two to three days prior to the beginning
of a unit in the primary grades
- Two to three weeks in advance for
grades four and up
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
• During the Lessons
- Analyzing and Critiquing
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
• During the Lessons
- Analyzing and Critiquing
- Anticipating Outcomes
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
• During the Lessons
- Analyzing and Critiquing
- Anticipating Outcomes
- Summarizing
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
• During the Lessons
-
Analyzing and Critiquing
Anticipating Outcomes
Summarizing
Detecting Bias and Examining
Viewpoints
When Should a
Question Be Asked?
• Before Study Begins
• During the Lessons
• After the Lesson
- To summarize
- To reflect on what was learned
- To draw conclusions
- To synthesize information with former
learning
- To extend students’ learning
One Last Question
An example from:
“Number Talks: Helping Children
Build Mental Math and
Computational Strategies”
by Sherry Parrish
18
2 11
///
328
- 69
259
?
Contact Information:
John Ford
Title I Mathematics Coordinator
jford@access.k12.wv.us
(304) 558-7805 ext. 53349