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Asking the Right question, at the right time, in the right way.
In this presentation I would like to highlight the importance of a mathematics teacher
using effective questioning techniques to promote conceptual understanding in the
classroom.
With the faithful implementation of the Common Core State Standards of Mathematics,
the typical mathematics teacher is faced with the need to shift instructional practices
in ways that allow students to gain conceptual understanding
in addition to the procedural fluency we have placed so much emphasis on
in our K-14 mathematics classrooms.
When teachers carefully design their questions, they can promote creative, thoughtful, and
strategic thinking. This is the kind of thinking that is needed
for students to construct their own understanding of concepts.
When students are encouraged to discuss their ideas with one another in the classroom,
they are able to make connections and extend their thinking.
It is the responsibility of the teacher to ask the right kinds of questions that promote
student thinking and then masterfully facilitate classroom discussions to strategically highlight
the thinking.
But how do we consistently formulate those "good" questions
to be able to facilitate the meaningful class discussions we want?
Let's review the role and purpose of a quality discussion of mathematics.
There are 4 main goals;
The first goal is to foster conceptual understanding of mathematical concepts
to ensure students understand how mathematics works
and how it can be used as a tool to model the real world.
The second goal is to value what students already know and understand and allow them
to construct their own understanding and
problem solving methods of key ideas.
The third goal is to capitalize on the natural learning process
of making mistakes and developing misconceptions and celebrate them as learning sites for everyone
in the class.
The fourth goal is to reinforce learning through the process of communication.
As language is used to communicate thought, ideas get clarified and are made available
for public scrutiny, which allows for misconceptions to be cleared
up.
Asking good questions and facilitating classroom conversations
will promote "productive talk" in our classrooms and allow these goals to be met.
There are five moves a teacher can make to promote productive talk in the classroom.
The first talk move is called Reasoning. When a teacher promotes reasoning in the conversation,
she asks questions to get students to state their own reasoning,
listen to the reasoning of others, and apply their own reasoning to that of the
others.
The second talk move is called Restating. A teacher can ask questions that get students
to restate their own reasoning in different words,
and/or restate the reasoning of others in their own words.
The third talk move is called Revoicing. Revoicing is different than restating.
A teacher can ask questions to help students clarify and provide language for what they
are thinking. However, when revoicing, teachers need to
be careful not to misinterpret a students'
thinking as it can potentially cause more confusion.
The fourth talk move is called Waiting. Often, this kind of questioning is really
a prompt the teacher provides when she wants all students
to take time to think about something that will generate more ideas for the discussion.
The fifth talk move is called Prompting. When a teacher uses prompting questions,
she is aiming to increase the participation of some students,
or generate responses to the group thinking at a pivotal point in the conversation.
Knowing the five talk moves is very helpful for teachers who are trying to implement
meaningful conversations in their classrooms. However, knowing WHEN to ask these questions
is even more important. Here are some helpful tips:
Get to know how your particular students think and what current understandings they
have.
Anticipate common misconceptions and any that your particular students' will
have.
Keep your eye on the prize and stay focused on the purpose of the current
lesson.
Listen very carefully to what your students are REALLY saying
and not what you think they are saying.
Understand the linguistic abilities of your students
and be ready to provide linguistic scaffolds they may need to keep up with the
thinking and reasoning of the discussions.
Classroom discussions that promote productive talk
and rigorous meaning making, are not accidental. Teachers plan for these conversations to happen
by crafting the questions to be asked before the lesson even begins.
I'd like to say that if you are a teacher who is hesitant to facilitate such classroom
discussions because of the fear of losing control in your
class, it is better to be honest with the students
and tell them you are experimenting with a new technique that will help them learn
concepts and then give it a whirl,
than it is to not try at all. There is too much evidence now
that supports the idea that talk helps learning.