The questions you ask, and the way that you ask them, should reflect your purpose for asking a question in the first place. Think about the types of questions you might ask to:
- engage an inactive student in a lesson
- check whether a student has mastered a skill
- explore a student’s understanding of a strategy
- help a student explore a mathematical relationship or make connections
- build a sense of community within the group or class.
The form of question used influences the type of thinking needed to answer it. Closed questions imply that there is only one correct answer, often a single word. Open questions are used to elicit ideas, processes, and strategies and require a more considered response.
Read these closed versus open questions and reflect on the types of responses or thinking they require:
Do you understand how Mark solved the problem? versus How did Mark solve the problem?
Is this statement true? versus When is this statement true? Why?
Does anyone have any questions? versus What would be some good questions to ask?
Back to Resource 6: Building understanding through effective questioning and modelling