TL:DR: Questions about math in discussions matter. Reflect on the types of questions you’re asking. Ask open, not leading questions that instead focus students attention toward the math. Stay in the facilitator role- always talk less and listen more. Allow the power of your students words and ideas lead the discussion.
Estimate Time to Read: 9 minutes
Prefer to Listen? Find this content in Episode 17 of Honest Math Chat
What questions should I ask in the math discussion to engage all my students?
Questions about math are definitely important in math discussions. The questions we ask can either leave students in the drivers seat– doing the deep math thinking, driving the conversation, and investigating their questions. Or questions about math in discussions can focus on pushing students toward the one preferred wya of solving, force students to move faster than they are conceptually ready to, and reinforce bad habits like follow procedures without understanding.
Although your questions in the discussion matter a lot… so do the conditions you set up for the math discussions. So first, start by reflecting on your math classroom community.
Check out this article about math classroom community & this podcast episode.
Ramping up your Questions about Math in Discussions
#1 Check your Types of Questions
Often, teachers ask a question, student answers, and then the teacher evaluates if the answer is correct or not. This is not a discussion.
This is what research calls the “Initiate-Response-Evaluate IRE pattern”. This is usually a quick process. A few seconds for the student to respond and even less seconds to decide if they are correct or not. There is no think time in this situation.
This type of questioning positions the teacher as the evaluator instead of the facilitator of the discussion.
In the book Principles to Action, the authors talk about two other types of questioning- Funneling and Focusing.
Funneling questions lead students toward a specific idea. Think of a funnel. The wide opening is where students enter with various thoughts, approaches, and methods. Then, through questioning (funneling questions) teachers narrow the students understanding to the bottom small opening where there is one right answer. This approach doesn’t allow students to make their own connections and form ideas of what makes sense, but instead the teacher decides what or how the math should be done and helps students get to the right answer through the use of funneling questions.
We do this all the time. In many classrooms this is what teachers see as their job. I mean, weren’t we taught as teachers to help students? To help students get to the correct answer even though they all may be at different levels of understanding? We differentiate, we give support, and we help kids arrive at the right way of doing things?
Here’s the deal. No.
It’s not our job to make things easier. It is our job to help our students learn the skills to grapple through challenges. Teach them how to use different strategies and try different things until they find a pathway to a solution. It is not our job to show students the wide spread, agreed upon strategies and models. Instead, it is our job to support our students in building an understanding, communicate their ideas, and use evidence to support their reasoning.
So, let’s talk about what can help us do 👆🏾all that.
Focusing questions can help us do that.
Focusing questions attend to our students’ thinking and they encourage students to fully explain themselves. Focusing questions can be used to help students understand the math task and nudge students toward the key understandings that the task lends itself to. Focusing questions help teachers stay in the facilitator role.
#2 The Types of Questions to Ask
Use open ended questions that focus students attention.
Think about what you’re asking (or about to ask) and think “Is this leading my students in a particular direction?” If yes, then don’t ask that. Ask your questions in a way that doesn’t suggest a correct path, but instead focuses your students’ attention onto a specific part of a model or strategy. Maybe your question can suggest students focus on comparing two methods, or find patterns.
Consider if your questions are trying to gather more information about your students’ thinking. The main job of the facilitator in a math discussion is to figure out what student understand at the present moment, and then move them to consider the next step along the trajectory.
Choose questions that help students discuss what they know. You can build on what they know by using prompts that ask them to describe their thinking. When students describe their math thinking in a discussion it helps others think about the math in a different way, it also helps the speaker more fully understand their own approach.
Questions in the discussion should be purposeful, but not leading toward one strategy. Instead, purposefully responding to students’ thinking and purposefully pointing students toward patterns, comparisons, or math concepts to be uncovered. These questions should build on what your students know and push toward deeper understanding.
If you’re looking for a quick reference for questions to ask you need this guide. 2 pages of printable prompts and teacher moves to facilitate meaningful discussions that engage every learner.
#3 Stay in the facilitator role.
The goal is for your students thinking and their words are leading this discussion. The questions should build on what they are saying in the discussion.
For example if your learning target for the task is about addition of fractions using common denominators, but students are sharing and debating about if the fractions are equivalent… then, the discussion has to start there. It doesn’t make sense in this situation to start asking a question like, “What operation is this problem asking us to do with these fractions?”
Instead, you probably want to ask students to further explain their thinking and justify their reasoning using evidence from the models about equivalence.
Knowing the standards and the math deeply comes into play big here. You have to know the progression of math understanding so that you can help your students through linking what they know and can do with where they need to go next.
Questions about Math Really Need To…
Student centered learning and math discussions are all about allowing students to do the exploring, tinkering, and figuring out. Guided by a skilled and purposeful facilitator that nudges students to make meaning and synthesize. Resist the urge to step in and explain or “just show you this one thing”. The power is in the children’s voice. Let them explain, let them struggle to explain, ask the right question and see them work together to develop clarity.
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