Effective Use of Questioning Techniques for Mathematics Classroom Instructions

Abstract

Questioning techniques have long been used as a teaching tool by teachers to assess students’ knowledge, promote comprehension, and stimulate critical thinking. Well-crafted questions and the effective use of questioning lead to new insights, generate discussion, and promote the comprehension exploration of subject matter. In contrast, poorly constructed questions can stifle learning by creating confusion, intimidating students, and limiting creative thinking. Teachers most often ask lower-order, convergent questions that rely on students’ factual recall of prior knowledge rather than asking higher-order, Socratic and divergent questions that promote deep thinking, requiring students to analyze and evaluate concepts. This is an opinion paper that summarizes the taxonomy of questions, provides strategies for formulating effective questions, to enhance students’ engagement and promote critical thinking. These concepts can be applied in the classroom and in experiential learning environments.