Asking Good Questions for Inquiry Based Learning

• Inquiry based teaching is being promoted in Western Canada’s new mathematics curriculum.

• The objective is to help students develop a deep understanding of mathematics and mathematical thinking.

Professors Paul Black and Dylan William of Kings College, London (1998) suggest there are only TWO legitimate rationales for asking a student a mathematical question:

1. To get the student to think mathematically

(to PUSH student thinking forward).

2. To inform ourselves on how the student is thinking about the mathematics

(to PROBE how students are thinking).

Recommendation: We should be able to offer such a rational for every question we ask.

Sentence Starters for Questions

• Compare and contrast:

How are … alike? How are… different?

• Given a condition, predict forward:

What would happen if…?

Will this ever happen?

• Analyze a connection/relationship:

When will… be (larger, equal to, exactly twice..) compared to…?

When will… be as big (as small) as possible?

Explore… (done with a mathematical objective in mind)

Make a conjecture… (about something)

What do you notice about…?

Is it the same for…?

• Generalize/make conjectures:

When does… work?

Under what conditions does… behave this way?

Describe how to find…?

Is this always true?

• Justify/ prove mathematically

Why does… work? Will it always work?

• Consider assumptions inherent in the problem:

What will happen if the assumptions are changed?

…suppose the triangle is not a right triangle…?

• Interpret information, make/justify conclusions:

This … will make… happen because…

What does this tell you about….

Based on your exploration….