Artifact+6+Questioning+in+a+Mathematics+Classroom

= Artifact 6: Questioning in a Mathematics Classroom (TE 855) =



Program Standards: 3, 4, 5 Program Goals: 1, 2

This paper is the result of an action research project I did as part of TE 855. I had to investigate some way that mathematical reasoning was taught in my classroom (standard 4, goal 1). As my class often is structured in a way where I ask questions of students to develop their knowledge, I decided that would be a good area for me to investigate. I reviewed some literature on the subject of questioning in the math classroom and decided to look at two things: the types of questions I ask and the pattern my questioning takes. I did this mainly through anecdotal evidence but also had a colleague observe my class on an occasion.

This project allowed me to identify an area of my teaching that I wanted to improve and learn about ways I could improve it while still being comfortable with the way I was teaching (standards 3 and 5, goal 2). By looking at what I currently did in my classroom, I was able to identify that I value questioning as a way to connect concepts. That framed my review of the literature and the development of my data collection. When I first thought of studying my questioning, I did not know what to look at because I did not know all the intricacies of the topic or the way I could measure what I found. This is where the review of the literature helped. The articles cited in the paper gave me a topic and a framework for investigation. By carrying out the research, I was able to investigate a topic important to me in the context of my own classroom. This allowed me to see where I was in my questioning and compare that to where I wanted to be. It gave me a set of specific goals that I could use for professional growth in an area that I valued.

This paper and the reading and research that went into it helped me appreciate the complexity that decisions involving questions can have. Not only do I have to consider what questions to ask and what to expect from them, I need to consider how the sequencing of questions affects the lesson and how to follow student response to get to the desired content. This has made me much more cognizant of times in my teaching when I have been unsure of or unhappy with the direction the class has taken after a response. I have learned to look at the events and earlier instructional decision that led to that point rather than just at the specific response itself. In addition, this process helped me see the value of collecting data on areas of my practice that I frequently use and want to improve. Looking critically at what I am doing and having evidence to reflect on makes the reflection more meaningful and more likely to lead to more effective practice in the future.

Table of Contents

Artifact 5. Artifact Summary and Evidence. Artifact 7