Which questions to ask in classroom talk in mathematics? Presentation and discussion of a questioning model.

Abstract

In this article, we focus on the questions posed in classroom talk in mathematics. Questions are shown to be of great importance of developing productive classroom conversations concerning developing the students’ mathematical thinking. With collaborations on questions with practitioners as a point of departure, we present different fields or areas for specific types of questions that can be posed, and connect these questions to other researchers’ question categories. Our focus is on the teacher’s intentions with the questions asked. We end up with a visual model with four dimensions and four fields or areas that comprise questions with different intentions. The fields can be seen as connected, and the model can function as an analytic tool for preparing, developing and analysing classroom talk in mathematics. We then present how the model can contribute to practice through presenting four examples from teaching in primary school. In the discussion of the model, we draw on experiences from trying out the model with seven teachers from different primary schools.