Math Justice League Blog

Dear Math Justice Superheroes, 

I used to ask my students “How’s it going?” while they were grappling with math problems. However, the question I asked did not elicit an explanation of the rich mathematical thinking I suspected was informing their problem-solving strategies. For this reason, I began to experiment with my questioning approach. I discovered that to foster a learning experience that builds on student thinking, I needed to ask questions that: 

1. Elicit a student’s mathematical process and help me assess their understanding

2. Build on a student’s understanding and advancing them toward achieving the learning target

I developed a consistent routine, beginning with asking students “How do you know ___ ?”. Deciding what to do or say next depends on a student’s response. I might need to seek further information to better understand their thinking, or I might have enough insight to pose an advancing question. Advancing questions support them to draw upon their current thoughts and make progress toward the lesson's learning goals. 

In addition to supporting individual students, the questioning process also helps me select student thinking that will be fruitful for the class to examine during the lesson discourse and synthesis. Are you curious about what this sounds like? Check out this transcript of a recent conversation with a student.

Asking assessing and advancing questions has shifted the culture of my math classroom, creating a learning experience driven by students’ math representations, reasoning, and conjectures. How might you bring awareness to the types of questions you ask students in the New Year? What happens when you try asking, “How do you know ___?” 

In Crew, 

Claire Adams