Categorizing mathematics teachers’ questioning: The demands and contributions of teachers’ questions

• Published in: International journal of educational research 2020, Vol.104, p.101690, Article 101690
• Main Authors: DeJarnette, Anna F., Wilke, Edana, Hord, Casey
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classroom discourse; Literature review; Teacher education; Teacher questioning
• ISSN: 0883-0355; 1873-538X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101690

•Math teachers’ questions are categorized according to their mathematical demand.•Question categories can be higher versus lower-order, or include more nuance.•Lower-order questions sometimes serve purposes for social scaffolding.•Higher order and probing questions expand students’ mathematical knowledge.•There is a need to better understand teachers’ purposes for different questions. We conducted a review of literature to answer the following research questions: (1) What types of questions do teachers pose in mathematical discussions? (2) What evidence exists of the effects of different types of questioning on students’ learning and participation? (3) What are the implications of existing research for teacher preparation? Existing literature can broadly be categorized according to studies that distinguish between higher order and lower order questioning, studies that characterize and distinguish probing questions, and studies that address teacher questioning in technology-rich environments. The demands of different types of questions need to be considered in light of the broader contributions that such questions make to students’ mathematical learning.