What’s that number? Questioning learners in early childhood Mathematics contexts

Abstract

Research on teachers teaching Mathematics indicates that the characteristics of questioning determine the extent that learners are provided with opportunities to participate actively in their learning and construct Mathematical meaning. This presentation explores four characteristics of questioning influential to teaching and learning in early childhood Mathematics: post question wait-time; vague or ambiguous questioning; and questioning and prompting. These characteristics evolved from case studies of four teachers of Mathematics Recovery. The analysis of the teaching sessions focussed on teaching and specifically, on interaction between teacher and student. This presentation will provide excerpts of one-to-one teaching to elaborate the effects of the characteristics. These excerpts will serve as a vehicle for discussion on how to support a diverse range of early learners of Mathematics through effective questioning. It will be argued that in one-to-one Mathematics contexts in early childhood, the teacher should be continually fine-tuning and micro-adapting their teaching but not necessarily reducing the challenge to the child, thus ensuring that the diversity of learners’ needs are met.