Teachers’ Questioning to Elicit Students’ Mathematical Ideas in Problem Solving Classroom

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the teachers’ questioning to elicit students’ mathematical ideas in problem solving classroom. It's qualitative research. The target group consisted of a lesson study team comprising five people and a total of eleven fifth-grade students studying in semester 1/2021 at Ban Bueng Niam Bueng Khianun Tha Hin school, Khon Kaen. The data collection was using lesson plans, filed note and Messenger application. The collected data was analyzed by NCTM and Isoda & Katagiri framework.
The study found that: teachers’ questioning to elicit students’ mathematical ideas as follows 1) Gathering information questions led students to review their background knowledge, prompting them to gather information pertaining to ideas of decimal units to form the basis of the solution to the problems they faced, and in some instances they drew on ideas of sets which is about multiplying decimals to solve problems concerning groups. 2) Probing thinking questions elicited the students’ ideas of decimal units, representation of decimal multiplications, operation of decimal multiplications and algorithm of decimal multiplications in solving the problems they faced. 3) Encouraging reflection and justification questions stimulated the students to explain their ideas of decimal units, representation of decimal multiplications, operation of decimal multiplications and algorithm of decimal multiplications arising from the problem solving on their own, understand and argue ideas correctness. 4) making the mathematics visible questions prompted students to discuss ideas of algorithms. These findings can be used to develop learning tools for future lessons.