Thought Provoking Questions in the 21st Century...

Thought provoking questions are not as common in a math class as it may be in a language or history class. Math classes usually involve solving problems and then solving more problems. Rarely, do students get a chance to talk about math or even read about math.

If we think about it, this 21st generation is one where knowledge is a just click away. Why then, are students limited in math class to mostly learn sets of rules, methods, or procedures to solve math problems and little more?  For instance, my son became so fast at multiplication in the 3rd grade that he decided all math learning should be that fast and then he could play for the rest of the day. Now, he is in the sixth grade and we are still trying to reverse this concept he has. I would think that there are many other students out there with the same feeling about math. In other words, hurry up and get it over with. How many students want to sit around and think about math for a while? We have been taught that the faster you can do math, the better. Even our timed standardized tests reinforce this idea. Don't get me wrong. Students should know certain math facts, such as multiplication, like the backs of their hands. However, there needs to be a balance there.

So what about word problems? Is this enough to slow us down to think about math a little deeper? Well, possibly...but most students do NOT enjoy word problems and often try to avoid them or they try to learn the procedures to solve them quickly. Either way, typical word problems hardly ever provoke students to think about math in a creative way.

How can math teachers or parents help students make the transition to slow down and think about all of these steps, procedures, and rules they have memorized in their mathematical careers? There is no easy answer for this, but we could start by asking thought provoking questions to math students from elementary school age and throughout their education. Thought provoking questions are questions that challenge students, NOT intimidate them. In other words, teachers could ask students questions that activate prior knowledge. Suppose an algebra class had just finished a unit on adding polynomials. Now, students have recent prior knowledge. The next unit is on multiplying polynomials. Teachers could begin this unit with thought provoking questions based on the knowledge from adding polynomials, but applying that knowledge to a new concept.

So what makes a question thought provoking? Well, as I stated earlier, it is NOT the standard word problem. The Art of Asking Thought Provoking Questions in the Mathematics Classroom by Keith Wayland gives numerous examples of how teacher can begin to restructure their questions in a math class to encourage students to think a little deeper about math problems. Teachers should even anticipate the mistakes students may make and integrate that into the question. I found this article made me think deeper about the types of questions we ask students and why it is important to support a different way of teaching math. We need to challenge students to slow down and think for some math problems and this means we, teachers, need to slow down and give them time to think.