Cathy: In my current role as consultant, how do I help teachers become aware of this interaction between the tasks and learning how to question and the effect of these questions on the task? How can this be shared with others? Can it be taught and practiced?

My sense, after consulting for the last few months, is that, a) it can be taught but b) it’s easier to model and c) practicing it is tricky.

The very first thing we do in my workshops is work through a math problem where I model the WCYDWT questioning process. Then we debrief that experience.

As for practice, one of my favorite sessions at NCSM last year was titled, “Coaching Teachers to Ask Questions That Provide Just Enough Help to Move Students Forward” (seriously, how great is that title?) by Denisse Thompson and Charlene Beckman, where we tried to come up with incorrect student reasoning to problems and practice asking questions that would nudge them toward understanding.

My question, currently, is: can it be taught and practiced online, asynchronously? It would be great to be at a place where any random teacher anywhere in the world could dedicate an hour to practice hitting the balance between too helpful and not helpful enough.

Tim, good word there. I like that metaphor.

I’m also reminded of the old, 80s distinction between a problem — where when you start you can’t see your way to the end — and an exercise, where you’re applying skills. DLB is asking us not to convert problems to exercises through well-meaning intervention.

(Long paragraph, I’ll try and be more brief!)

I am currently looking at how to support teachers in “training” their pupils to work on open, unstructured problems, perhaps collaboratively. I feel that independent problem-solving can be taught and practised.

I’ve started off with identifying different skills and strategies for working in this manner in maths. I’m summarising these on a Learning Mat for pupils’ desks and will encourage teachers to choose one facet and make this an explicit Learning Objective for the lesson they teach. In this way I hope that students are aware of the techniques involved and gradually their repertoire of skills will increase.