Questions and answers in the Key Stage 2 classroom: what happens in between?

Ali Stone is Teacher of Year 4 at The Perse Prep School.  Ali is conducting her research as part of the Perse Research Award scheme.  She wanted to investigate how to structure questioning in lessons to give the greatest learning opportunities to the greatest number of pupils, with a view to determining the most appropriate Assessment for Learning (AfL) strategies for her classroom.

“Questioning plays an important role in teaching and learning. Effective questioning can be a very beneficial tool in helping pupils to progress and reflect on their own understanding and learning, in different ways. Furthermore, questioning enables teachers to check learners’ understanding. I would like to explore the value of self-reflection and peer-reflection in relation to teacher questioning as this plays a very relevant role in learning and the training of teachers today, relating to Assessment for Learning.”