Response to John Mason's Article: Questioning in Math Education

1. Do Mason's ideas might connect with inquiry-based learning in secondary school mathematics? (Why or why not?)

From reading through the article, I do think that Mason's ideas on math teaching can connect with inquiry-based learning in secondary school mathematics. Because high schools can be quite challenging and even competitive for some students as they are wanting to get through each grade and to be able to graduate on time, students can often feel pressured into knowing everything that's being asked, or feel overwhelmed with the expectations from their math teachers. With Mason's teaching strategies, teachers are not seen as an authoritative figure that's standing in front of the classroom. Rather, they are seen as someone who really value the opinions and questions of students, who care for student learning, and who respect students without having them to feel excluded of being incapable to think beyond their abilities or doubt. These forms of math teaching allow students to think and inquire for themselves while actively collaborating with their teachers and classmates.


2. How might Mason's ideas about questions in math class be incorporated into your unit planning for your long practicum?

Mason's ideas about questions in math class can be incorporated into my unit planning through giving students more time to ask questions continuously through the lesson. If I give a word problem during my lesson that students can work on to reinforce the content, I can ask students to work on their own first, then pool their answers together regardless if they are right or wrong, instead of telling them the answer right away or instead of telling them that these are wrong answers. I can then work through the problem step by step, so students can keep track of what they did and compare it with my solution (as if I were also a student). I can also ask the students to come up to the board and ask them to solve it step by step. Even if we made a mistake, we will know that it's okay and so we try again to find the right answer, to become "stuck then unstuck" (Mason) allows students to see that there are possibilities to get to the right answer from where they are.