Lori Voss-Schoonover

JCCC MATH 171

College Algebra

Questioning

Purpose/Focus:
Typically thought of as a discussion strategy, questioning can be useful for mathematics classrooms
when addressing word problems and real-world applications of mathematics subjects. As an example,
when covering the chapter on exponential and logarithmic functions, there are infinitely many
opportunities for applications. Varying questions helps students decide which type of function theyre
looking at and how to best address the question at hand.
Instructional Groupings
Whole Group
Homogeneous
Small Group
Heterogeneous
Peer Partners
Individual

Readiness

Student Learner Elements

Interest

Differentiation
Content
Process
Product

Learning Profile

Pre-Assessment:
To use this strategy, an instructor may choose a formal or informal pre-assessment before beginning a
lesson with questioning. Informal pre-assessment may be in the form of recognizing which students
prefer to remain quiet in the classroom or which students need an opportunity to complete the problem
before they are ready to talk about it. Formal pre-assessment includes determining the competency
with problems containing exponents and logarithms without the context of a word problem.
Results of This Lesson:
Students will KNOW (basic facts and essential information)
Examples of real-world problems that relate to exponents and logarithms
How to solve exponential and logarithmic problems
How the methods used in class relate to industry problem solving (less complex in the
classroom)
Students will UNDERSTAND (principles, generalizations, and big ideas)
The types of problems which are typically modeled by exponents
The types of problems which are typically modeled by logarithms
Why a certain method of solving is most appropriate for a problem, even though there are
multiple ways to solve.
Students will BE ABLE TO (essential skills, observable and measurable outcomes)
Decide how to address logarithmic and exponential word problems
Solve logarithmic and exponential word problems
Explain to other students how and why a method is preferred
If their field of study requires it, apply methods used in College Algebra to future courses

Differentiation Strategy:
When using the questioning strategy, instructors vary the types of questions posed based on student
readiness, interests, and learning styles. Instructors may create a list of questions to ask ahead of time,
generate questions according to student response, or a mix of these. Questions should vary in difficulty
according to the levels of Blooms Taxonomy with some questions targeted to those students who are
challenged by the basic subject and others focused on higher-order skills. When using this strategy,
instructors should expect some wait time to allow the students time to think or complete the problem
on their own before answering a question out loud.
Question types are typically one of six kinds: Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis,
Synthesis, or Evaluation. In each session, instructors can use different questions to involve students or
help them better learn and retain the material. In my example, I have included a mix of question types.
In a single session, its possible that all questions will not be covered and its possible that more
questions will be discussed. This is a fluid process.

When to Use This Strategy

(e.g., introducing a topic, group work, individual work, culminating learning activity)

Commonly used in discussion lessons, questioning provides students an opportunity to demonstrate

knowledge in a variety of levels of Blooms taxonomy. This strategy can be used for whole class or small
group lessons where the instructor provides or references a list of questions relevant to the subject. In
my case, for College Algebra, Id use Questioning for a lesson where we consider mostly application
questions. In my example question list, Im considering the lesson with applications of logarithmic or
exponential functions. Questioning could be used on mathematics procedure-heavy days as well.

Problems/Challenges with This Strategy

Choose at least one, and describe how you might overcome the possible challenges.

This strategy can be problematic for students who are nervous about speaking up and being wrong in
the classroom. Addressing this issue is a common challenge for teachers and can be handled a variety of
ways. In some cases, students will be hesitant to participate no matter how much an instructor tries to
create a safe space to make mistakes. I make sure that I point out my mistakes, especially if the students
dont. I explain that even instructors make computational errors and they should not be worried about
little mistakes but work to reduce them.
Time is another constraint that must be considered for my college classroom. I see my students only 3
hours a week, so we must be productive and careful with our use of time. For students who are already
understanding the material, basic knowledge questions might seem like a waste of time. For students
who are struggling, synthesis questions discourage and disengage. To address this, an adequate mixture
of questions is needed while still managing time appropriately. I suspect that perfecting this is
something that will come with practice.

Strategy Evaluation
What are you trying to accomplish? How will you know the strategy is working?

Questioning is an effective method of differentiating instruction when more students are able to answer
higher -order questions more often. If a single student is always answering the harder questions, this
method would be useless for the rest of the class. An instructor must be sure that a variety of students
are answering.
Questioning also sets an example for how the students should consider material. If I am constantly
challenging them with harder questions and then encouraging them to ask harder questions, they will
develop greater critical thinking skills. For students who are taking College Algebra as their final
collegiate math course, critical thinking skills are one of the primary, unwritten objectives of the class.
For students moving on in technical fields, future classes will expect a higher level of student who
already has critical observation skills.

Additional Instructor Resources

Refer to page 104 in Tomlinsons How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms,
2nd Edition for more information on Questioning
Section 4.5 question list
Blooms Taxonomy

Additional Student Resources

Organizer for each section (skeleton notes) to reduce the amount of time spent writing
problems.
Graphing calculator directions & graphing calculator

Questions for College Algebra Section 4.5:

Exponential Growth & Decay, Logistic Growth
1. What does the variable stand for in the equation = ?
2. Why might we want to model population growth by a logistic model instead of a logarithmic?
(Students would be given example graphs of both types to compare)
3. A half-life of a substance is the time required for half of a given sample to disintegrate. If we
know the half-life of carbon-14, how might we use that to create an exponential function to
model decay?
4. Using the equation, = 31.5 0.019 , estimate what the population of Iraq will be in 45 years.
Does that make sense?
5. How could we solve the previous equation for the variable ?
6. Compare the graphs of the logistic model and the logarithmic model. What differences do you
notice?
7. Investigate the half-life of Kryptonium (yes, the stuff from Superman, commonly referred to as
Kryptonite.) Superman regains his powers when kryptonite decays to 10% of its original amount.
Use this information to create a model to determine how long Superman has to wait to regain
his powers.
8. If someone was to argue against carbon-14 dating as a method of estimating the age of
something, what evidence could you provide that would support its use?
9. If a model for rabbit population growth were truly exponential, wed have a surplus of rabbits.
What sort of model might better fit predator-prey populations? This model is beyond the scope
of our class, but give a description of the model.
10. The world population is estimated to be 7.4 billion people. The United Nations estimates it will
further increase to 11.2 billion by the year 2100. Use this information to create a logistic model
for population growth. If you need additional information, conduct your research and document
your sources.