Effective questioning is an explicit teaching strategy. Teachers use questioning to gather information about what students know, understand and can do.

Effective questioning can scaffold student learning by guiding them through the thinking. By starting with simpler questions and gradually increasing in complexity, teachers can help students build on their existing knowledge.

To be effective, questions must be planned before the lesson begins (Wiliam 2011). Questions should be aligned to the key learning of the lesson, and the learning intentions and success criteria.

Questioning is a responsive technique with teachers using prompts, probing and follow up questions to maximise student thinking and engagement, while providing feedback on responses. Teachers use questioning techniques to support all students to participate and share their thinking. This creates high engagement classroom environments which improve student achievement (Black and Wiliam 2018).

Strategy learning module

The Strategy learning module – using effective questioning (PPTX 14.2 MB):

• breaks down the strategy
• shows how the strategy can be applied using different techniques
• offers professional learning support for a whole-school approach to explicit teaching.

More information about how to implement this professional learning can be found on Leading explicit teaching.

Technique guides

Explicit teaching strategies are implemented in the classroom through a range of techniques that are intentionally selected by the teacher. These techniques are not an exhaustive list of every approach a teacher may use to implement this strategy. These technique guides provide support to teachers to understand and apply the technique as part of their explicit teaching practice:

• Technique guide – using questioning to build complexity (PDF 682.3 KB)
• Technique guide – planning for effective questioning (PDF 635.1 KB)

What it isn’t

• Asking questions that are not sufficiently planned or reflected on.
• Asking students to simply recall information rather than getting them to think deeper.
• Asking questions that are too easy or challenging to meet the various needs of learners.
• Not providing enough wait time for students to process, think and then respond.

Further resources

• Wiliam D (2014) The right questions, the right wayExternal link, Educational Leadership, 71(6):16–19.
• Maths in schools podcast (15 June 2023) Teacher and student questioning that targets explicit concepts and processesExternal link.