Reasonable or Not? A Study of the Use of Teacher Questioning to Promote Reasonable Mathematical Answers from Sixth Grade Students

In this action research study of my sixth grade mathematics class, I investigated the influence a change in my questioning tactics would have on students’ ability to determine answer reasonability to mathematics problems. During the course of my research, students were asked to explain their problem solving and solutions. Students, amongst themselves, discussed solutions given by their peers and the reasonability of those solutions. They also completed daily questionnaires that inquired about my questioning practices, and 10 students were randomly chosen to be interviewed regarding their problem solving strategies. I discovered that by placing more emphasis on the process rather than the product, students became used to questioning problem solving strategies and explaining their reasoning. I plan to maintain this practice in the future while incorporating more visual and textual explanations to support verbal explanations.

Obstacles to Inter-Racial Understanding: Some Clinical Implications for Mental Health Practitioners in Predominantly White Institutions

in the context of predominantly white institutions. In this paper concepts such as projection, projective identification, splitting, scapegoating, superiority and denial will be employed to illustrate why racial prejudice is a deeply-rooted collective psychological disorder that affects even educated mental health practitioners. Clinicians have an ethical responsibility to demonstrate cultural sensitivity and empathy when working with minority clients, colleagues, staff and students, to examine and root out their own prejudices, and to encourage others to do the same.