Primary purposes for questioning in the classroom

A teacher's question possesses many purposes. Questions help:

Cultivate interest and motivate students to become active participants in the community of learning;

They evaluate students' level of knowing and preparedness, checking to see if homework or classwork was done properly;

They help develop critical thinking skills and learning attitudes that encourage inquiry;

They review previously learned material;

They demonstrate new connections to new and previously learned information thereby strengthening previously established connections;

Help students develop new insights and assess their individual achievements;

Encourage students' self-study (Cotton, 1988).