ABSTRACT
Introduction Teachers’ questioning practice is one of the most important factors in determining children’s opportunities for developing their understanding and their inquiry skills. Three aspects of this practice are discussed in this chapter. First we look at the kinds of questions that teachers can ask to encourage children’s active inquiry, and at the importance of giving sufficient time for children to answer questions. The second part deals with encouraging children to ask questions. However, when children ask questions, they have to be answered, or at least addressed in some way. This is often a worry to teachers who feel that their knowledge of science is not adequate. So in the third part we look at ways of dealing with the different kinds of questions that children ask.
