Research spotlight: Questions that promote thinking
This section briefly reflects on what research suggests about questioning and how it can promote thinking.
Research Spotlight: Questions That Promote Thinking
The Education Endowment Foundation's (EEF) Guidance Report on Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning highlights that one of the most effective ways to develop learners' thinking is to encourage them to explain, justify and evaluate their own decisions (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021).
Rather than asking questions that simply check whether a learner knows the answer, mentors should aim to ask questions that encourage trainees to think more deeply about their practice.
For example, compare the following questions:
| Question | What it encourages |
|---|---|
| Did the lesson go well? | A simple evaluation or opinion. |
| What evidence suggests pupils understood the learning? | Analysis of pupil learning. |
| Why do you think pupils struggled at that point? | Reflection on professional decision-making. |
| If you were teaching the lesson again tomorrow, what would you keep the same and why? | Evaluation and future planning. |
Notice how the second set of questions encourages the trainee to justify their thinking rather than simply describe events.
The EEF argues that encouraging learners to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning develops metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation, both of which are associated with improved outcomes (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021). Within mentoring, carefully chosen questions therefore help trainees become increasingly independent professionals who can evaluate and improve their own teaching.
This idea also aligns closely with the ITTECF (Department for Education, 2024), which positions mentoring as a process that develops increasingly autonomous, reflective practitioners. By asking questions that require trainees to analyse evidence, justify their decisions and consider alternative approaches, mentors are helping trainees develop the habits of professional reflection that will support them throughout their careers.