Purposely Vague

I recently attended a math training and while it wasn't earth-shattering revelations, I did enjoy this snippet:

Be purposefully vague.

That's right, be vague in your questioning.  Let them struggle.  Let them make meaning of the problem.  Let them talk it out and try multiple strategies.  Let them persevere.  Let them come up with several answers and justify them to one another.  Let them express their thinking and critique others.  But again, most importantly:

Let them struggle.

It's productive, I promise.  They need to struggle.  It's not helpful to let them get all the answers right away. It's not helpful to spoon feed them the answers.  Not everything in life comes easily and they need to understand struggle so that when they work through the problems, they are that much more excited about their success.  Not every problem is given with the purpose of finding the one correct answer, but rather an emphasis should be placed on the problem solving strategies and critical thinking that lead to the answer(s).  Give meaningful, complex problems that are based on real world situations.  Don't provide problems where the solutions can be easily googled.  Let them struggle.  They'll be better students if they learn to persevere through problems and work on their critical thinking skills.  Provide the necessary scaffolds, yes, but not the answers right away.  Ask them questions rather than give them answers.  Challenge them. Encourage them. Inspire them.

Be vague.  Let them struggle. Let them do the thinking.