 I've always thought that strategic use of questioning is one of the most effective forms of feedback. For example, I encourage my students to provide a full draft of their assignments before they submit their work for assessment. If I see a gap in their reasoning or something that's been omitted, I write a question. The purpose of the question is to stimulate the student's thinking rather than have the teacher tell them the answer. I want the students to make the connections for themselves. Questions as feedback are great for achieving that goal. We can provide feedback by telling, but this only achieves so much. At the deep learning stage, asking open-ended and thought-provoking questions can prompt students to clarify their intentions and direction in their own words and for the teacher and student to negotiate meaning. Particularly if the questions encourage the use of higher-order thinking skills, such as asking students to analyse information or reflect on their learning. This makes me think about a teacher I observed some years back. Let's call him Mr Mathematics. Mr Mathematics had a culture of deep learning fully established in his classroom and I thought, how did he do that? By observing the classroom carefully, I worked out that he would begin a new unit of work by posing a big question and that motivated the students to explore the topic. When the students realised they didn't know something, the teacher refused to answer a question until the students had exhausted all the sources of peer help available in the classroom. Mr Mathematics wanted his students to engage in authentic inquiry as part of deep engagement. This process is accompanied by developing habits of individual assessment and self-monitoring. But it can also be generated by students in equal status peer partnerships. Mr Mathematics asked students the types of questions that made them query their own assumptions and locate their own errors. He pushed the intellectual work back onto the students. And you know what? The students started to identify and correct their own errors, their peer's errors and even the teacher's errors. He also asked students to explain and justify their strategies to each other. They had to convince a peer that what they were saying made sense. And without any prompting from the teacher, the students started to form their own informal groups. They would check their progress with each other, seek feedback from each other and explain their ideas to each other. Mr Mathematics classroom culture is a prime example of how questioning and peer feedback can develop deep engagement competencies in students. Now, these were 16 and 17 year old students, but these techniques can be used at any level. The capacity to use higher order thinking skills for deep learning is not limited to mature students. Teachers of three and four year olds argue that even very young children can engage in deep learning. A real danger is to underestimate what learners are capable of doing. Students thrive on challenge. We need to question students to stimulate their learning, make the connections themselves, prompt them to explain and justify, and provide their own feedback.