Eliciting thinking encourages the obtaining of many solution methods, elaboration of solution methods, collaborative problem solving, and use of students’ explanations for lesson content (see Appendix 2). These provide a platform for an argumentation culture. Teacher access to students’ current understandings through the varied responses of students is necessary for effective scaffolding. The teacher may then use this knowledge as the basis for the lesson, using students’ responses as teachable moments. Eliciting many responses creates a greater opportunity for promoting cognitive conflict - in elaborating on their own solution methods children often recognise, and must wrestle with, the discrepancies in their explanations. Incorporating these explanations into ongoing discussion supports student ownership of negotiated meanings, and promotes intellectual autonomy as students rely on argumentation rather than teacher authority as the basis for judging the worth of their ideas (Fraivillig et al., 1999).