Six question and answer exchanges between a teacher and a student were analyzed to illustrate teachers' intuitive practical knowledge of questioning skills. It is suggested that this knowledge of questioning techniques is systematic and organized and that the teacher draws intuitively from a systematic framework of questioning patterns. A theory of instruction as "joint proposition achievement" is proposed to account for the use of the question/answer format. The question is depicted as a threatening gesture while the response is depicted as one of compliance. The phrasing of teacher questions to include mutuality-enhancing devices such as hints is seen as an attempt to diminish the power of the question form, as a means of encouraging response, and consequently, the joint achievement of propositions. A flow chart of the question-answer exchange is presented with an accompanying discussion demonstrating the underlying conceptualization of instruction made evident by the questioning techniques of the teacher and the taxonomy of mutuality-enhancing devices which appear in the exchange. (JD)