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First-Year Law Students' and Teacher's Questioning in Class
Luísa Ribeiro1, Pedro Rosário2, Iněs Moreira1
1Centro de Investigação para o Desenvolvimento Humano, Faculdade de Educação e Psicologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Porto, Portugal.
Frontiers in Psychology
|April 6, 2019
Summary
Classroom questioning is vital for student engagement, but this study found teacher-led, low-order questions dominated, hindering autonomous thinking. Examining both teacher and student questioning patterns is crucial for effective learning.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Classroom Discourse Analysis
Background:
- Classroom questioning is recognized as a significant element in fostering student engagement and cognitive development.
- Understanding the dynamics of questioning practices is essential for effective pedagogical strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore classroom questioning practices and perceptions among first-year law students and their instructor.
- To analyze the quantity and type of questions posed by both students and the teacher.
- To compare teacher and student perceptions regarding the importance of classroom questioning for learning.
Main Methods:
- A case study involving the observation and audio-recording of eight 90-minute law lessons.
- Administration of questionnaires to 47 first-year law students and their teacher.
- Conducting an interview with the teacher.
Main Results:
- Both the teacher and the majority of students perceived questioning as highly important for learning.
- A significant imbalance in question origination was observed, with the teacher posing 93% of all questions.
- Both teacher- and student-generated questions predominantly consisted of low-order cognitive tasks.
Conclusions:
- The observed questioning patterns, characterized by teacher dominance and low-order questions, did not appear to stimulate students' autonomous thinking.
- The study highlights the necessity of analyzing teacher and student questioning patterns concurrently to identify similarities and differences.
- Further research should investigate how to cultivate higher-order questioning to enhance critical thinking and engagement.