Who's asking the questions in classrooms? Exploring teacher practice and student engagement in generating engaging and intellectually challenging questions. (2nd January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zeegers, Yvonne; Elliott, Katrina
• Is Part Of: Pedagogies. Volume 14:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 17
• Page End: 32
• Publication Date: 2019-01-02
• Subjects: Questioning -- professional learning -- pedagogical change -- student engagement; Teaching -- Periodicals; Education -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 370
• DOI: 10.1080/1554480X.2018.1537186
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1554-480X

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Student engagement that leads to enhanced learning outcomes involves three interdependent facets: behaviour, emotion and cognition. As such, learning activities that encourage deep learning and the intellectual challenging of minds should provide opportunities for reasoning and critical and creative thinking. An approach that resonates strongly with student engagement involves fostering student voice in the classroom, and the generation and utilization of students' questions is one means of achieving this. Implicit in this approach is the need for both teachers and students to pose questions that engage and intellectually challenge thinking. In this pilot case study, eight volunteer teachers from one school chose to investigate their own practice by either focusing on their own questioning skills to foster student engagement in the classroom or, on how they could support their students to generate intellectually challenging questions that lead to increasing student voice, engagement and deeper learning in the classroom. Key findings were that who does the questioning is not an either-or dichotomy, and that significant pedagogical shifting requires a long-term focus. This shift is influenced by teachers' commitment to using questioning as a pedagogical approach for enhancing student learning.