Assessment for Learning: Questioning and Classroom Discussion as Strategies for Enhancing Students' Questioning Skills - Teachers' Experiences and Insights
Chapter from the book:
Baltacı,
Ö.
(ed.)
2023.
Current Research in Education - V.
Synopsis
This study aims to examine the strategies and techniques employed by classroom teachers to encourage students' questioning behavior, drawing on the experiences of classroom teachers. A qualitative research method was employed, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine classroom teachers. Content analysis was utilized to identify themes that could elucidate the data. As a result of content analysis, 10 themes were derived. These themes encompass encouraging active student participation, suitability for different learning styles, fostering students' ability to formulate their own questions, enhancing questioning skills, overcoming shyness within the classroom, identifying misunderstandings and clarification needs, providing encouraging feedback to students, promoting questioning and collaborative learning among students, treating student questions seriously and emphasizing their importance, and evaluating the frequency and quality of questioning. In order to encourage students to ask questions, teachers employ effective methods such as class discussions, storytelling related to relevant topics, organizing question-answer sessions through oral or written communication about books read by students. It was determined that assessment techniques such as visual materials, drama, and group work are utilized to encourage students to ask questions in accordance with their different learning styles. Teachers use various methods, including smiling, facial expressions to convey various emotions, asking questions that arouse students' curiosity, verbal reinforcement, one-on-one interviews, and drama, to encourage students to ask questions. Finally, it was revealed that teachers establish eye contact, listen empathetically, express gratitude, and address students by name to convey that they take students' questions seriously and consider them important. There is a need for extensive research to understand widespread practices and encouragement methods in the field.