Research Article
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Secondary School Students’ Attitudes and Teacher-Student Views on Questioning in Mathematics Course

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 14, 359 - 380, 31.07.2023
https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1238226

Abstract

One of the primary objectives of today’s teaching is to prioritize students’ thinking skills as a path to become lifelong learners. Those skills are improved by enabling students to learn actively. Role of teacher in the active learning environment is to facilitate students’ learning, and questions asked by students are important in the process. Based on the relevant considerations, this study aimed to identify questioning attitudes of secondary school students in mathematics courses and investigate their questioning behaviors in line with teacher and student views. The study utilized the partially mixed sequential equal status design. The study group was composed of 15 teachers working at five secondary schools in a city center of a rural province and 690 students. The data were collected through the Attitude Scale Toward Asking Questions, written view forms, semi-structured interviews, and observations. Exploratory statistical techniques were used to analyze quantitative data, and qualitative data were subjected to a content analysis. According to the results from anxiety about questioning subscale of Attitude Scale Toward Asking Questions, the students were anxious above moderate levels although they had high levels of questioning attitudes. Furthermore, it was concluded that number of questions asked by the students increased with higher grade levels, but they asked questions less frequently. In addition, it was determined that about half of the students refrained from asking questions, due to frustration and fear.

References

  • Aguiar, O. G., Mortimer, E. F., & Scott, P. (2010). Learning from and responding to students' questions: The authoritative and dialogic tension. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 47(2), 174-193. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20315
  • Almeida, P. A. (2012). Can I ask a question? The importance of classroom questioning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 634-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.116
  • Almeida, P., & Neri de Souza, F. (2010). Questioning profiles in secondary science classrooms. International Journal of Learning and Change, 4(3), 237-251. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJLC.2010.035833
  • Aslan, H. (1994). Soru sormasını biliyor muyuz? [Do we know how to question?]. Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, 1(1), 48-49.
  • Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2002). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. London: King’s College London.
  • Chin, C., & Brown, D. E. (2002). Student-generated questions: A meaningful aspect of learning in science. International Journal of Science Education, 24(5), 521-549.
  • Chin, C., & Osborne, J. (2008). Students’ questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science. Studies in Science Education, 44(1), 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260701828101
  • Dillon, J. T. (1981). A norm against student questions. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 55(3), 136-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.1981.10113676
  • Dillon, J. T. (1988). Questioning in education. Questions and Questioning, 98-117. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110864205
  • Dillon, J. T. (2004). Questioning and teaching: A manual of practice. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
  • Doğan, F. (2018). Öğrenci ve öğretmen görüşlerine göre ilkokul 4.sınıf öğrencilerinin soru sormaya yönelik tutumlarının incelenmesi [Investigation of the primary school 4th grade students’ attitudes towards asking questions in terms of teachers’ and students’ perception]. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Yıldız Technical University, Institute of Social Sciences, İstanbul. Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
  • Edwards, S., & Bowman, M. A. (1996). Promoting student learning through questioning: A study of classroom questions. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 7(2), 3-24.
  • Etkina, E., & Harper, K. A. (2002). Closing the feedback loop in large enrollment physics courses. Journal of College Science Teaching, 31(7), 476–480.
  • George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). Using SPSS for windows step by step a simple guide and reference. London: Pearson Education.
  • Good, T. L., Slavings, R. L., Harel, K. H., & Emerson, H. (1987). Student passivity: A study of question asking in K-12 classrooms. Sociology of Education, 60 (3), 181-199. https://doi.org/10.2307/2112275
  • Graesser, A. C., & Person, N. K. (1994). Question asking during tutoring. American Educational Research Journal, 31(1), 104-137. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312031001
  • Harper, K. A., Etkina, E., & Lin, Y. (2003). Encouraging and analyzing student questions in a large physics course: Meaningful patterns for instructors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 40(8), 776-791. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10111
  • Hofstein, A., Navon, O., Kipnis, M., & Mamlok Naaman, R. (2005). Developing students' ability to ask more and better questions resulting from inquiry‐type chemistry laboratories. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42(7), 791-806. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20072
  • Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. B. (2014). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (5th Edition). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
  • Jones, M. G., Howe, A. & Rua, M. (2000). Gender differences in students' experiences, interests, and attitudes toward science and scientists. Science Education, 84, 180-192.
  • Karabenick, S. A., & Gonida, E. N. (2018). Academic help seeking as a self-regulated learning strategy: Current issues, future directions. In D. H. Schunk & J. A. Greene (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance (pp. 421–433). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315697048-27
  • Kubat, U. (2018). If there is question, there is learning too. Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 17(68), 1585-1598. https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.396548
  • Leech, N.L., & Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2009). A typology of mixed methods research designs. Qual Quant. 43, 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-007-9105-3
  • Leikin, R., Koichu, B., Berman, A., & Dinur, S. (2017). How are questions that students ask in high level mathematics classes linked to general giftedness?. ZDM, 49, 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-016-0815-7
  • Madhu, K. P. (2015). Why Ramu does not ask questions. Science Reporter, 52 (02), 22–25.
  • Marbach Ad, G., & Sokolove, P. G. (2000). Can undergraduate biology students learn to ask higher level questions?. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 37(8), 854-870.
  • Marksberry, M. L. (1979). Student questioning: An instructional strategy. Educational Horizons, 57(4), 190-195.
  • Micari, M., & Calkins, S. (2021). Is it OK to ask? The impact of instructor openness to questions on student help-seeking and academic outcomes. Active Learning in Higher Education, 22(2), 143-157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787419846620
  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Pearson, J. C., & West, R. (1991). An initial investigation of the effects of gender on student questions in the classroom: Developing a descriptive base. Communication Education, 40(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529109378823
  • Santoso, T., Yuanita, L., & Erman, E. (2018, January). The role of student’s critical asking question in developing student’s critical thinking skills. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 953, No. 1, p. 012042).
  • Sheff, D. (1988, January). ‘Izzy, did you ask a good question today?'. The New York Times, Section A, p. 26. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/19/opinion/l-izzy-did-you-ask-a-good-question-today-712388.html
  • Shodell, M. (1995). The question-driven classroom: Student questions as course curriculum in biology. The American Biology Teacher, 57(5), 278-281. https://doi.org/10.2307/4449992
  • Singh, G. (2019). Student questioning in student talk (Doctoral Dissertation). Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net.
  • Singh, G., Shaikh, R., & Haydock, K. (2019). Understanding student questioning. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 14(3), 643-697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-018-9866-0
  • Susskind, E. (1979). Encouraging teachers to encourage children’s curiosity a pivotal competence. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 8(2), 101-106.
  • Şenşekerci, E., & Bilgin, A. (2008). Eleştirel düşünme ve öğretimi [Teaching critical thinking]. U.U. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal of Social Sciences, 9(4),15-43. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.150532911
  • Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (Sixth Ed.) Pearson, Boston.
  • Watts, M., Alsop, S., Gould, G., & Walsh, A. (1997). Prompting teachers’ constructive reflection: Pupils’ questions as critical incidents. International Journal of Science Education, 19(9), 1025-1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069970190903
  • Yalçıner, M. (2006). Eğitimde gözlem ve değerlendirme [Observation and evaluation in education] (1st Edition). Ankara: Nobel Yayın Dağıtım.
  • Yang, H. (2017). A research on the effective questioning strategies in class. Science Journal of Education, 5(4), 158-163. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20170504.16
  • Yeşil, R. (2008). Sosyal bilgiler derslerinde öğretmen ve öğrenci soruları (Kırşehir örneği). [The questions of teacher and student in social studies course]. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 9(1), 59-72.

Secondary School Students’ Attitudes and Teacher-Student Views on Questioning in Mathematics Course

Year 2023, Volume: 7 Issue: 14, 359 - 380, 31.07.2023
https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1238226

Abstract

One of the primary objectives of today’s teaching is to prioritize students’ thinking skills as a path to become lifelong learners. Those skills are improved by enabling students to learn actively. Role of teacher in the active learning environment is to facilitate students’ learning, and questions asked by students are important in the process. Based on the relevant considerations, this study aimed to identify questioning attitudes of secondary school students in mathematics courses and investigate their questioning behaviors in line with teacher and student views. The study utilized the partially mixed sequential equal status design. The study group was composed of 15 teachers working at five secondary schools in a city center of a rural province and 690 students. The data were collected through the Attitude Scale Toward Asking Questions, written view forms, semi-structured interviews, and observations. Exploratory statistical techniques were used to analyze quantitative data, and qualitative data were subjected to a content analysis. According to the results from anxiety about questioning subscale of Attitude Scale Toward Asking Questions, the students were anxious above moderate levels although they had high levels of questioning attitudes. Furthermore, it was concluded that number of questions asked by the students increased with higher grade levels, but they asked questions less frequently. In addition, it was determined that about half of the students refrained from asking questions, due to frustration and fear.

References

  • Aguiar, O. G., Mortimer, E. F., & Scott, P. (2010). Learning from and responding to students' questions: The authoritative and dialogic tension. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 47(2), 174-193. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20315
  • Almeida, P. A. (2012). Can I ask a question? The importance of classroom questioning. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31, 634-638. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.116
  • Almeida, P., & Neri de Souza, F. (2010). Questioning profiles in secondary science classrooms. International Journal of Learning and Change, 4(3), 237-251. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJLC.2010.035833
  • Aslan, H. (1994). Soru sormasını biliyor muyuz? [Do we know how to question?]. Bilim ve Teknik Dergisi, 1(1), 48-49.
  • Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2002). Working inside the black box: Assessment for learning in the classroom. London: King’s College London.
  • Chin, C., & Brown, D. E. (2002). Student-generated questions: A meaningful aspect of learning in science. International Journal of Science Education, 24(5), 521-549.
  • Chin, C., & Osborne, J. (2008). Students’ questions: a potential resource for teaching and learning science. Studies in Science Education, 44(1), 1-39. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260701828101
  • Dillon, J. T. (1981). A norm against student questions. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 55(3), 136-139. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.1981.10113676
  • Dillon, J. T. (1988). Questioning in education. Questions and Questioning, 98-117. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110864205
  • Dillon, J. T. (2004). Questioning and teaching: A manual of practice. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
  • Doğan, F. (2018). Öğrenci ve öğretmen görüşlerine göre ilkokul 4.sınıf öğrencilerinin soru sormaya yönelik tutumlarının incelenmesi [Investigation of the primary school 4th grade students’ attitudes towards asking questions in terms of teachers’ and students’ perception]. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Yıldız Technical University, Institute of Social Sciences, İstanbul. Retrieved from https://tez.yok.gov.tr/UlusalTezMerkezi/
  • Edwards, S., & Bowman, M. A. (1996). Promoting student learning through questioning: A study of classroom questions. Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, 7(2), 3-24.
  • Etkina, E., & Harper, K. A. (2002). Closing the feedback loop in large enrollment physics courses. Journal of College Science Teaching, 31(7), 476–480.
  • George, D., & Mallery, P. (2003). Using SPSS for windows step by step a simple guide and reference. London: Pearson Education.
  • Good, T. L., Slavings, R. L., Harel, K. H., & Emerson, H. (1987). Student passivity: A study of question asking in K-12 classrooms. Sociology of Education, 60 (3), 181-199. https://doi.org/10.2307/2112275
  • Graesser, A. C., & Person, N. K. (1994). Question asking during tutoring. American Educational Research Journal, 31(1), 104-137. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312031001
  • Harper, K. A., Etkina, E., & Lin, Y. (2003). Encouraging and analyzing student questions in a large physics course: Meaningful patterns for instructors. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 40(8), 776-791. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.10111
  • Hofstein, A., Navon, O., Kipnis, M., & Mamlok Naaman, R. (2005). Developing students' ability to ask more and better questions resulting from inquiry‐type chemistry laboratories. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 42(7), 791-806. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20072
  • Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. B. (2014). Educational research: Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed approaches (5th Edition). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
  • Jones, M. G., Howe, A. & Rua, M. (2000). Gender differences in students' experiences, interests, and attitudes toward science and scientists. Science Education, 84, 180-192.
  • Karabenick, S. A., & Gonida, E. N. (2018). Academic help seeking as a self-regulated learning strategy: Current issues, future directions. In D. H. Schunk & J. A. Greene (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation of learning and performance (pp. 421–433). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315697048-27
  • Kubat, U. (2018). If there is question, there is learning too. Electronic Journal of Social Sciences, 17(68), 1585-1598. https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.396548
  • Leech, N.L., & Onwuegbuzie, A.J. (2009). A typology of mixed methods research designs. Qual Quant. 43, 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-007-9105-3
  • Leikin, R., Koichu, B., Berman, A., & Dinur, S. (2017). How are questions that students ask in high level mathematics classes linked to general giftedness?. ZDM, 49, 65-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-016-0815-7
  • Madhu, K. P. (2015). Why Ramu does not ask questions. Science Reporter, 52 (02), 22–25.
  • Marbach Ad, G., & Sokolove, P. G. (2000). Can undergraduate biology students learn to ask higher level questions?. Journal of Research in Science Teaching: The Official Journal of the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, 37(8), 854-870.
  • Marksberry, M. L. (1979). Student questioning: An instructional strategy. Educational Horizons, 57(4), 190-195.
  • Micari, M., & Calkins, S. (2021). Is it OK to ask? The impact of instructor openness to questions on student help-seeking and academic outcomes. Active Learning in Higher Education, 22(2), 143-157. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787419846620
  • Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
  • Pearson, J. C., & West, R. (1991). An initial investigation of the effects of gender on student questions in the classroom: Developing a descriptive base. Communication Education, 40(1), 22-32. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634529109378823
  • Santoso, T., Yuanita, L., & Erman, E. (2018, January). The role of student’s critical asking question in developing student’s critical thinking skills. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 953, No. 1, p. 012042).
  • Sheff, D. (1988, January). ‘Izzy, did you ask a good question today?'. The New York Times, Section A, p. 26. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/1988/01/19/opinion/l-izzy-did-you-ask-a-good-question-today-712388.html
  • Shodell, M. (1995). The question-driven classroom: Student questions as course curriculum in biology. The American Biology Teacher, 57(5), 278-281. https://doi.org/10.2307/4449992
  • Singh, G. (2019). Student questioning in student talk (Doctoral Dissertation). Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net.
  • Singh, G., Shaikh, R., & Haydock, K. (2019). Understanding student questioning. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 14(3), 643-697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-018-9866-0
  • Susskind, E. (1979). Encouraging teachers to encourage children’s curiosity a pivotal competence. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 8(2), 101-106.
  • Şenşekerci, E., & Bilgin, A. (2008). Eleştirel düşünme ve öğretimi [Teaching critical thinking]. U.U. Faculty of Arts and Sciences Journal of Social Sciences, 9(4),15-43. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.150532911
  • Tabachnick, B. G. & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (Sixth Ed.) Pearson, Boston.
  • Watts, M., Alsop, S., Gould, G., & Walsh, A. (1997). Prompting teachers’ constructive reflection: Pupils’ questions as critical incidents. International Journal of Science Education, 19(9), 1025-1037. https://doi.org/10.1080/0950069970190903
  • Yalçıner, M. (2006). Eğitimde gözlem ve değerlendirme [Observation and evaluation in education] (1st Edition). Ankara: Nobel Yayın Dağıtım.
  • Yang, H. (2017). A research on the effective questioning strategies in class. Science Journal of Education, 5(4), 158-163. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjedu.20170504.16
  • Yeşil, R. (2008). Sosyal bilgiler derslerinde öğretmen ve öğrenci soruları (Kırşehir örneği). [The questions of teacher and student in social studies course]. Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 9(1), 59-72.
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Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Other Fields of Education
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

İlknur Özpınar 0000-0002-3630-0991

Publication Date July 31, 2023
Submission Date January 17, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 7 Issue: 14

Cite

APA Özpınar, İ. (2023). Secondary School Students’ Attitudes and Teacher-Student Views on Questioning in Mathematics Course. International E-Journal of Educational Studies, 7(14), 359-380. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1238226

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