Abstract
In spite of its prevalence and importance, questioning in education has been underestimated and misconceptualized. The major reason for this has been that most studies on questioning have been heavily dependent on the paradigm of positivism. The present study critiques the limitations of those studies on four specific issues: 1) the narrow conceptualization of the purpose of teacher’s questioning, 2) the unwarranted assumption that objectively effective types of questions exist, 3) the assumption that the meaning of the text is explicit and fixed, and 4) the belief that the learner’s question functions as a means for external ends.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aleksic, Maja (2003). Adjunct questions as aids to effective illustration processing. Doctoral dissertation, The Pennsylvania state university.
Andre, M. E. D. A., & Anderson, T. H. (1978–1979). The development and evaluation of a self-questioning study technique.Reading Research Quarterly, 14, 605–623.
Andre, T. (1990). Type of inserted questions and the study post-test delay.Journal of experimental Education, 58, 77–86.
Andre, T., & Thieman, A. (1988). Level of adjunct question, type of feedback, and learning concepts by reading.Contemporary Educational Psychology, 13(3), 296–307.
Armbruster, B. B., & Anderson, T. H. (1981). Research synthesis on study skills.Educational leadership, 39(2), 154–156.
Atwood, V., & Wilen, W. (1991). Wait time and effective social studies instruction: what can research in science education tell us?Social Education, 55, 179–181.
Barnes, D., & Todd, F. (1995).Communication and learning revisited: making learning through talk. Portsmouth: Boynton/ Cook publishers.
Benton, S. L., & Blohm, P. J. (1986). Effect of question type and position on measures of conceptual elaboration in writing.Research in the teaching of English, 20(1), 98–108.
Bernstein, R.J.(1983).Beyond objectivism and relativism: science, hermeneutics, and praxis. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania press.
Bloom, B. S. (1956).Taxonomy of educational objectives. New York: David Mckay company, inc.
Chan, L. K. S. (1991). Promoting strategy generalization through self instructional training in students with reading disabilities.Journal of Learning Disabilities, 24, 421–433.
Davey, B., & Mcbride, S. (1986). Effects of question-generation training on reading comprehension.Journal of Educational Psychology, 78, 256–262.
Dickerson, C. T. (1987). The effects of adjunct questions on learning from text inconsistent with prior knowledge.Dissertation Abstracts. (UMI No. AAC 8804837).
Dillon, J. T. (1988). Levels of problem finding versus problem solving.Questioning Exchange: Multidisciplinary review, 2(2), 105–116.
Dillon, J. T. (1990).The practice of questioning. New York: Routledge.
Fuller, J. A. (1992). Deep and surface processing in learning from text among baccalaureate nursing students.Dissertation Abstracts .(UMI No.AAC MM76354).
Gadamer, H. G. (1975).Truth and method. New York: Seabury press.
Gall, M. D. (1984). Synthesis of research on teachers’ questioning.Educational Leadership, November, 40-47.
Glasersfeld, E. von (1995).Radical constructivism: A way of knowing and learning. London: The Falmer press.
Good, T. L., & Brophy, J. (2000).Looking in classrooms. (8th ed.). New York: Longman.
Graves, A. W., & Levin, J. R. (1989). Comparison of monitoring and mnemonic text-processing strategies in learning disabled students.Learning Disability Quarterly, 12, 232–242.
Hamaker, C. (1986). The effects of adjunct questions on prose learning.Review of Educational Research, 56(2), 212–242.
Hanson, N. R. (1958).Patterns of discovery: An inquiry into the conceptual foundations of science. Cambridge: Cambridge university press.
Kawa, H. D. M. (1980). A study to investigate the effects of wait-time and questioning strategies on the oral language behaviors of teachers and students during children’s literature discussions in language arts. Doctoral dissertation, Pennsylvania state university.
King, A. (1992). Comparison of self-questioning, summarizing, and notetaking - review as strategies for learning from lectures.American Education Research Journal, 29, 303–323.
Kuhn, T. S. (1970).The structure of scientific revolutions (2nd ed.). Chicago and London: The university of Chicago press.
Lee, H. W. (1991).The concepts of education. Seoul: Muneum press.
Malone, L. D., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1992). Reading comprehension instruction: summarization and self-monitoring training for students with learning disabilities.Exceptional Children, 58, 270–279.
Marzola, E. S. (1988–1989). Interrogating the text: Questioning strategies designed to improve reading comprehension.Journal of Reading, Writing and Learning Disabilities International, 4(4), 243–258.
McIntosh, M. E., & Draper, R. J. (1996). Using the question- answer relationship strategy to improve student’s reading of mathematics texts.Clearing House, 69(3), 154–162.
Meyer, M. (1983).Meaning and reading: A philosophical essay on language and literature. Amsterdam: John Benjamins publishing company.
Newmann, F. (1992). Higher order thinking and prospects for classroom thoughtfulness. In F. Newmann (Ed.),Student engagement and achievement in American secondary schools. New York: Teachers College press.
Nibet, J., & Shucksmith, J. (1986).Learning strategies. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Nolan, T. E. (1991). Self-questioning and prediction: Combining metacognitive strategies.Journal of Reading, 35, 132- 138.
Palinscar, A. S. (1982). Improving the reading comprehension of junior high students through reciprocal teaching of comprehension-monitoring strategies. Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois.
Perry, M., Vanderstoep, S., & Yu, S. L. (1993). Asking questions in first grade mathematics classes: Potential influences on mathematical thought.Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 31–40.
Phillips, N., & Duke, M. (2001). The questioning skills of clinical teachers and preceptors: a comparative study.Journal of Advanced Nursing, 33(4), 523–529.
Piaget, J.(1972).The child’s conception of the world. New Jersey: Littlefield, Adams & co.
Pi-Sui-Hsu, & Dwyer, F. (2004). Effect of level of adjunct questions on achievement of field independent/field dependent learners.International Journal of Instructional Media, 37(1), 99–106.
Pressley, M., Wood, E., Woloshyn, V. E., Martin, V., King, A., & Menke, D. (1992). Encouraging mindful use of prior knowledge: Attempting to construct explanatory answers facilitates learning.Educational Psychologist, 27, 91–109.
Redfield, D. L., & Rousseau, E. W. (1981). A meta-analysis of experimental research on teacher questioning behavior.Review of Educational Research, 51(2), 237–245
Reinking, D. et als. (1996). The effects of inserted questions and mandatory review in computer-mediated texts. Reading research report No. 50 (ED 394138)
Rickards, J. P., & Di Vesta, F. J.(1974). Type and frequency of questions in processing textual material.Journal of Educational Psychology, 66(3), 354–362.
Rorty, R. (1979).Philosophy and the mirror of nature. Princeton University press.
Rowan, T. E., & Robles, J. (1998). Using questions to help children build mathematical power.Teaching Children Mathematics, 4, 504–509.
Rowe, M. (1986). Wait time: slowing down may be a way of speeding up.Journal of Teacher Education, 37, 43–50.
Samson, G. E., Strykowski B., Weinstein, T., & Walberg, H. J. (1987). The effects of teacher questioning levels on student achievement: A quantitative synthesis.The Journal of Educational Research, 80, 290–295.
Sanders, N. M.(1966).Classroom questions: what kinds? New York: Harper & Row.
Schwab, J. J. (1969). Learning as enquiring. In D. Vandenberg (Ed.),Teaching and learning (pp. 32–38). Urbana: University of Illinois press.
Sellappah S., Hussey T., Blackmore A. M., & McMurray A. (1998). The use of questioning strategies by clinical teachers.Journal of Advanced Nursing, 28, 142–148.
Shiang, C. P., & Mcdaniel, E. (1989). The effects of questioning on thinking processes.Clearing House (ED 310131).
Smilansky, J. (1984). Problem solving and the quality of invention.Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 377–386.
Singer, H.,& Donlan, D. (1982). Active comprehension: Problem-solving schema with question generation for comprehension of complex short stories.Reading Research Quarterly, 17(2), 166–186.
Stephanie, S. A.(1982). A study of the relationship between teaching techniques and student’s achievement on high cognitive level question-asking skills(Doctoral dissertation, the university of Chicago, 1981).Dissertation Abstracts International, 42.
Sternberg, R. J., & Grigorenko, E.L. (2006).Dynamic Testing: The nature and measurement of learning potential. Cambridge university press.
Tayor, L. K., Alber, S. R., & Walker, D. W. (2002). The comparative effects of a modified self-questioning strategy and story mapping on the reading comprehension of elementary students with learning disabilities.Journal of Behavioral Education, 11(2), 69–87.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978).Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge: Harvard university press.
Wang, T., & Andre, T. (1991). Conceptual change text versus traditional text and application questions versus no questions in learning about electricity.Contemporary Educational Psychology, 16, 103–116.
Westgate, D., & Hughes, M. (1997). Identifying quality in classroom talk: an enduring research task,Language and Education, 11(2), 125–139.
Wilen, W. W. (1992).Questions, questioning techniques, and effective teaching. National Education Association, Washington.
Wimer J. W., Ridenour, C. S., Thomas, K., & Place A. W. (2001). Higher order teacher questioning of boys and girls in elementary mathematics classrooms.The Journal of Educational Research, 95(2), 84–92.
Winne, P. H. (1979). Experiments relating teachers’ use of higher cognitive questions to student achievement.Review of Educational Research, 49(1), 13–49.
Wong, B. Y. L.. & Jones, W. (1982). Increasing metacomprehension in learning disabled and normally achieving students through self-questioning training.Learning Disability Quarterly, 5, 228–240.
Wood, R. A. (1995). The effect of inserted and massed post adjunct questions with and without corrective feedback on improving the reading comprehension of learning disabled adolescents.Dissertation Abstracts. (UMI AAC 9525503).
Yang, M. K. (1986). Effect of the position and the level of questions inserted in prose learning material. Unpublished master’s thesis, Seoul National University, Korea.
Yang, M. K. (1992). A critical review of research on questioning in terms of its significance and problems in education. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Seoul National University, Korea.
Yang, M. K. (1995). A study of the educational conditions facilitating the learner’s question.Korean Journal of Educational Research, 33(1), 95–116.
Yang, M. K. (2002). Exploring the characteristics of students’ questioning in class and their educational implications.Korean Journal of Educational Research, 40(1), 99–128.
Yilmaz, N. P.(2003). The effect of the inserted questions on learning relating theoretical knowledge to the context.Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 3(2), 483–488.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, M. A critical review of research on questioning in education: limitations of its positivistic basis. Asia Pacific Educ. Rev. 7, 195–204 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031543
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031543