Managing affect in learners' questions in undergraduate science

Abstract

This paper aims to position students' classroom questioning within the literature surrounding affect and its impact on learning. The paper consists of two main sections. First, the act of questioning is discussed in order to highlight how affect shapes the process of questioning, and we describe a four-part genesis to question-asking that we call CARE: the construction, asking, reception and evaluation of a learner's question. This work is contextualised through studies in science education and through our work with university students in undergraduate chemistry, although conducted in the firm belief that it has more general application. The second section of this paper focuses on seven teaching strategies to encourage, ´scaffold´ and manage learner's questions, based here upon the conviction that university students, in this case, learn through questioning, and that an inquiry-based environment promotes better learning than a simple 'transmission' setting.

How to guide effective student questioning: a review of teacher guidance in primary education

“…Important reviews in the literature on student questioning focused on issues such as its potential with respect to teaching and learning science—on teaching question generation strategies, on the role of student questioning in reading comprehension, literature and prose processing, and on the role of student questioning in the information‐seeking process (Cornbleth, ; Wong ; Biddulph et al ., ; Gillespie, ; Woodward, ; Rosenshine et al ., ; Graesser & Wisher, ; Janssen, ; Farmer, ; Chin & Osborne, ; Pedrosa de Jesus & Watts, ). These reviews have, however, not yet examined how teachers can address the key issues with respect to guiding effective student questioning.…”

“…Key issues for teachers seem to be: (1) to promote students' interest in curriculum topics and prompt students to experience a feeling of perplexity about these topics, (2) to support students in articulating investigable questions and to guide student questioning so as to address the width and depth of the curriculum, and (3) to support a collective enquiry that contributes to effective student questioning. Important reviews in the literature on student questioning focused on issues such as its potential with respect to teaching and learning science-on teaching question generation strategies, on the role of student questioning in reading comprehension, literature and prose processing, and on the role of student questioning in the information-seeking process (Cornbleth, 1975;Wong 1985;Biddulph et al, 1986;Gillespie, 1990;Woodward, 1992;Rosenshine et al, 1996;Graesser & Wisher, 2001;Janssen, 2002;Farmer, 2007;Chin & Osborne, 2008;Pedrosa de Jesus & Watts, 2012). These reviews have, however, not yet examined how teachers can address the key issues with respect to guiding effective student questioning.…”

Critical Reflection in Students’ Critical Thinking Teaching and Learning Experiences

“…These tasks, in particular, give an idea of whether students can think critically. It is emphasised that such strategies may be effective for encouraging engagement and promoting critical thinking because they can provoke students to confront stark positionalities and even othering in an environment of interaction and negotiation [83][84][85][86][87]. The critical reflection relates to issues involving the broader social context, relationships between various social groups, and value-based attitudes on fundamental social questions [21].…”

Learning Styles of a Story About Sustainability: Their Effect on the Level of Questioning of Students in Primary Education

“…In this learning framework, students are free to ask questions, gather information, and analyze it to answer the questions (Jorgenson et al, 2004). Because students are actively involved in these processes, they retain more of their learning for a longer time and therefore are more motivated to learn (Pedrosa-de-Jesus & Watts, 2014).…”