Abstract:
ABSTRACT
This study investigated classroom questioning: teachers' practices, perceptions and its
contribution to enhance students learning performance in second cycle primary schools
of
Bahir Oar city administration. Although questioning is a central aspect of any classroom
interaction, it
is still an under-researched area in the Ethiopian classroom context. This study
employs a mixed method design where quantitative and qualitative approaches were used
for data gathering and analysis. The study therefore aimed to investigate teachers'
perceptions
and practices of classroom questioning, the quality of teachers' classroom
questions in terms
of their type, level (high/low order thinking), appropriateness to the
instructional objectives,
and wait-time., and the contribution of classroom questioning for
students learning enhancement. Thirty five teachers of English language and eighty students
from seven second cycle primary schools participated in the study. Three research
instruments (questionnaire, observation,
and interview) were used to gather pertinent data
which simultaneously were also used for triangulation of data. The findings indicate that
second cycle primary school English teachers appears
to have favourable perception
towards classroom questioning and demonstrated better practices. Students also perceive
teachers' practice of classroom questioning as happening in the direction of contributing for
their English language learning enhancement. With regard
to the characteristics of teachers
classroom questions, the majority of them were found to be academic in nature but in the
low-level category; teachers source most of their classroom questions from the textbook;
teachers) had the tendency to dominate classroom interaction in their questioning and
imbalance in encouraging of voluntary and non-voluntary students' responses; teachers
classroom questions were also related with the instructional objectives which were designed
to provoke low level student thinking; and teachers gave extended wait-time (above the
threshold time
of 3 to 5 sec.) for most of the classroom questions even if they were low level
questions. These teachers rationalised the apparent mismatch between what is stipulated
by
the national curriculum and how they actually teach in terms of posing questions that
develops the problem solving ability
of students. Through these findings it was implicated to
revisit the teacher education curriculum whether it included contents/or elements that are
intended to raise pre-service teachers' knowledge of the techniques and skills of questioning;
the researcher therefore hopes that to create awareness among education authorities,
and
teachers on the current state of classroom practice pertaining to questioning is instrumental
through training particularly focussing on the techniques and skills of questioning.
