Questioning is a crucial part of scientific inquiry and meaningful learning of science. As students ask questions, they fill gaps or discrepancies in knowledge, build better understandings, and direct their learning. Student questioning has been found crucial in problem-solving, reasoning, and hypothesizing (Pizzini & Shepardson, 1991). Students' questions are identified as critical incidents for science teachers to reflect upon and adapt their teaching practices (Chin & Brown, 2002; Watts et al., 1997). Overall, the literature indicates that there is substantial educational potential in student-generated questions that could be used to impact students’ motivation, improve teaching, and foster the construction of scientific knowledge (European Education and Culture Executive Agency, 2012). 

Nevertheless, studies based on classroom observation suggest that students’ questioning is both scarce and unsophisticated (Pedrosa de Jesus et al., 2016; White & Gunstone, 2014; Chin & Osborne, 2008; Chin & Brown, 2002; Carr, 1998; Graesser & Person, 1994; Dillon,1988). It has been raised that students’ questions are usually closed, ambiguous and factual. The literature suggests that fewer students ask high-quality questions in which they explore science beyond the scope of the problem and the acquired knowledge (Chin & Brown, 2002; Dillon, 1988). Most of the research on student-generated questions has focused on text-based questions, content analysis of the questions, and the effects of questioning on reading comprehension (Koch & Eckstein, 1991). More recent studies have investigated the effects of teaching students asking questions on knowledge retention (Cuccio-Schirripa & Steiner, 2000), the nature and types of questions (Pedrosa de Jesus et al., 2005; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1992; Pizzini & Shepardson, 1991), the relationship between student’s questions and teacher’s responses (Rop, 2002; Watts et al., 1997), and students’ perceptions of student questions (Watts & Pedrosa de Jesus, 2005; Rop 2003). Little research, however, has been done to explore how students’ questions emerge, what triggers students to ask questions, and how teachers can promote students’ questioning in a science classroom. As a biology teacher and practitioner myself, I have identified students’ questions as an essential aspect of scientific discourse and an important tool in designing learning experiences for my students. Their presence seems to be crucial to create a dialogic nature of a class and promote discourse that pertains to the core concepts of scientific phenomena. 

The purpose of this study is to:

• identify the types and nature of students’ questions asked in secondary science classes;

• examine the quality of students’ questions using question categories;

• identify and describe the teaching episodes that triggered students’ questions;

• investigate the role of a teacher in fostering students’ questioning;

• explicate the role of students’ questions in the knowledge construction and building conceptual understanding.

In particular, the study will focus on the teaching context of students-generated questions and describe interactions among learners as well as relationships between students and a teacher that foster students’ questioning. In this sociolinguistic approach, the research concentrates on the interactional nature of classroom discourse and social context (Carlsen, 1991). Additionally, the researcher will explore the cognitive quality of students’ questions using question categories developed by Scardamalia & Bereiter (1992) and Watts et al. (1997).

The study was conducted in an international school in South Korea that offers the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP). Although the study was carried out outside of Europe, the curriculum offered by the school is popular in Europe across both private and public schools. As of December 2020, there were 1089 schools delivering the Diploma Programme in European countries (IBO, 2020). Fifteen classroom observations were conducted from August until December 2021 to obtain rich, in-depth data from science classrooms for subsequent fine-grained qualitative analysis. Field notes were taken based on 15 to 25-minute classroom observations which primarily focused on classroom discourse and interactions among participants (both students and teachers). Five teachers and seventy-eight students were observed in three different science subjects - IB DP biology, chemistry, and physics. The students were of mixed ability and gender. However, most of them demonstrated moderate or high interest in science. The teachers of mixed gender had teaching experience ranging from 4 to 16 years. A variety of teaching episodes were observed including expository lectures; small group discussions; whole-class guided discussion; individual student work including revision; small group, paired hands-on activities; individual and group solving of end chapter questions and problems; students writing notes after reading a text or at the end of the unit, and teacher’s demonstration. The observed lessons covered a range of topics such as chemical bonds, atomic structure, the periodic table, acids and bases, the nervous system, the reproductive system, enzymes, photosynthesis, mechanics, and electricity. The classroom observations were conducted to collect initial qualitative data and served as a pilot study for the doctorate research. Qualitative data obtained from the classroom observations in the form of field notes were analyzed to identify segments containing students’ questions. The teacher’s questions were counted but not recorded. Each classroom discourse was analyzed based on the scientific content of the talk, type of utterances, and interaction patterns. Coding categories for questions were developed based on existing literature about students’ questions and their nature (Bogdan & Biklen, 1997). A constant comparative method (Glaser & Strauss, 2017) was used to cluster and narrow down the codes into four categories: factual, clarifying, wonderment, and other questions. The frequency of questions that students asked was computed and compared with teachers’ questions. Lastly, the types of teaching episodes when students’ questions were asked as well as teachers’ reactions to these questions were recorded and categorized.

The observed teaching episodes were dominated by teacher’s questions (287 questions). On the contrary, students asked 120 questions. Most of the students' questions were clarifying questions (81%) and were directed to other students (90%) The clarifying and factual questions constituted 96% of all students’ questions. Factual questions asked by students usually required recall of information and were closed. All of them were related to the content presented during a class. Most students asked clarifying questions. They included probing questions that were asked to obtain more detailed and specific information or were asking for reassurance. Students asked them when needed clarification, sought additional guidance, or were confused about the next step of a task. Wonderment questions were only asked three times and were directed to teachers. These questions were pitched at a conceptually higher level. They stemmed from curiosity about the taught topic and required from students integration of complex and sometimes divergent information from various sources. Two wonderment questions appeared during students’ conversations, and one during a hands-on activity. Notably, all wonderment questions occurred during open-ended and problem-solving activities in which students were not given step-by-step teachers’ instructions on how to carry out the task. It has been noticed that students’ questions were more frequent in activities that posed cognitive challenges (e.g, hands-on activities). Whenever step-by-step instructions were provided, students only asked clarifying questions related to the procedure. The ‘other questions’ were not related to the content of the class and were mainly related to the logistics of the class (e.g, time of the task, etc). They constituted 33% of students’ questions. Overall, it has been observed that students frequently ask questions to each other when working or learning together. Interestingly, more students’ questions were observed in classes where teachers asked fewer questions and used a variety of teaching tools.

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