The use of effective questioning to enhance students active participation in a Grade - XI chemistry classroom of a Government Degree College in the rural district of Jacobabad
Date of Award
2012
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (M. Ed.)
Department
Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the usage of effective questioning during lecture-based teaching in Grade XI chemistry classroom in order to enhance students’ active participation. Use of effective questioning is an integral part of the teaching-learning processes. Classroom questioning is an extensively researched subject. The high incidence of questioning as a teaching strategy and its consequent potential for influencing students’ participation in classroom activities have led many researchers to explore relationships between teaching via questioning method and students’ level of active participation. The current scenario of education in Pakistan suggests that the teacher-centered practices of teaching chemistry at higher secondary are dominant. Teachers only pass on factual knowledge to students. The students’ classroom participation is given less importance. Hence, this study explored the usage of effective questioning as a teaching strategy in enhancing students’ active participation in a Grade XI chemistry classroom, in a Government (Boys) Degree College, rural Sindh, Pakistan. Data about the impact of intervention has been collected in different stages of the study. At the pre-intervention stage, semi-structured interviews and classroom observations were conducted to explore existing practices of using effective questioning and level of students’ participation during lecture-based teaching. During the intervention, writing reflection and informal discussion were the tools to collect the data about the impact of using effective questioning for the enhancement of students’ active participation. The post-intervention stage identified the impact of the intervention. In addition, the reflective diary of the researcher, field notes and students’ works have been used as data collection sources. The research study describes that when effective questioning is employed in chemistry classroom, students actively participate in the teaching and learning processes. The study also highlighted some of the factors like planning in advance, asking higher order questions, friendly environment, increasing wait time, and giving proper feedback, are helpful in enhancing students’ active participation by using effective questioning. On the contrary, large class size, teacher’s professional capacity to bring change and his workload were the challenging factors which hindered the use of effective questions. To conclude, findings of the study support the use of effective questioning because it not only raises the level of students’ active participation but also develops interest among them for their learning. The findings might prove useful to further the understanding of teaching and learning practices in chemistry classroom in the context of the professional development of chemistry teachers. It also provides a foundation for further research.
Recommended Citation
Dool, M. A. (2012). The use of effective questioning to enhance students active participation in a Grade - XI chemistry classroom of a Government Degree College in the rural district of Jacobabad (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.