Learning Through Asking Questions
Why do college students not ask questions? I have been asking myself why students in college do not ask questions as often as they do in kindergarten. Why do students not retain the curiosity they had at the beginning of their education? Is this because they learn that asking questions might put them in trouble? Truly, in our schools teachers ask questions and expect students to learn the answers. Many teachers teach the way they were taught (Cross, 1990), oriented around the answers. However, many of us agree that the interaction between teachers and their students is very important in teaching any subject (Darling– Hammond, 1990) and that students are not learning if they are passive receivers of knowledge (Mestre, 1994). Those researches imply that students do not learn science by absorbing facts but by critical thinking and working through the problems. When students think critically, they can ask appropriate questions to absorb meaningful information.
The relationship between a teacher’s classroom questioning behavior and a student’s achievement has been an extensively researched topic (Cotton, 88). All the research has been concentrated around the teacher, not around the learner. However, based on the latest empirical findings by Huddle (2000) that chemistry courses have experienced worldwide decreasing success rates in recent years, we should seek different ways to get students more actively involved in their courses and let the students ask questions.
In an attempt to improve students’ learning and success in the future, I have tried the strategy of learning through asking questions in my chemistry courses. My assumption was that a good science student is the one who asks the thoughtful questions and that students learn more efficiently when actively involved in questioning on their own. Subsequently, as science students are progressing in their learning, they should further develop critical thinking skills, deepen their knowledge, and be motivated to learn more about the subject. When the curiosity is stimulated, the students will ask more and more questions.
Students should ask the questions not only during the class but also outside the classroom. Increasing Web–based communication with students and extending this communication beyond the classroom may increase classroom participation. Therefore, teachers should encourage the students to ask informative and useful questions to gain information they need to solve problems. Incorporating critical thinking in solving problems and thoughtful questioning should lead to higher academic performance.
In my organic chemistry classes, taught in the 2001–2002 academic year, I used questions as a learning tool to assess the students’ understanding of assigned reading. Before each class, students had assigned selected readings from the chemistry textbook and were asked to send entry questions, questions that they had before the lecture and after reading the assigned material. Students were instructed to focus on what they were reading, think for themselves, write down the questions induced by the material read, and submit those questions to me through email.
To make the learning more efficient, I involved technology in implementing my new teaching strategy of asking meaningful questions. I found out that Blackboard, a Web–based software, could be a very useful way to ask questions. In my organic chemistry classes, the students were asking the questions and finding the answers on their own using Blackboard 5 software.
The submission of the questions and answers through Blackboard provided part of the data for analysis. Other significant data was collected through: (1) observation, (2) a survey, (3) pretest and final test. Participation of students (excluding working in small groups) during the class discussions was observed and recorded. As Figure 1 (p.171) shows, students that asked entry questions before the lecture were more
| Figure 1. Students that participated (P) or did not participate (NP) during class, and used "Entry questions" (EQ) or did not use "Entry questions" (NEQ). [%] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure 2. Number of good questions asked | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
active and asked more questions during the class. In contrast, the students who did not ask entry questions before the lecture did not participate during the class. Surprisingly, observation and survey showed that all the students liked to ask questions.
However, when the problem was stated during the pretest, students were able to ask neither meaningful nor in–depth questions, and some students were not able to ask any question at all. Interestingly enough, students who asked one or did not ask any question at all during the pretest did ask more questions during the final test after repeatedly submitting entry questions during the organic chemistry course. The final grade from the chemistry course strongly correlated with the number of questions asked by students on the final test; the more they learned during the course, the more in–depth questions they asked on the final test. (See Figure 2, p. 171). There was no statistically significant difference between males and females in the number of questions asked during the pretest and the final test.
Although the post–course survey showed that both male and female students liked to ask questions, about 60% of all students preferred to ask questions outside the classroom. Some students felt uncomfortable asking questions in class; they were shy or were afraid to say something wrong. Others implied that they were unprepared and tried to escape attention during the class. Some students said that they did not like to ask questions during class because, as one indicated, “I am not sure what the teacher wants me to ask. I am sometimes shy to ask questions in class. I do not like to take up a lot of class time. I need time to see if I can figure it out on my own. I do not like holding the class back. I feel that I am bothering someone. I feel like I am wasting everyone else’s time.”
Student surveys confirmed that the Blackboard Discussion Board was the best way to ask questions, such as “For determining the rate in an SN2 reaction both number of alkyl groups and size of alkyl groups matters, but which matters more? If you were comparing rates of one reaction with very few alkyl groups but they were big and another with more alkyl groups but much smaller ones, which would be faster? Is it size or numbers that matters more?” Through asking the type of questions cited above, learners gained a deeper understanding of the subject.
The classroom research showed that good students asked more questions and that the more they learned the more questions they asked. Learning does not involve only the time spent in the classroom; hours spent in the classroom are only part of the real work of learning. There were significant positive changes in grades when students were asking entry questions before the class. In addition, after reading the current lecture material and finding out what they did not know, learners were better prepared for the class participation.
Students believe that asking entry questions before class is a good way to check their own understanding of the material. Some of the significant benefits of asking questions before the class are: (1) developing critical thinking, (2) extending teaching time, (3) developing interest and curiosity, (4) giving a chance for all the students to ask the questions with no limitation because of size of the class, and (5) preparing and motivating students to become actively involved in class. The most important is the students’ feeling that by asking questions they gain a deeper understanding of the subject.
Most students like to ask more questions online using Blackboard software. This way faculty and students were able to communicate easily with one another. Furthermore, the program gave them a chance to participate without voicing out in class, and some students felt more comfortable doing that.
When we learn, we start by developing an interest in new material, and we ask a lot of questions. We should let the learners figure out what they do not know so that they will be motivated to find out more. Students’ ability to ask questions will ensure their success as lifelong learners in the 21st Century.
Cotton K., (1988). Classroom Questioning. School Improvement Research Series (SIRS). Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
Cross, C. (1990). “Introductory Remarks.” In E. Boe and D. Gilford (Eds.), Teacher Supply, Demand and Quality: Policy Issues, Models and Data Bases. Proceedings of a conference. Washington, D. C.: National Academy Press.
Darling–Hammond, L. (1990). “Teacher Professionalism: Why and How?” In Schools as Collaborative Cultures: Creating the Future Now. New York: Facon Press.
Huddle, P.A. (2000). “A Poster Session in Organic Chemistry that Markedly Enhanced Student Learning.” Journal of Chemical Education, 77, 1154.
Mestre, J. (1994). “Cognitive Aspects of Learning and Teaching Science.” In Teacher Enhancement for Elementary and Science and Mathematics: Status, Issues, and Problems. S. Fitzsimmons and L. Kerpelman (Eds.), Washington, D.C.: National Science Foundation.
Bozena Barbara Widanski is an assistant professor of chemistry at University of Cincinnati—Clermont. She may be reached by e–mail at bozena.widanski@uc.edu.