23 However, Bloom’s taxonomy has been criticized on the grounds that the
categories are too broad and some topics, such as personal qualities, have no space within it Carter, 1985, as cited in Nhlapo, 1998. Another criticism is that the
taxonomy does not distinguish between knowledge and skills, by which Carter means that Bloom does not distinguish between knowing how to do something
and being able to do it. Thus, to categorize teachers’ questions, it is very important to determine the
kind of thinking required on the part of the learners to answer the questions. Lower order questions, for example, require the students to recall information,
whereas higher order questions require the pupils to manipulate information for some purpose Perrot, 1986. In relation to this, he further states that most
teachers’ questions call for specific fact answers or lower cognitive thought. But higher cognitive questions have an important role to enhance students’ thinking
ability beyond recalling facts.
E. Wait-Time
An important dimension of teachers’ questioning skills is uncertain time, or wait-time, that is, the length of time the teacher waits after asking the question
before calling on a student to answer it, rephrasing the question, directing the question to another student, or giving the answer. That is called wait-time, and it
is amazing how few teachers use this important questioning skill. In fact, when we consider the steps that are involved for a second language speaker in answering a
question, an argument can be made that the individual needs an even longer wait- time than a native speaker. In fact, it seems clear that if teachers ask questions,
which they do not already know the answers, they will find it natural to wait for
24 responses, and they will need time to think about the responses before reacting to
them Ma, 2008. Research shows that the mean amount of time a teacher waits after asking a
question is approximately one second. Sadker and Sadker 1988 point that if the students are not able to think quickly enough to come up with a response at this
second pace, the teacher usually repeats the question, rephrases it, asks a different question, or calls on another student. Moreover, in the classroom, when teachers
learn to increase their wait-time from one second to three to five seconds after asking a question, many significant changes occur in their classroom Richards
and Lockhart, 1994. It takes time to answer questions. Many studies show in their investigations
that students are rarely given sufficient time to formulate their answers before the teacher repeats, rephrases, or goes on to ask another student the question. Rowe
1986 found that teachers, on average, waited less than a second before calling a student to respond, and that only a further second was then allowed for the student
to answer before the teacher intervened, either supplying the required response themselves, rephrasing the question, or calling on some other student to respond.
In short, few teachers give their students enough wait-time to think about the questions or to form meaningful answers. The average wait-time, when the
teacher waits after a question, is less than a second. There should be at least 2 to 4 seconds after any question before any student is called on to answer it. Wait-time
allows the reflective student a chance to respond and well as the impulsive student or one who instantly knows the answer. If no one wants to tackle the question
25 after 15 seconds, leave it unanswered. Tell the students to think about the answer
and you will raise the question again at the beginning of the next class period.
F. Related Research
