10 determine the way in which we evaluate the level of its performance” p.4.
McMorris 2004 then correlates skill and performance, he also defines performance as the outcome of performing a skill p.5.
a. The Purpose of Questioning
Over the years, many educators have acknowledged the importance of teacher questioning in the educational process. Dillon 1988 says that “The better
the teacher’s questions, the better a teacher’s teaching and a class’s learning. To know how to question is to know how to teach –or so it is assumed”. Charles
DeGarmo also states: To question well is to teach well. In the skillful use of the question more
than anything else, lies the fine art of teaching; for in such use we have the guide to clear and vivid ideas, the quick spur to imagination, the stimulus
to thought, the incentive to action As sited in Cooper, 2011, p.108.
Kerry 1982 states that questions sere a variety of purposes. He says that a teacher typically asks 1000 questions per week. Those questions serve a variety of
purposes, as follows : • To encourage students to participate
• To engage students in discussion •
To attract students’ attention • To assess students’ understanding
• To provide a review of content • To develop critical thinking
Morgan and Saxton 2006 adds that ”rather than thinking about the type of question you want to ask, you need to consider the purpose for your questions
and what you want to get out of them”. It means knowing and understanding the
11 purposes of questions are necessary to be considered as one of important factors
to conduct an effective questioning.
b. Kinds of Questions
There are many experts who try to classify kinds of questions. Brown 1978 adopts Bloom’s taxonomy of the cognitive domain theory to classify
different kinds of questions that are asked by a teacher p.109. Brown 1978 in his book states that there are eight categories of teacher question according to the
student’s expected response p.108. 1 Compliance is a question which requires the student to act according to a
command. 2 Rhetorical is a question which requires no reply from the student. The teacher
answers his own question. 3 Recall is a question which requires the student to recall information, in form
of a word, phrase or series of sentence. The student needs to remember the information just as it was learned.
4 Comprehension is a question which requires the students to understand what the student has learned previously.
5 Application is a question which requires the student to apply the information that shehe has learned to a problem and also requires a single right answer to
the problem. 6 Analysis is a question which requires the student to identify motive, to make a
generalization, to interpret, to look for evidence based on the information the student has.
12 7 Synthesis is a question which requires the student to express ideas or images,
make predictions, and solve a problem. 8 Evaluation is a question which requires the student to give their opinions
about issues, judge the values of ideas, and make solution to a problem. Brown 1978 classifies those categories into two kinds of questions, they
are lower order cognitive questions and higher order cognitive questions. The lower
order cognitive
questions are
Compliance, rhetorical,
recall, comprehension, application questions. The lower order cognitive questions are
questions that require the student to simply recall a single fact and require only a single correct answer p.103.
Brown 1978 on the other hand, groups analysis, synthesis, and evaluation questions as the higher order cognitive questions. The higher order
cognitive questions imply that there is more to learning than just knowing facts p.103.
Cooper 2011 classifies two kinds of questions, he states that “All questions and answers fall into one or two categories: no, we are not talking about
“right and wrong” but rather convergent and divergent” p.113. A convergent question by its nature has a more narrowly defined correct answer, the questions
require a definite answer whether the answer is right or wrong Orlich et al., 2010, p.220. A convergent question, also called a closed question because many
convergent questions are lower order cognitive questions, the answer is generally short, and they are “recall-oriented” Cooper, 2011, p.113.
13 A divergent question on the other hand, is opened questions by nature
Cooper, 2011, p.113. Divergent questions broader in nature, can have multiple answers, and require then a higher level of thinking on behalf of the students
Cooper, 2011, p.113. Asking the higher order cognitive question to the students, encouraged them to analyze situation, make comparison, draw conclusions, make
inferences, and solve a problem Orlich et al., 2010, pp.221-222.
c. The Implementation of Questioning Skill
