Questions in secondary classrooms: Toward a theory of questioning

At the heart of the teaching practice is the art of questioning. Costa and Kallick noted that questions are the means by which insights unlock thinking. Effective questioning is essential to effective teaching. Despite this, a cohesive theory on the method of questioning has yet to be developed. A discussion of questioning is vital to moving the teaching profession forward. In this article, we propose a model of effective questioning that we see as the first step toward identifying a unifying theory of questioning. Our model contains the following three components: (1) a well-structured item (a good question), (2) clear expectations for the response (which we call ‘the five considerations’), and (3) a constructivist conversation. This work succeeds in bridging the gap between practice and theory that may otherwise limit good teachers from utilizing their questions in the most effective manner. Because of this, our model should be of use to teachers, teacher educators, professional developers, educational researchers, and theoreticians. We hope that a continued discussion of questioning ensues in all of these circles, so that our field can move closer toward the development of a theory of questioning.

Ethical Naturalism and the Meaning of “Good”

How to explicate the meaning of “good” is a classic philosophical question, one reason is that “good” has metaphysical properties which are difficult to interpret. The development of ethical naturalism opens a door to answer the “good” question. This theory proposes to view the moral world and the natural world as a continuum, in that the moral world is built on the basis of the natural one. This study aims to introduce a sort of reductive ethical naturalism—end-relational theory—to interpret “good” assertions. According to this theory, most “good” assertions are end-relational and thus “good” can be reduced to “end”. By doing so, metaphysical moral meaning can be converted into concretized natural meaning, and then “good” morality will not be high up above anymore.

Do proctored online University exams in Covid-19 era affect final grades respect face-to-face exams?

The Covid-19 pandemic forced universities to convert their traditional face-to-face exams to online exams with doubts as to whether student cheating or technical difficulties would affect their final grades. After taking three of these exams online, we considered comparing their grades with those of previous years on traditional exams. The average mark of the traditional exams before the pandemic was 6.95 over 10, while the average mark of the three exams carried out in the Covid-19 era is 6.64. The student's t test indicated that there are no significant differences between the two types of exams in the mean (p = 0.408), the median (p = 0.378), the range (p = 0.307), the minimum (p = 0.410) and the maximum (p = 0.072). Taking online exams did not modify the exam grades compared to previous years. There is a lot of variability in similar studies in the literature due to cheating that can be performed in online exams. A proctoring system, good question design, and limited exam time can minimize these differences.

That’s a Good Question: Inquiry as a Pedagogical Strategy of Jesus in Matthew

This article analyzes the ways in which Jesus’ questions in Matthew’s gospel align with the categories of Bloom’s taxonomy, and how Jesus’ audience influenced the questions he asked. Results indicate Jesus asked the religious leaders higher-level questions more often than the disciples, who received a greater number of lower-level questions. These differences inform how teachers construct questions that help students learn. Recommendations are made for educators who construct questions that account for students’ preparation, students’ motivation, the value of silence, and the difficulty of questions.

What makes a good query? Prospects for a comprehensive theory of human information acquisition

Searching for information in a goal-directed manner is central for learning, diagnosis, and prediction. Children continuously ask questions to learn new concepts, doctors do medical tests to diagnose their patients, and scientists perform experiments to test their theories. But what makes a good question? What principles govern human information acquisition and how do people decide which query to conduct to achieve their goals? What challenges need to be met to advance theory and psychology of human inquiry? Addressing these issues, we introduce the conceptual and mathematical ideas underlying different models of the value of information, what purpose these models serve in psychological research, and how they can be integrated in a unified formal framework. We also discuss the conflict between short- and long-term efficiency of prominent methods for query selection, and the resulting normative and methodological implications for studying human sequential search. A final point of discussion concerns the relations between probabilistic (Bayesian) models of the value of information and heuristic search strategies, and the insights than can be gained from bridging different levels of analysis and types of models. We conclude by discussing open questions and challenges that research needs to address to build a comprehensive theory of human information acquisition.

Analisis Kesulitan Pemahaman Konseptual Siswa Dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Pada Materi Fisika di XI MIA 3 DI MAN 2 Langsa

The research aims to determine the level of difficulty and differentiation of the exam on the middle semester of the subjects of the Physics class XI MIA 3 in MAN 2 Langsa. The research method used is a descriptive quantitative method. The results showed that for the difficulty level was obtained 13 questions (43.33%) Easy, 17 questions (56.66%) Medium and 0 problem (0%) Difficult. The results of the analysis of the differentiator power about 10 questions (33.33%) Received, 16 questions (53.33%) Discarded and 4 questions (13.33%) Fixed. Overall about the middle semester exam of physics subjects in class XI MIA 3 in MAN 2 Langsa year 2018/2019 is categorized as a good question, because it has the largest percentage of difficulty level in the category of moderate problems, namely as many as 17 questions (56.66%) And the largest percentage of the differentiator's power in the category of questions received 10 questions (33.33%).