Types And Cognitive Levels Of Questions Asked By Professors During College Of Agriculture Class Sessions

Abstract

One common teacher behavior exhibited in college of agriculture class sessions is oral questioning of students. Belland, Belland, and Price (1971) believed that if questioning was a noted teacher behavior, then it was important to evaluate and analyze questions asked by professors. Professors use questions to control classroom interactions, including stimulating the level of thinking which occurs (Blosser, 2000). The purpose of this study was to identify the types and cognitive levels of questions used by selected professors in college of agriculture class sessions. Professor questions were categorized by type and cognitive level. The type of question was categorized using Blosser's classification system which includes managerial, rhetorical, open, and closed questions. The cognitive level of questions was categorized using the Newcomb-Trefz (1987) model which includes remembering, processing, creating, and evaluating levels. Nearly one-half (42%) of the questions asked by the 12 professors in 21 class sessions were closed-type (pre-determined "right" answer) questions. One-third (33%) of the questions asked by professors were remembering (lowest) level of cognition questions. Creating and evaluating level questions were asked least often. It is recommended that professors analyze the types and cognitive levels of their questions, because questions can be designed to fully engage students in the content, and thus, further develop both cognitive skills and content expertise.