The Impact of High-Level Teacher Questioning on Elementary School Students’ Achievement, Retention and Attitude in Science

Abstract

This research aimed to investigate the impact of high-level teacher questioning on 6th grade students’ science achievement, retention of learning and their attitudes toward science. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest control group design was employed in this research. Participants consisted of 43 students enrolled in two intact 6th grade classes of a science teacher in a public elementary school. Two classes were assigned as either an experimental group or a control group randomly. Students in both groups were taught electricity concepts through student centered activities aligned with the national elementary school science curriculum. Difference between the two groups was the type of questions used by the teacher during the instruction. Background Questionnaire, Science Achievement Test, Attitude Scale and Structured Interview Form were used to collect data. ANCOVA results revealed a significant difference in science achievement and retention of learning across two groups, in favor of experimental group. However, independent t-test results demonstrated that students’ attitudes toward science were not significantly different across the groups. Moreover, interview results supported the findings obtained from the achievement test.