The Questioning Techniques of Primary School Mathematics Teachers in their Journey to Incorporate Dialogic Teaching

Rosni Othman, Masitah Shahrill, Roslinawati Roslan, Farida Nurhasanah, Nordiana Zakir, Daniel Asamoah

Abstract


Questioning is one of the critical repertoires in dialogic teaching. Teachers who set dialogic classrooms need to be able to use questioning effectively. Effective questioning techniques by teachers improve teacher-student instructional dialogues in primary school mathematics classrooms. In this study, the questioning practices of three primary school mathematics teachers were analysed in their journey to incorporate dialogic teaching. Data were gathered through lesson observations, video recordings and teacher interviews. The three teachers’ classroom discourses were transcribed verbatim, and teachers’ questions were analysed to find out the types of questions, how the teachers asked the questions and the feedback given to the student’s responses. Findings from this study indicated that the three teachers used effective questioning techniques in ensuring dialogic teaching, with focusing, genuine enquiry, and closed testing questions being the most predominant. The teachers portrayed positive attitudes towards dialogic teaching and shared their comprehensive understanding of the approach.

Keywords


Dialogic teaching; questioning techniques; teachers’ perceptions; primary school mathematics

Full Text:

PDF

References


Alexander, R. J. (2017). Towards dialogic teaching: Rethinking classroom talk (5th ed.). York, UK: Dialogos.

Asterhan, C. S. C., Lefstein, A., Reznitskaya, A., Howe, C., & Matusov, E. (2020). Controversies and consensus in research on dialogic teaching and learning. Dialogic Pedagogy: An International Online Journal, 8, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.5195/dpj.2020.312

Bennett, A., & Elman, C. (2006). Qualitative research: Recent developments in case study methods. Annual Review of Political Science, 9, 455–476. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.polisci.8.082103.104918

Bozkurt, A., & Polat, S. (2017). An examination of the teacher’s questions for revealing students’ mathematical thinking. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 9(1), 72–96. http://doi.org/10.16949/turkbilmat.337419

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2014). What can “thematic analysis” offer health and wellbeing researchers? International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 9, 26152. https://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v9.26152

Çelik, A. Ö., & Güzel, E. B. (2016). A mathematics teacher’s questioning approaches for revealing students’ thinking during lesson study. Turkish Journal of Computer and Mathematics Education, 7(2), 365–392. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.16949/turcomat.93160.

Centre for British Teachers [CfBT], Brunei Darussalam (2017). Literacy and numeracy coaching programme materials. Bander Seri Begawan: CfBT.

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Crowe, S., Cresswell, K., Robertson, A., Huby, G., Avery, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-11-100.

Curriculum Development Department (CDD) (2016). Brunei national numeracy standard framework. Brunei Darussalam: Ministry of Education.

Desli, D., & Galanopoulou, E. (2017). Questioning in primary school mathematics: An analysis of questions teachers ask in mathematics lessons. The 3rd International Symposium on New Issues on Teacher Education, 97.

Farrell, T. S. C., & Mom, V. (2015). Exploring teacher questions through reflective practice. Reflective Practice International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 16(6), 849–865. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2015.1095734.

García-Carrión, R., López de Aguileta, G., Padrós, M., & Ramis-Salas, M. (2020). Implications for social impact of dialogic teaching and learning. Frontiers in Psycholology, 11(140). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00140.

Gillies, M. R. (2020). Dialogic teaching during cooperative inquiry-based science: A case study of a year 6 classroom. Education Science, 10(328), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10110328

Goldman, S., & McDermott, R. (2007). Staying the course with video analysis. In R. Goldman, R. Pea, B. Barron, & S. J. Derry (Eds.), Video Research in the Learning Sciences (pp. 101–104). New York: Routledge.

Hanafiah, A. F. (2008). The development of mathematical thinking through teachers’ questions in upper primary schools in Negara Brunei Darussalam (Unpublished master dissertation). Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Brunei Darussalam.

Lee, R. (2016). Implementing dialogic teaching in a Singapore English language classroom. RELC Journal, 47(3), 279–293. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688216631171

Mahmud, M. S., Yunus, A. S. M., Ayub, A. F. M., & Sulaiman, T. (2020). Enhancing mathematical language through oral questioning in primary school. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 19(5), 395–410. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.19.5.24

Maphosa, C., & Wadesango, N. (2017). Questioning ‘questioning’: Examining the use of questioning as an interactive teaching tool in higher education. Journal of Communication, 7(1), 111–117. https://doi.org/10.31901/24566586.2016/07.01.13

Marmin, N. N., Matzin, R., Jawawi, R., Shamsinar Husain, N. A. P., & Amjah, Y. (2021). Scaffolding students’ learning through teacher’s questioning. International Journal of Learning and Teaching, 7(1), 43–47. https://doi.org/10.18178/ijlt.7.1.43-47

Mercer, N., & Dawes, L. (2014). The study of talk between teachers and students, from the 1970s until the 2010s. Oxford Review of Education, 40(4), 430-445. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2014.934087.

Muhammad, N., & Petra, M. I. (2021). History and development of the Brunei education system. In L. H. Phan, A. Kumpoh, K. Wood, R. Jawawi & H. Said (Eds.), Globalisation, education, and reform in Brunei Darussalam (pp. 21–44). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77119-5_2

Ozbek, G., & Uyumaz, G. (2020). The impact of dialogic teaching on academic success and anxiety regarding mathematics courses. Psycho-Educational Research Reviews, 9(2), 22–38. https://www.journals.lapub.co.uk/index.php/PERR

Rapanta, C., Garcia-Mila, M., Remesal, A., & Goncalves, C. (2021). The challenge of inclusive dialogic teaching in public secondary school. Media Education Research Journal 66, 21–31. https://doi.org/10.3916/C66-2021-02

Roslan, R. M. (2014). Primary teachers talk in the Bruneian context: Representational fluency and consequences for science classrooms (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia.

Roslan, R., Panjang, S. M., Yusof, N., & Shahrill, M. (2018). Teacher’s feedback in teaching science in a bilingual Bruneian primary classroom. On the Horizon, 26(2), 122–136. https://doi.org/10.1108/OTH-09-2017-0080

Salam, N. H. A., & Shahrill, M. (2014). Examining classroom interactions in secondary mathematics classrooms in Brunei Darussalam. Asian Social Science, 10(11), 92–103. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n11p92.

Sharbawi, S., & Jaidin, J. H. (2020). Brunei’s SPN21 English language-in-education policy: A macro-to-micro evaluation. Current Issues in Language Planning, 21(2), 175–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2019.1657267

Shahrill, M. (2009). From the general to the particular: Connecting international classroom research to four classrooms in Brunei Darussalam (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

Shahrill, M. (2013). Review of effective teacher questioning in mathematics classrooms. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(17), 224–231.

Shahrill, M. (2017). Examining the methodological implications of international classroom research. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Educational Studies, 12(1), 27–46. https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-011X/CGP/v12i01/27-46

Shahrill, M. (2018). Teachers’ devotion to review lessons: Insights to the mathematics lessons in Brunei Darussalam. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 1028(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1028/1/012158

Shahrill, M., & Clarke, D. J. (2014). Brunei teachers’ perspectives on questioning: Investigating the opportunities to “talk” in mathematics lessons. International Education Studies, 7(7), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.5539/ies.v7n7p1

Shahrill, M., & Clarke, D. J. (2019). Pedagogical features that influence mathematics classroom practices – A Bruneian perspective. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 40(2), 341–348. https://doi.org/10.34044/j.kjss.2019.40.2.06

Teegavarapu, S., Summers, J. D., & Mocko, G. M. (2008). Case study method for design research: A justification. In Proceedings of IDETC/DTM 2008 and ASME 2008 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1115/DETC2008-49980

Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interaction between learning and development. Readings on the Development of Children, 23(3), 34–41.

Wegerif, R. (2019). Dialogic education. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.396

Xu, L. & Clarke, D. (2018). Validity and comparability in cross-cultural video studies of classrooms. In L. Xu, G. Aranda, W. Widjaja, & D. Clarke (Eds.), Video-based research in education: Cross-disciplinary Perspectives, 19–33. New York, NY: Routledge.

Yıldırım, Ş., & Uzun, Ş. (2021). An overview of dialogic teaching and its impact on learning. International Journal of Education, Technology and Science, 1(2), 135–153.

Yin, R. (2003). Case Study Research Design and Methods 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Zainal, Z. (2007). Case study as a research method. Jurnal Kemanusiaan, 5(1), 1–6.

Zakir, N. (2018). The impact of educational change processes in Brunei preschools: An interpretive study (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Sheffield, United Kingdom.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.46517/seamej.v12i2.198

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.



Indexed by:

      


Southeast Asian Mathematics Education Journal
SEAMEO Regional Centre for QITEP in Mathematics
Jl. Kaliurang Km 6, Sambisari, Condongcatur, Depok, Sleman
Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Telp. +62 274 889955
Email: seamej@qitepinmath.org


p-ISSN: 2089-4716 | e-ISSN: 2721-8546


Southeast Asian Mathematics Education Journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

View My Stats

 Supported by: