The effects of higher-level questioning in a high school mathematics classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to address questioning and higher-level thinking in a low level high school mathematics class. Students in this study included twenty-two high school freshmen (experimental group) and twenty-three high school freshmen (control group) who were enrolled in Algebra 1. This study included a pretest that both groups took to determine their cognitive level or thinking prior to new information and modifications in teaching. The experimental group received modifications that included cooperative learning activities and higher-level questions over a six-week period. The modifications were aimed at helping them reach higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. The control group received the same information, but it was presented in a more traditional teaching manner. At the end of the six weeks, students in both groups were given a posttest to determine if they could answer higher-level questions. An analysis of covariance was used to determine the results, which were significant, showing that the experimental group did perform at higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy than the control group at the end of the six weeks.