Characterizing students’ peer-peer questions: frequency, nature, responses and learning

Abstract

In group activities, students work collaboratively to accomplish specific objectives. Students have to engage and interact with each other in order to complete collaborative assignments. One way that students stay engaged is through asking questions. In the research reported here, we looked at peer-to-peer questions in the context of a collaborative activity. Specifically, we examined the frequency of questions, types of questions, types of responses elicited by student questions, whether peer question-and-answer interactions led to verbalized learning, and the disciplinary content of the questions asked by students in their groups. Our results show that there was a wide range in the frequency of questions asked across groups. The types of questions asked were broadly classified as confirmation seeking, clarification seeking, information seeking, and questions seeking understanding. Types of responses elicited included explanations (conceptual), informational, unsure, and no response. Most of the question-and-answer exchanges did not lead to verbalized learning. Some types of question-and-answer combinations were more likely to lead to verbalized learning than others. The most commonly asked disciplinary content questions sought facts and descriptions of procedures. Questions seeking conceptual understanding, which are more likely to lead to learning, were least common. Implications for instruction and research are discussed.