Effective New Jersey and Israeli Elementary Teachers’ Questioning Techniques During Mathematics and Literacy Lessons

• In Event: Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Language and Literacy Education: Global Perspectives

Abstract

This study examines similarities and differences in the functions and formats of questioning used by identified effective elementary mathematics and language arts teachers. The study was conducted with 8 teachers in two bilingual low SES schools and two affluent monolingual schools in Israel and New Jersey. Two lessons in mathematics and two in language arts were videotaped for each teacher. A total of 32 lessons were coded and compared for general function of questions, types of questions, and specific instructional purpose of questions. Comparisons are made across subject areas and across cultural and linguistic contexts. The study argues that effective teaching is context specific and that teachers cannot be fairly assessed with a one-size-fits-all format for documenting best practices.

Authors

• Rochelle G. Kaplan, William Paterson University

• Geraldine Mongillo, William Paterson University

• Dorothy Feola, William Paterson University

• Vered Vaknin-Nusbaum, Western Galilee College

• Ari Neuman, Western Galilee College

• Randa Abas, Western Galilee College