Teacher Questions in Reading Comprehension Instruction: An Observational Study of Lower Secondary Classrooms

• In Event: Instructional Interventions and Practices in Literacy

Abstract

The present study examines teacher questions on texts reviewed during whole class reading comprehension instruction across lessons in 26 Norwegian lower-secondary language arts classrooms (n = 51). Through video observations, the study deductively examines patterns of text-dependent questions based on reading literacy processes as defined in prominent reading literacy assessment frameworks. Findings showed that teachers mostly asked questions that required students to interpret or make reflections, while they hardly asked questions that required assessing the quality and credibility of texts. No questions demanded students to search and select relevant texts or detect and handle conflict in texts. Differences in questioning patterns concerning fiction and non-fiction texts are also examined and discussed.

Author

• Camilla Gudmundsdatter Magnusson, University of Oslo