The Effect of Pedagogical Questioning on Young Children’s Exploratory Learning of Novel Concepts

• In Event: Novel Perspectives on the Role of Adult Questions for Children’s Learning and Cognition

Abstract

Asking and answering questions has been seen as a core component of teaching and learning at least since the days of Socrates, and is the cornerstone of modern constructivist teaching methods such as inquiry-based instructions. Previous studies showed that compared to direct instructions, questions were as effective in transmitting knowledge, while also encouraging exploration and discovery learning when children faced a novel toy with multiple hidden functions (Yu, Landrum, Bonawitz, & Shafto, 2018). However, these effects occurred only when the question was asked by a knowledgeable experimenter who intended to teach (pedagogical question), and not by a naïve bystander who intended to seek information (naïve question). This study asked whether the same effects of pedagogical questioning can be observed for children’s learning of novel concepts.

Participants of this study included 120 children (60 5-year-olds and 60 6-year-olds) recruited from kindergartens. They were randomly assigned into one of four conditions: direct instruction (DI), pedagogical question (PQ), naive question (NQ), and free play (FP). All children were told to find differences between two types of alien robots, the Daxes and the Wugs (Figure 1). Unbeknownst to children, Daxes and Wugs differed in one determining feature (feet shape), and two non-determining features (color and shape). Children were tested by two RAs: an experimenter who assumed the role of a knowledgeable teacher, and a confederate who assumed the role of the child’s fellow student. After telling the child and the confederate to find differences between Daxes and Wugs, the experimenter followed up with a prompt based on the condition. In the DI condition, the experimenter directly told the child the determining feature (i.e., Daxes have pointy feet and Wugs have flat feet). In the PQ condition, the experimenter asked a question that hinted at the feet (“Which robot would be more likely to fall over?”). In the NQ, condition the confederate asked the same question as a guess for the difference. In the FP condition, no prompt was given. Children were then left alone to explore 32 demonstration cards (16 Daxes and 16 Wugs). After children finished exploring the cards, they were presented with test cards to categorize and asked to verbally state the differences between Daxes and Wugs. Children’s exploration and responses were video-recorded and coded with regard to total exploration time, number of cards explored, number of test cards correctly categorized, and recognition of the determining and non-determining features.

Preliminary results from 30 children showed a significant difference between conditions in children’s exploration time, F(3,26) = 5.36, p = .005 (Figure 2). A post-hoc Bonferroni test showed that children in the PQ condition explored longer than children in all other conditions, ps < .05. Children in the PQ condition also explored more cards and were more likely to recognize the non-determining features. If these trends hold for the whole sample, the results would suggest that pedagogical questioning may promote young children’s exploratory learning of novel concepts, which has implications for early childhood education.

Authors

• Yue Yu, Nanyang Technological University
  Presenting Author

• Jallene Chua, National Institute of Education
  Non-Presenting Author