Instructional Framework for CS1 Question Activities

Questioning is a learning activity that can promote the use of critical thinking skills, where thinking processes are required to answer a posed question. In this paper, we map instructional question types to Bloom's Taxonomy--a classification of critical thinking skills required for cognition--to form a framework for educators to construct learning activities through questioning. The preliminary instructional framework is applied to a question activity within a blended CS1 learning environment to support students in better understanding on how to solve a programming assignment. Our results show students meeting the desired Bloom's cognitive level when answering the question activity. Future research opportunities are presented to test the framework for upper-division CS courses and further explore the framework as an intervention for programming assignments.