The Correspondence between Teacher Questions and Student Answers in Classroom Discourse

The cognitive thought processes involved in students’ answers to different kinds of teachers’ questions were investigated using data obtained from a previous study. The dimensions examined were (a) the degree of correspondence between the cognitive level of teachers’ questions and the cognitive level of students’ answers, and (b) the relation of that correspondence to the type of cognitive coding system used, grade level, and clarity of the questions and answers. It was found that the chances are about even that there will be a correspondence between the cognitive level of the question asked and the cognitive level of the response that was elicited. The coding system used, grade level of the students, and clarity of the questions each moderated this effect.