Exploring Student Teachers’ Questioning Techniques and Learners’ Participation In Secondary Schools in Bomet County, Kenya.

Abstract

Questioning technique is an important activity in every teaching and learning situation. It is indeed one of the most important means of communication carried out by teachers in the teaching learning process. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of questioning techniques used by student teachers in the classroom during teaching practice. Questioning stimulates thinking, making it easier for teachers to receive feedback from the learners. This assists the teacher to identify the learner who has understood the taught concepts from the one who missed out on important details. The research paper explored the student teachers’ responses to learners’ answers through praise, acceptance, remediation, and criticism when teaching various subjects. The reinforcement theory of motivation formed the framework for this study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted with a population of 25 student teachers and 1500 secondary school learners. Data was collected through an observation schedule used by the researcher and document analysis of questions in the lesson plan and lesson notes. For data analysis, the study utilized descriptive and inferential statistics, where frequencies, graphs, and percentages were used to compare categories. Findings revealed that student teachers’ positive comments to learners’ answers increased learners’ participation in classroom activities. On the other hand, negative comments were found to discourage a few learners from participating actively. This study recommends positive comments by student teachers to sustain learner participation and motivation during the teaching-learning process.