Science talk in the secondary classrooms of Bangladesh: Analysis of teachers’ questions in various lesson discussions

Teachers’ questioning is an essential part of good teaching. It can scaffold students’ thought process towards meaningful learning. In order to develop the skills of asking different types of effective questions –enabling students to practice a wide range of thought process- teachers need to know what kind of questions they are currently asked (Blosser, 2000). Therefore, the study aims to explore teachers’ questions at secondary level (Grade VI-X) in various science lesson discussions in Bangladesh context. Video recorded data of fourteen science lessons were used as data source of this study. Data were analyzed with coded category. The results indicated that the questions teachers asked during science lesson discussion at secondary level were mainly lower order basically for checking students ‘content knowledge. Rhetorical question and the question that ask for classroom management were also found predominant. Higher order and conceptual- change questions were rarely asked. Analysis of the results indicated that teaching experiences and in-services trainings were found influential in teachers’ questioning while gender and the subjects taught at graduating level, were not found as influential agent. Implications of the study were also discussed.