Selected Non-Cognitive Variables and Student Achievement in a High-Level Questioning Environment

Abstract

Seventy fifth and sixth grade students were randomly assigned to one of two instructional groups. Instruction for both groups was implemented within similar high-level questioning environments. However, in one group the teacher elicited more high-level student responses per question posed (Hi Invol) than was the case in the second group (Lo Invol). On the basis of multiple regression analysis, no significant differences were found between Hi Invol and Lo Invol on a posttest of high-level achievement. However, a significant positive relationship was found between reading achievement and the posttest of achievement, and a significant, but negative, relationship was found between the posttest and one of four non-cognitive factors generated for the study-understandability and ease of highlevel questioning activity. The discussion of the results was centered on the apparent discrepancies between student perceptions concerning the ease and understandability of working with high-level questions and subject’s eventual learnings from such involvement.