An Analysis of Teachers’ Questions Involved in 4–5-year-old Children’s Cooperative Play and Activities in Kindergarten:

Focusing on Format and Series of Questions about Children’s Intentions and Mental Images

Abstract

This study aimed to clarify the format and sequence of questions administered by teachers to 4–5-year-old children for cooperative play and activities. Analysis of teachers’ questioning, based on educational guidance plans and the like, about children’s intentions and mental images revealed the following four findings: (1) overall, 62.2% of questions were closed questions; (2) the sequence of questioning tended to end with closed questions for all situations and grades; (3) the later in the sequence of questions about cooperative play, the more specific the questions were about children’s intentions and mental images; the question format depended on the grades; and (4) closed questions about cooperative activities included specific examples; the timing of administering the examples differed between grades.