Effects of Regulatory Self-Questioning on Secondary-Level Students' Problem-Solving Performance
Pate, Michael L.; Miller, Greg
Journal of Agricultural Education, v52 n1 p72-84 2011
A randomized posttest-only control group experimental design was used to determine the effects of regulatory self-questioning on secondary-level career and technical education students' electrical circuit theory test scores. Students who participated in the self-questioning group were asked to answer a list of regulatory questions as they solved their problems. The difference in test scores between the experimental and control groups was statistically significant (t(62) = 1.96; p = 0.027). On average, students who participated in the self-questioning group outperformed students in the control group by 10 percentage points. Cohen's d indicated a moderate effect size (0.5). In the control group, 53% of students achieved a test score of 80% or better on the Ohm's Law test, whereas 79% of students in the regulatory self-questioning group scored 80% or better. The use of regulatory self-questioning may positively benefit teachers who teach principles of Ohm's Law. Educators could assist students in achieving greater problem-solving outcomes by requiring use of regulatory self-questioning. This study should be replicated to determine the effects of regulatory self-questioning with other secondary-level students. Further research should be conducted to investigate the effects of regulatory self-questioning when students are faced with increasingly complex problems. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)