Research Analysis
Introduction Classroom interaction is beneficial in any learning process. The relationship between teachers and learners should be amicable because it will determine how learners response to questions and how they comprehend passages. Classroom communication is used to analyze teaching and learning. Communication is not only an instruction medium but it also plays a significant role in developing classroom intelligence (Booth & Thornley, 1991). Research problem Research problem is what a researcher wishes to study or research.
In this case, the research problem is classroom interaction. The researcher wishes to analyze how teachers and learners interact in class. This is especially when reading passages answering questions related to them. The question that can be asked include a) what is the role of the teacher in analyzing comprehension passages b) what is the role of the learners in analyzing comprehension passages c) what is the outcome of this learning process. Since reading passages is a collaborative process then the teacher and the learners have roles to play.
The roles each group plays should help learners to maximize cognitive development. The role of the teachers and the learners in developing critical cognitive skills is what constitutes the test in this article. How do teachers encourage learners to develop these cognitive skills? Is it a case of question answers only or critical analysis of the text? In other words how effective is reading in cognitive development (Wolf, et al, 2005). Literature review This research study is based on various fields. In teacher effectiveness, traditionally teachers are considered as the initiators of any discussion in the classroom talk.
The learners respond and the teacher evaluate this learner response. The reason is in most cases the teacher knows what he asks the learners and is testing the learners. This is not an appropriate method in cognitive development. This is because the discussion is closed to question and answers rather broadening the readers’ ideas. For example, the teacher can ask questions such as; who killed the man in the story? In such an example, the reader has been closed to giving the name of the man in the story as the teacher explains the rest of the story.
This is ineffective becaue the learners will be passive in class and the idea of collaboration will be disillusioned. The teacher should instead ask for questions such as what is the story about. This will enable the reader to respond to such a question in depth thus enhancing the development of cognitive skills (Booth & Thornley, 1991). In self-reflective learning, the researcher gauged the learners in the way they understand and respond to questions in classroom. The teacher in this case groups learners into small units. He then gives the learners questions on the passage.
The learners will discuss such questions and give appropriate answers. The teacher will evaluate the learners based on how efficient their discussions are. Did the learners present the facts right? Did they incorporate ideas from the text? Is there any application from other aspects that they have applied? By asking such questions, the teacher will know if his learners are developing cognitive skills or not. The three main points that enable learners to develop an understanding of what is already known are a) accountability to learning community; this dimension ensures that teachers and learners make appropriate efforts in ensuring that anyone involved in the discussion understands the ideas and positions shared in the discussion group. b) Accountability to accurate knowledge: this measures the extent at which learners and teachers provide basic and accurate facts to support their discussions.
c) Accountability to rigorous thinking: this determines the extent in which learners explain their findings using logical procedures and drawing coherent conclusions.The researcher has used reading a text to determine the strengths and weaknesses of these points that enable learners comprehend what is already known. For example, in reading a text a learner can be tested in the way he comprehends the information, how relevant is the information to the text and how he presents this information (Wolf, et al, 2005). Research Design The method of research in this article is experimental. That is to say, the researcher sampled a group of learners and teacher and based his research on their response.
He attends a comprehension reading class and watched how the teacher guided the learners in comprehending the text. He them analyzed how the learners responded to the text. He also analyzed how accurately the learners had responded tto the facts in the text. Data collection The method in which this information is collected is chiefly primary data collection. The researcher collected facts for his research by observing a class of learners and teachers. In this class, there is interaction.
The response from each group is what the researcher has based on his research. Therefore, the method he used is observation (Wolf et al, 2005). Data analysis method The researcher has used qualitative data analysis method. He analyzed his information in terms of the strengths and weaknesses of every approach he used in determining the effectiveness of classroom discourse. Findings The researcher concluded that classroom communication is tremendously beneficial not only in passing information but also in expanding cognitive development.
The researcher also realized that the teacher is particularly valuable in developing approaches, which the learner uses in developing cognitive skills.Limitations The research is based on reading passages only. The information gathered is about discourse in a classroom situation when the class is reading the comprehension passage. It has not been used in other situations like in a situation where a teacher is teaching mathematics (Wolf, et al, 2005). Application The outcome of this research can be applied to other disciplines.
For example in teaching mathematics the teacher should not asked leading questions like what is the answer of this sum. Instead, he should he should explain to the learners step by step how the answer is arrived and then give them similar sums to use them for practice. He will them analyze how the learners responded to the problems. He will then know if learners are improving their cognitive skills or not. Several fields can use these findings, for example, in teaching a teacher can use these methods to analyze whether his learners are improving their understanding of things taught or not. Conclusion These findings show how prominent classroom discourse is beneficial in developing learners’ cognitive skills.
It is therefore necessary for the teacher to use those approaches that encourage critical thinking.
