An Action Research On Questioning Strategies To Cultivate Rural Senior High School Students’ Thinking In English Continuation Writing

For students in rural high schools,continuation writing is a huge challenge.They are unable to accurately interpret the original text or make appropriate story predictions for it,and as a result,their continuation essays are always logically confused,incoherent,and have incomplete stories in examinations.At the same time,classroom questions help students obtain input quickly and produce output effectively,which coincides with the requirement of continuation writing.Then the author combines the two,trying to explore the effect of questioning strategies to cultivate thinking in English continuation writing in a rural high school.In terms of this research direction,action research,as a practice-based approach to continuous reflection and adjustment,allows for effective observation of teachers’ use of questioning strategies and the development of students’ thinking in continuation writing during the research process.Using input hypothesis,output hypothesis,interaction hypothesis and taxonomy of educational objectives as the theoretical basis,this study investigated and analyzed teaching problems and formulated an action research plan inviting five English teachers and 103 students in the senior class of a rural high school in Yueyang City,Hunan Province as the subjects.The whole research process was guided by action research and combined with questionnaires,interviews,and classroom observations.This study specifically explored the following questions: First,what is the current status of the application of questioning strategies in English continuation writing in rural high schools? Second,what effect does the use of questioning strategies have on cultivating students’ thinking in English continuation writing in this action research?Third,what kinds of questioning strategies should teachers use in continuation writing in rural high schools based on this action research?The entire study lasted six months.The researcher first confirmed the problem of insufficient use of questioning strategies in rural high school English continuation writing through a status survey,and based on this,the action research was planned in detail.The specific process of the first round of action research included planning,acting,observing,and reflecting.This led to an initial perception of the use of questioning strategies and the problems that arose in the process of using them.Based on this,the second round of action research was further adjusted and shaped,which included the process of adjustment,re-planning,action,observation,and reflection.The questioning strategies used in the second round of action research were more comprehensive and the research process was more intensive.Finally,the researcher implemented a post-test study to further verify the effect of questioning strategies to cultivate thinking in English continuation writing in a rural high school.In this whole process,the researcher collected data from questionnaires,interviews,and student writings,and analyzed them quantitatively(using SPSS 23.0)and qualitatively accordingly.The results of the study found that: First,the frequency and efficiency of questioning in continuation classrooms in the rural high school where the researcher studied still needs to be improved.Also,students would like teachers to ask more questions to guide their further thinking.Second,the use of questioning strategies in continuation writing can facilitate students’ text interpretation,attention to details,convergence of ideas and story inference.Third,the teaching examples presented in the second round of action research in this study are well replicated and included many useful questioning strategies,including question chains,different types of questions,different questioning styles,positive and effective feedback,follow-up questions,planned stratification,and sufficient time and space for responses.These findings provide careful answers to the three research questions posed at the beginning of the inquiry.Reflecting on the whole action research,the researcher gained the following insights.From a theoretical perspective,first,this study innovatively combined questioning strategies with continuation thinking,confirming that the use of appropriate questioning strategies can facilitate students’ continuation thinking.Second,this study further illustrated the research process and research significance of action research.It can facilitate the continuous progress and development of front-line teachers and improve the quality of education and teaching.From a practical perspective,first,the effectiveness of questioning strategies in continuation writing was verified through this action research,so both teachers and students should raise their awareness of the use of questioning strategies in continuation writing and give full play to the effects of questioning strategies in actual teaching.Second,the use of questioning strategies can follow the circular process of action research.Before the lesson,teachers should plan the class carefully and design questions in advance,and each question should have a logical connection with each other.During the lesson,teachers should use questioning strategies appropriately and observe students’ responses to make different adjustments and feedback.At the end of the lesson,teachers should analyze students’ work in depth to explore the common problems that students still have.And they should also keep reflecting on the whole process so that they can improve it in next classes.