Investigating the Effects of Prequestioning on Learning in Young Children

Project's Details

Title: Investigating the Effects of Prequestioning on Learning in Young Children

Funded by: CFPR Faculty Development

Amount: S$10,000

PI: Assistant Professor Steven C. Pan, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS

Project duration: 9 January 2023 to 1 July 2024

Abstract

Prequestioning is a teaching strategy in which a teacher poses a question or series of questions to students before presenting new information or starting a new topic. The goal of prequestioning is to activate students' prior knowledge and to increase their motivation and engagement in the upcoming lesson.

This research project will investigate the effects of prequestioning on learning with young children (up to 7 years old) in educationally relevant contexts. It will feature a multi-experiment study addressing three specific aims. Long-term, it is expected that this initial study will be the first in a more extensive series of studies on prequestioning and children. The three aims are as follows:

Aim 1: Investigate the extent to which prequestions enhance young children’s memory and comprehension of subsequently presented information, relative to conventional pedagogical approaches in which prequestions are not used.

Aim 2: Investigate the extent to which prequestions alter subsequent learning behaviours (e.g., study time, the focus of attention), and whether such behaviours reflect memory for the prequestions that were previously encountered.

Project's Team

Principal Investigator

Assistant Professor Steven C. Pan
Department of Paychology
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
National University of Singapore

Profile

Contact Us

Principal Investigator: Assistant Professor Steven C. Pan
Email: scp@nus.edu.sg

Address:
Centre for Family and Population Research
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
National University of Singapore
The Shaw Foundation Building
Block AS7, Level 3, 5 Arts Link
Singapore 117570