Cognitive congruence between teachers' questions and students' answers

The purpose of the present study was to assess the impact of a teacher-training workshop in a medical school upon the cognitive congruence between teachers’ questions and students’ answers. The major findings of this study were: (a) The average number of student-teacher verbal interactions significantly exceeded the number of separate statements by teacher and students. (b) After the workshop, the number of interactions increased, especially in medium- and large-size classes. (c) The extent of cognitive correspondence was greater at basic cognitive levels (knowledge, comprehension, application) than at high cognitive levels (analysis, synthesis, evaluation). This result was observed both before and after the workshop, as well as in all three class sizes. (d) Following the workshop, the cognitive congruence increased, especially in large classes and within the basic levels.