Types of Questions in Computer Science Education - Guide to Teaching Computer Science: An Activity-Based Approach - page 172

Table 9.2 Problem-solving question categories and keywords
Category Keywords Interpretation

1. Address/define criteria Address/apply/note/mention/

specify/indicate/sort/mark

Address and apply different kinds of
criteria and attribute the criteria to a
list of elements; define criteria

2. Argue and justify Argue/state/assert/

determine, follow by
justification:
explain/argue/prove/justify/
demonstrate/illustrate/clarify

State opinion and further estab-
lish the claim using any kind of
justification

3. Analyze analyze/examine/investigate/

explore

Identify and analyze the meaning
or significance of components and
factors

4. Compare Compare/classify Compare different objects/issues by

applying principles, and observing
from different view points; general-
ize insights

5. Complete Complete/add Complete or add components to a

given structure according to detailed
requirements

6. Convert Convert/represent in differ-

ent forms/modify/adjust/
change/transform

Convert a given paragraph/section/
clause according to specified, mean-
ingful qualitative -related instruc-
tions (not technical translation)

7. Discover Discover/identify/find out/

say what

Discover a phenomenon/indicate
an occurrence/find out the purpose/
identify components and the rela-
tions between them

8. Develop Develop/compose/write/cre-

ate new elements

Develop a new component/write a
new module

9. Integrate Integrate/order/arrange/

merge/combine

Integrate some given components to
a new structure

Boyer et al. ( 2010 ) present recommended questions for instructors to use in class
discussions during question-answer sessions, in order to promote students' prob-
lem-solving skills in CS classes. The main issue emphasized is the debate climate,
in which answers are not given and questions are posed to encourage meaningful
thinking. In a thorough analysis of problem-solving questions, based on an exten-
sive review of textbooks, worksheets and exams, Ragonis and Shilo ( 2013 ) investi-
gated keywords in questions. They especially looked for questions that their target,
as characterized by the authors, is to examine high-order thinking skills.
The keywords used in problem-solving questions were grouped into nine catego-
ries, by the cognitive resources learner needs to apply in order to solve a question.
Each category was then represented by several keywords. Table 9.2 displays the
categories, the keywords that express each category and a short interpretation of
their meaning and usage. The categorization reflected different point of view than
the known cognitive taxonomies (e.g., Bloom taxonomy 1956; Biggs and Collis
SOLO taxonomy 1982 ) .