Effect of Question Structure on College Students’ Electronic Reflection Outcomes: A Case Study

Abstract

This study aims to design different types of reflection questions to support college students’ electronic reflection. Whether or not the reflection question structure may influence students’ reflection outcomes is the research focus. According to various cognitive learning concepts, three types of reflection questions, which include surface, medium and deep questions, are designed and implemented in three weeks of the class. Forty college students majoring in instructional technology participated in this study. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that the surface reflection question yields swallow reflection works, and the medium and deep reflection questions allow students to produce meaningful reflection contents. The results of the quantitative analysis showed that the medium and deep reflection questions are better than the surface reflection question in terms of critical thinking. However, no significant difference is found between the medium and deep reflection questions.