23. - 27.11.2026
Timon Demburg
Student Questions in Classroom Interaction: A Comparative Analysis Considering Question Quality in Elementary German and Mathematics Lessons
In academic discourse, the significance of student-generated questions for initiating learning and educational processes is undisputed. Although student questions occur far less frequently in classroom interactions than teacher questions, they are considered to have high didactic potential, especially when they are content-focused and formulated at a higher qualitative level concerning the subject matter. Such questions can activate learners’ prior knowledge, motivate them to engage in transfer tasks, and present new challenges by requiring the retrieval and contextualization of existing knowledge. However, in current elementary education research, few studies explicitly address the qualitative level of student questions in the classroom. Both internationally and nationally, studies on the importance and structure of teacher questions dominate the discourse on teaching and instructional quality.
To address this research gap, the present doctoral project focuses on investigating student-generated questions, particularly their quality, in whole-class discussions in elementary German and mathematics lessons. The study aims to examine and compare the practice of student questioning in these subjects using ethnomethodological conversation analysis. Furthermore, it seeks to empirically explore the learning processes initiated by student questions and leverage the resulting insights for practical didactic applications.
Studies and degree
2018 – 2023: Studies in Elementary School Teaching with the subjects Mathematics, German, and Physical Education at the University of Kassel
Thesis: “Learning to Discover Democracy – Exploratory Considerations on the Development of Social Experiments in Primary School”
Professional experience
since 01/2024: Scholarship holder at the University of Kassel in the DFG Graduate School “Subject-Specific Learning and Interaction in Elementary School” (INTERFACH)
2023 – 2024: Student assistant in the Primary School Workshop (Grundschulwerkstatt) at the University of Kassel
2022 – 2023: Student assistant in the Mathematics Workshop (Mathematikwerkstatt) at the University of Kassel
2022: Tutor at the Institute of Mathematics for the course “Diagnostics & Support I” (Diagnostik und Fördern I), University of Kassel
2021 – 2022: Teaching assignment at the primary school “Grundschule am Lindenplatz” in Bergshausen (Fuldabrück)