The purpose of this research was to explore trainer questioning strategies which aimed to scaffold development and learning in teacher training feedback sessions. Research was conducted with a group of Turkish pre-service English teacher trainees at an English-medium university in Turkey. Findings include a categorisation of different question types which seemed to prompt reflection and construction of knowledge. The data also suggest that trainees need varying levels of support through different question types to better scaffold their understanding of teaching.
The paper questions why practice seems resistant to change, despite the promotion of social constructivist approaches to learning in university. Research has suggested that at the heart of the matter are the ‘inflexible’ values and beliefs that primary postgraduate trainees bring to initial teacher training programmes and a tendency to default to observed practice.