Clinicians' Questioning Behavior: Achieving Intellectual Intimacy in a Postmodern Professional Era

This article discusses one method that was used to create, nurture, and maintain a teaching and learning context of intellectual intimacy with students in speech-language pathology. Students enrolled in three courses submitted questions and underlying premises to the professor on a weekly basis; the assignment was designed to generate independent thought, group discussion, and interaction between the student and instructor, and to bridge the academic, clinical, and supervisory experiences. Using a taxonomy designed for this investigation, more than 1,600 questions were analyzed for domain of knowledge (propositional, procedural, and causal) and information function (discovery, exploration, and understanding). Results revealed the nature of questions asked and patterns of students' questioning behavior. Implications are addressed in terms of communication, knowledge construction, professional preparation, and clinical application. Reflecting its postmodern perspective, this research is presented in a medium (i.e., manner of writing) that is consistent with its message. Adapted from the source document