Students' questions in Higher Education chemistry classes according to their gender

Considering the relevance of student questioning in the teaching, learning and assessment processes, this research proposal was developed, to investigate and characterize feminine and masculine students' questioning profiles, in higher education, in different situations, such as traditional classes and online interactions. It is our intention to conceive and implement strategies to promote student questioning in the different environments provided by the subject (classes and online interactions), according to the specificity of each gender, in order to contribute to the optimization of the teaching, learning and assessment processes, in higher education. The project is being developed within first year chemistry classes, at the University of Aveiro, following a mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methodology. Data is being collected through observation, interviews, focus-groups, one inventory and by means of an online forum. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.