During exam uncertainty, child question types became dependent on parent question types, with preliminary evidence of possibility-thinking transmission¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Chi-square tests revealed little dependence of child question types on parent question types outside uncertainty periods, but dependence emerged with statistically significant Chi-square values for exam preparation and university topics during uncertainty periods. → Ali 2026 q2 i? Open-possibility and closed-possibility questions in child comments were more likely to be dependent on the same question types in parent comments during the uncertainty period. → Ali 2026

Evidence¶

Ali 2026¶

Ali, F., Yang, Y., & Poh, J.-H. (2026). Curious behaviors in times of uncertainty: dynamics of student question-posing in online educational discussion. npj Science of Learning. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-026-00440-8

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Chi-square tests of parent-child question-type dependence against a null model of no dependence (Table 5), with residual examination in Table 6. The authors call the possibility-thinking transmission finding "preliminary evidence" and note lexical mimicry cannot be ruled out.

"during the uncertainty period, dependence emerged more strongly with statistically significant Chi -square values for exam preparation and university discussion topics specifically."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• COVID-19 pandemic uncertainty showed minimal and inconsistent statistical effects on student question-posing — related
• Exam-period uncertainty is linked to faster first replies to questions, but mainly when academic stakes are high — related
• Seasonal educational phases with structured, domain-relevant uncertainty are linked to increased collective question-posing across all discussion topics — related
• At the discourse-act level, notes expressing uncertainty are associated with more follow-up and notes open on community orientation with less, and notes lacking building-knowledge openness receive less follow-up — related