This study investigates the cognitive nature of teacher-pupil questions in "process oriented" and "content oriented" secondary social studies programs. Subjects were five classes selected from a program viewed by both teachers and pupils as process-oriented; five from a program viewed by both teachers and pupils as content oriented. Ten hours of class discussion (five in each program) were audio-taped. Raters coded questions according to the Teacher-Pupil Question Inventory (TPQI). The TPQI has nine categories, seven of which are based on the Bloom taxonomy and the formulations of Sanders; the remaining two classifications, affective and procedural, include non-cognitive questions. Data obtained were treated by a mixed model ANOVA design. Data analysis showed: 1) No significant difference between programs in the mean numbers of questions asked. 2) Over-all, memory, interpretation, and procedure questions (lower level cognitive processes) were asked most frequently by both teachers and students. 3) The teachers asked three times as many questions as the students. 4) None of the interactions was significant. Further research is needed to ascertain why higher cognitive levels of questions in the process-oriented programs were not asked. (Author/DJB)