Classroom learning and achievement: how the complexity of classroom interaction impacts students’ learning

Background: Complexity models have provided a suitable framework in various domains to assess students’ educational achievement. Complexity is often used as the analytical focus when regarding learning outcomes, i.e. when analyzing written tests or problem-centered interviews. Numerous studies reveal negative correlations between the complexity of a task and the probability of a student solving it.

Purpose: Thus far, few detailed investigations explore the importance of complexity in actual classroom lessons. Moreover, the few efforts made so far revealed inconsistencies. Hence, the present study sheds light on the influence the complexity of students’ and teachers’ class contributions have on students’ learning outcomes.

Sample: Videos of 10 German 8th grade physics courses covering three consecutive lessons on two topics each (electricity, mechanics) have been analyzed. The sample includes 10 teachers and 290 students.

Design and methods: Students’ and teachers’ verbal contributions were coded manual-based according to the level of complexity. Additionally, pre-post testing of knowledge in electricity and mechanics was applied to assess the students’ learning gain. ANOVA analysis was used to characterize the influence of the complexity on the learning gain.

Results: Results indicate that the mean level of complexity in classroom contributions explains a large portion of variance in post-test results on class level. Despite this overarching trend, taking classroom activities into account as well reveals even more fine-grained patterns, leading to more specific relations between the complexity in the classroom and students’ achievement.

Conclusions: In conclusion, we argue for more reflected teaching approaches intended to gradually increase class complexity to foster students’ level of competency.     

Examining Hong Kong students’ achievement goals and their relations with students’ perceived classroom environment and strategy use

This study examined Hong Kong students’ achievement goals and their relations with students’ perceived classroom environment and strategy use based on the multiple goal perspective of goal orientation theory. A total of 925 Grade 8 students from six secondary schools in Hong Kong voluntarily responded to a questionnaire that measured these three sets of variables. Consistent with previous studies using goal orientation theory, the findings of this study indicated that students’ perceived classroom environment was significantly related to their personal achievement goals and strategy use. While mastery goals were found to be the strongest predictor of strategy use, performance‐approach goals and perceived instrumentality also had positive relations with mastery goals and strategy use. Our findings suggest that mastery goals and performance goals were not contrasting goals as conceptualised in normative goal orientation theory. Students with high motivation for both types of goal were more adaptive in learning than were students who pursued a single type of goal. Moreover, the value of adding perceived instrumentality when studying students’ motivation should be emphasised. The implications of these findings for understanding Hong Kong students’ motivation, and for planning effective teaching instruction to enhance their motivation, are discussed.     

Parental involvement and Chinese elementary students’ achievement goals: the moderating role of parenting style

Past research has revealed direct effects of parental involvement and parenting style on children’s achievement goals separately, however, it is necessary to investigate the interactive mechanism in an integrated way. This study examined the relations between children’s perception of different dimensions of parental involvement (i.e. home-based involvement, school-based involvement and academic socialisation) and their achievement goals, and the moderating role of parenting style (i.e. parental autonomy support vs. psychological control). Participants were 614 Chinese fourth and fifth grades students. Results showed that home-based involvement was positively associated with performance-approach goals, school-based involvement was positively associated with mastery goals, and academic socialisation was positively associated with both mastery and performance-approach goals. Parental psychological control moderated the relationships between performance-approach goals and two types of parental involvement: Academic socialisation and home-based involvement. These findings underscored the need of taking a multidimensional approach in conceptualising parental involvement, and that parental involvement should be expressed in an appropriate context of parenting style.     

Social Motivation in the Classroom: implications for students’ achievement

Attributional rules that govern students’ self‐presentation tactics in school situations are presented. Recent research is reviewed that shows how children learn to strategically manipulate their teachers’ and classmates’ social responses toward themselves by varying their public accounts of achievement failures and successes. The implications of changing social dynamics on students’ achievement motivation and school behavior are discussed.     

Different perspectives of cultural mediation: implications for the research design on studies examining its effect on students’ cognition

In this forum, I extend Tao, Oliver, and Venville’s paper Chinese and Australian children’s understanding of the earth: a cross cultural study of conceptual development to discuss the different views on culture and cultural mediation. I tease out nuances in the viewpoints to suggest three ways to theoretically frame studies examining cultural mediation of students’ cognition. Specifically, cultural mediation may be attributed to innate psychological attributes, an accretion of cultural elements, or the social interaction process. Each of these ideas represents a theoretical lens and has implications for the research design of studies relating cultural mediation to cognition. In the final section of this forum paper, I show how a study conducted from the symbolic interactionist viewpoint underscoring cultural mediation as a social interaction process might unfold.     

Testing a motivational model of achievement: How students’ mathematical beliefs and interests are related to their achievement

Blackwell et al. (Child Development 78(1):246–263, 2007) tested a motivational model of achievement in which an incremental theory of intelligence leads to learning goals and positive effort beliefs, which leads to fewer ability-based, helpless attributions, and more positive strategies, which leads to improved grades. In the present study, we tested this model by using a different population, using domain-specific items, comparing the results across gender, including “interest” as another variable in the model, and assessing the impact of achievement as an antecedent and outcome variable in the model. Participants included 163, mostly White, ninth-grade Algebra students from a suburban school in southwest Virginia, USA. We established that the model had a relatively good fit to the data and all paths were statistically significant when achievement was used as both an antecedent and outcome variable. The standardized path coefficients were consistent with those reported by Blackwell et al. and the model was invariant across genders. Furthermore, we documented that interest could be included as another mediating variable in the model. The results of this study provide evidence to support the validity of the relationships between the constructs in the Blackwell et al. model for the population examined.     

Genetically modified food for the future: examining university students’ expressions of futures thinking

Futures thinking, or foresight, is increasingly recognised as a key element in science and environmental education. We integrated a futures thinking activity into an undergraduate general science course in Taiwan by using an online thinking and discussion tool that provides scaffolding questions to help students think systematically about future possibilities of the specific topic – genetically modified (GM) food. As a course assignment, the enrolled students were asked to work on and write their responses to this online scaffolding tool over five weeks. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ expressions of futures thinking on GM food as elicited through this assignment. We content analysed the written responses of 99 students who completed the online task. A particular emphasis of analysis was placed on examining students’ thoughts and ideas about ‘preferable’ or ‘desirable’ futures of GM food. Nine themes emerged from the analysis and were found be organised into three categories using factor analysis. These results provided insight into characteristics of students’ futures thinking and underlying perspectives, and can serve as a basis for future-focused curricular and instructional innovations.     

Relationships among properties of college students’ self-set academic goals and academic achievement

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among properties of college students’ self-set academic goals and academic achievement, using multiple theoretical perspectives. Using a personal goal-based research methodology, college students enrolled in a learning-to-learn course (N?=?130) were asked to list 20 of their goals (academic and/or non-academic). For each of their goals, goal specificity, value, expectation of success and autonomous and controlled motivation were measured and then ratings on each goal property were averaged across students’ academic goals (24.75% of all goals) to predict students’ grade point average (GPA) for the semester. Regression results suggested a positive affect on students’ semester GPA for goal specificity and a negative effect for controlled motivation; the model explained 19% of the variation in GPA. This research may help to inform motivation researchers and educational practitioners who assist college students with goal setting.     

A pilot study examining the impact of collaborative mind mapping strategy in a flipped classroom: learning achievement,self-efficacy,motivation, and students’ acceptance

Educational technology research and development - Appropriate collaborative learning support is necessary for group learning in a flipped classroom setting, especially in the out-of-class learning...     

Development of an instrument for assessing senior high school students’ preferred and perceived laboratory classroom environment

This study aimed to develop an instrument, named the inquiry-based laboratory classroom environment instrument (ILEI), for assessing senior high-school science students’ preferred and perceived laboratory environment. A total of 262 second-year students, from a senior-high school in Taiwan, were recruited for this study. Four stages were included in the development of the ILEI: (1) item formulation, (2) content validation, (3) construct validation and (4) reliability calculation. The study revealed that the ILEI was valid and reliable. Most students showed a preference for a student-directed and teacher-guided hybrid learning environment. The development of the ILEI is likely to help researchers and teachers to more effectively understand student views of the laboratory classroom environment. Our profound hope is to utilise ILEI to improve teachers’ assessment and students’ learning in inquiry-based laboratory classroom environments.     

The effects of an active learning intervention in biology on college students’ classroom motivational climate perceptions,motivation, and achievement

This study examined differences in students’ classroom motivational climate perceptions and motivational beliefs between those enrolled in undergraduate Biology courses that implemented an innovative, active learning intervention and those enrolled in traditional Biology courses (control group). This study also sought to determine whether students’ classroom motivational climate perceptions and motivational beliefs mediated the effect of the intervention on course grades. Participants were 962 college students attending a large US public university. Students self-selected into one of the biology courses were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Multiple regression analyses indicated that students receiving the intervention reported greater instructor support, a perception of higher expectations for understanding (academic press), and a greater feeling that the course was interesting (situational interest). They also held higher self-efficacy and value for their biology course at completion compared to their counterparts in traditional biology classrooms. Moreover, mediation analyses indicated that the effect of the intervention on course grades was better explained through students’ classroom motivational climate perceptions and motivational beliefs. Results gained from this intervention may be useful to other campuses interested in enhancing student motivation and success even when faced with large enrolments and minimal faculty and staff support.     

Students’ achievement goals,emotion perception ability and affect and performance in the classroom: a multilevel examination

Performance at school is affected not only by students’ achievement goals but also by emotional exchanges among classmates and their teacher. In this study, we investigated relationships between students’ achievement goals and emotion perception ability and class affect and performance. Participants were 949 Greek adolescent students in 49 classes and their Greek language and mathematics teachers. Results from multilevel analyses indicated that students’ mastery-approach and performance-approach goals were positively related to positive affect whereas performance-avoidance goals were negatively related to positive affect. At class-level, relationships between achievement goals and affect were moderated by students’ emotion perception ability. These findings highlight the importance of emotion abilities and their role in motivational processes for class-level outcomes.     

Finnish students’ reasons for their achievement in classroom activities: focus on features that support self-regulated learning

The aim of this study was to investigate how finnish students explain factors that contribute to their achievement in classroom learning activities and whether these factors are related to support of self-regulated learning (SRL) in classroom. Over seven weeks, 24 primary school students were videotaped during their typical classroom activities in 28 lessons to capture moments when they succeeded in learning tasks. From the video observations, 62 episodes were edited and used in stimulated recall interviews in which students were asked to report the reasons they related to their achievement in learning situations. Data-driven content analysis was used to analyse the open-ended interview data. The video observation data were analysed and sorted into theory-driven categories in order to find out how SRL was supported in classrooms. The results showed that students describe achievement through the actions that they took in the learning situations, such as being able accomplish the task. The reasons given for their achievement dealt with ability to accomplish the tasks or doing academic activities in order to achieve in the task. Furthermore, the students recognised classroom activities that support SRL, acknowledging their contribution to their achievement, mostly through the support that they received from their teachers and peers.     

Classroom management and students' mathematics achievement: The role of students’ disruptive behavior and teacher classroom management

Establishing a well-organized classroom conducive to learning is a key element of high-quality teaching. However, less is known about the degree to which the classroom management process is affected by the specific students in the classroom. Using two large-scale datasets of German secondary school students, the present two studies examined the effectiveness of teachers' classroom management in mathematics while taking into account students' disruptive behavior in the classroom. When controlling for the average level of disruptions in the classroom, both students' disruptive behavior and teachers' monitoring activity were negatively associated with students' mathematics achievement, whereas no associations occurred for teachers' structure and rule clarity. The results suggest that teachers' monitoring activity needs to take into account students’ disruptive behavior in the classroom, highlighting the complexity of effective classroom management.     

Rethinking silence in the classroom: Chinese students’ experiences of sharing indigenous knowledge

Recent research has documented silence/reticence among East‐Asian international students, including Chinese students, in Western/English classrooms. Students’ communication competence and cultural differences from the mainstream Euro‐American society have been identified as two primary barriers to participation. Placing emphasis on individual characteristics of Chinese students, however, without considering aspects of the educational context with which those characteristics interact, may over‐simplify and distort the mechanism underlying their silence in the classroom. Based on a qualitative study of Chinese students’ experience of sharing indigenous knowledge in classroom settings of Canadian academic institutions, it is argued that the pursuit of diversity in the classroom may be compromised by classroom interactions, through which, for instance, the dynamics and quality of the knowledge exchange of students from different socio‐cultural backgrounds may be adversely affected. Within this conceptual framework, the concepts ‘silence’, ‘culture difference’ and ‘indigenous knowledge’ are re‐examined; the concepts ‘reciprocal cultural familiarity’ and ‘inclusive knowledge sharing’ are advocated.

… [W]hen I did participate, mostly because I was required to. … Students took turns to present something and that is your topic. You have to say something but even then I didn’t feel that good because it seems … they didn’t feel that interested, … like they couldn’t follow my ideas, follow my perspective. And so it seems difficult to communicate. I think that is not just because of the language, it seems we see the same thing in different ways.

(Chinese student in this study)     

The role of classroom characteristics for students’ motivation and career exploration

This study focused on students enrolled in obligatory vocational education courses in German secondary schools that aim to support students’ career exploration. The study examined the relations between student-perceived classroom characteristics (support for autonomy, competence and relatedness), students’ intrinsic motivation and their career exploration (self- and environmental exploration). Data were analysed from 1780 seventh- to tenth-graders (boys: 54.2%) from 13 German secondary schools. The structural equation modelling results revealed that student-perceived support for autonomy, competence and relatedness in class was significantly positively related to their intrinsic motivation and self-exploration. Student-perceived support for competence was significantly positively related to environment exploration. Student-perceived relatedness in class was significantly positively related to their achievement. Intrinsic motivation was significantly positively related to self- and environment exploration and achievement. The results showed that the paths within the tested model varied for boys and girls. Findings are discussed in relation to their implications for career preparation in school, as well as related to gendered motivational processes.     

Air Toxics Under the Big Sky: examining the effectiveness of authentic scientific research on high school students’ science skills and interest

Air Toxics Under the Big Sky is an environmental science outreach/education program that incorporates the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) 8 Practices with the goal of promoting knowledge and understanding of authentic scientific research in high school classrooms through air quality research. This research explored: (1) how the program affects student understanding of scientific inquiry and research and (2) how the open-inquiry learning opportunities provided by the program increase student interest in science as a career path. Treatment students received instruction related to air pollution (airborne particulate matter), associated health concerns, and training on how to operate air quality testing equipment. They then participated in a yearlong scientific research project in which they developed and tested hypotheses through research of their own design regarding the sources and concentrations of air pollution in their homes and communities. Results from an external evaluation revealed that treatment students developed a deeper understanding of scientific research than did comparison students, as measured by their ability to generate good hypotheses and research designs, and equally expressed an increased interest in pursuing a career in science. These results emphasize the value of and need for authentic science learning opportunities in the modern science classroom.     

Use of comics to enhance students’ learning for the development of the twenty-first century competencies in the mathematics classroom

Abstract

This paper discusses the use of comics in teaching mathematics in the secondary mathematics classroom. We explicate how the use of comics in teaching mathematics can prepare students for the twenty-first century competencies. We developed an alternative teaching package using comics for two lower secondary mathematics topics. This alternative teaching package consists of (1) several sets of comic strips expounding all related mathematical concepts in a lively way; (2) tiered practice questions for learning reinforcement; and (3) a set of proposed lesson outlines with suggestions on how to use the comics for mathematics teaching. We also report how one of the teachers in our study used this teaching package in her mathematics lessons. Her lessons were video-recorded and 11 students were interviewed to help us understand how the mathematics comics lessons were enacted and the students’ perception of comics as instruction. We identified instances in which the teacher tweaked the provided resource to further enhance student learning and incorporated elements of the twenty-first century competencies during her lessons. Through selected student interviews, we also identified instances in which students commented on their gain from the new approach from the perspective of the twenty-first century competencies.     

Preservice teachers’ evaluations of students’ achievement development in the context of school-track recommendations

European Journal of Psychology of Education - We experimentally examined whether preservice teachers considered both the gender of primary school students and their development of GPAs, indicated...     

Religious education and intercultural understanding: examining the role of religiosity for upper secondary students’ attitudes towards RE

Recent studies show that religious education (RE) may play an important role for teaching intercultural understanding in many Western societies facing increased cultural and religious pluralism. Quantitative and qualitative research have however failed to examine what role the religiosity of the students plays in their attitudes towards RE. A nationally representative Swedish sample of 1850 students answered a classroom questionnaire. The main result was that, when controlling for background variables such as gender, foreign background, parents’ education level and study programme, the students’ religiosity had a significant effect on their attitudes towards (a) existential issues, (b) preferences on what to study in RE as well as (c) incentives for studying RE. Regression analyses demonstrated that by entering individuals’ religiosity into the model the effect of foreign background was suspended in 11 out of 14 cases. In order to understand the attitude towards RE, it is useful to include the students’ religiosity. As a consequence, this article argues that in order to reach the citizenship goals of educating for intercultural understanding in RE, the subject should be developed to reach male students, students with parents with lower levels of education, students in vocational study programmes and students who are not religious.