Temporal stability of teachers’ judgment accuracy of students’ motivation,emotion, and achievement

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Numerous studies have focused on the significance and consequences of teacher judgment; the development of teachers’ judgment accuracy over time,...     

Teachers’ monitoring of students’ text comprehension: can students’ keywords and summaries improve teachers’ judgment accuracy?

We investigated intra-individual monitoring and regulation in learning from text in sixth-grade students and their teachers. In Experiment 1, students provided judgments of learning (JOLs) for six texts in one of three cue-prompt conditions (after writing delayed keywords or summaries or without a cue prompt) and then selected texts for restudy. Teachers also judged their students’ learning for each text, while seeing - if present - the keywords or summaries each student had written for each text, and also selected texts for restudy. Overall, monitoring accuracy was low (.10 for students, ?.02 for teachers) and did not differ between cue-prompt conditions. Regulation, indexed by the correlation between JOLs and restudy selections, was significant (?.38 for students, ?.60 for teachers), but was also not affected by cue-prompt condition. In Experiment 2, teachers judged students’ comprehension of six texts without knowing the students’ names, so that only the keywords and summaries, not prior impressions, could inform judgments. Again, monitoring accuracy was generally low (.06), but higher for keywords (.23) than for summaries (?.10). These results suggest that monitoring intra-individual differences in students’ learning is challenging for teachers. Analyses of the diagnosticity and utilization of keywords suggest that these may contain insufficient cues for improving teacher judgments at this level of specificity.     

Students’ adaptability in mathematics: Examining self-reports and teachers’ reports and links with engagement and achievement outcomes

Adaptability refers to the capacity to adjust one’s thoughts, behaviors, and emotions in order to manage changing, new, or uncertain demands. Although preliminary research has highlighted its relevance for positive student outcomes, there remain several important empirical questions to be examined. In particular, research on adaptability has used domain-general measures (i.e., not tied to a particular domain such as a school subject) and has focused only on self-reports of adaptability (not, for example, reports by significant others). The aim of the current study was to advance knowledge of adaptability by addressing these gaps. We examined students’ domain-specific adaptability in mathematics as reported by students themselves and by their mathematics teachers (n = 371). We examined the extent to which the two reports of mathematics adaptability are associated with students’ mathematics engagement, mathematics achievement, and literacy achievement (the latter a test of discriminant validity). Well-known covariates were included as controls (e.g., gender, prior achievement). Results revealed that student-reported adaptability predicted students’ mathematics engagement. Moreover, student-reported and teacher-reported adaptability uniquely predicted mathematics achievement. In terms of discriminant validity, (mathematics-based) student and teacher reports of adaptability were not associated with students’ literacy achievement. Together, findings advance knowledge of the adaptability construct, including providing preliminary evidence of domain-specificity and the complementary nature of self- and teacher-reports for assessing adaptability. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Primary mathematics teachers’ goal orientations and student achievement

Primary mathematics teachers’ (N = 521) personal goal orientation and instructional practices were examined based on questionnaire responses. The teachers (grades 2 and 3) were oriented towards mastery goals and mastery approaches to instruction, and reported high teaching efficacy. Strong positive relation between performance orientation and performance instructional practices was established, and correspondingly between mastery orientation and mastery instructional practices. Positive relations between students’ (N = 9,980) basic mathematics performance (measured by paper and pencil tests) and both teacher mastery orientation and teaching efficacy were also found. Results indicate that mastery oriented teaching strategies are crucial for fostering basic mathematical competencies in primary students.     

Do prospective mathematics teachers teach who they say they are?

In this case study, the professional mathematics teacher identity (PMTI) of final year mathematics education students is investigated in terms of their self-perceived and actualised identity. These prospective teachers were required to discuss and describe their own PMTI in terms of three aspects: mathematics specialisation, teaching-and-learning specialisation, and caring. Subsequently, they were observed in the classroom, where the actualisation of their PMTI was considered in terms of the same three. The participants’ perceptions of their own PMTI and the actualisation of that PMTI in the classroom were found not to be congruent. While their self-perceptions regarding their prowess as Mathematics Specialists were accurate, since this is concretely tested as part of their studies, their self-perceptions as teaching-and-learning specialists and particularly as Carers, were not verifiable in their classroom practice. Espoused theory, theory that the individual perceives as true and valid, and which may thus be seen as intrinsic to their PMTI’s, is not necessarily enacted.     

Awards and recognition: Do they matter in teachers’ income trajectory?

Do teaching awards affect the growth in income of teachers recognized for excellence? Our study is one of the firsts to use income as the primary indicator of success when evaluating the impact of an award. Taking the case of Metrobank Foundation Award for Outstanding Teachers in the Philippines, our analysis reveals that the award had a higher impact on the income of winners who were in the middle of their career when they received the award. This implies that timing as to when an award is received matters. Relatively younger winners, in their mid-career, have more years in their professional career to capitalize on the award.     

Elementary students’ metacognitive processes and post-performance calibration on mathematical problem-solving tasks

Calibration, or the correspondence between perceived performance and actual performance, is linked to students’ metacognitive and self-regulatory skills. Making students more aware of the quality of their performance is important in elementary school settings, and more so when math problems are involved. However, many students seem to be poorly calibrated, with a tendency towards over-confidence. The present study analyzes the relationship between post-performance calibration accuracy and the metacognitive process shown by 524 fifth- and sixth-grade students while solving two math problems. After calculating a calibration index and establishing the stability of students’ judgments and actual performance, differences in the metacognitive process exhibited by students with different calibration accuracy (Accurate vs. Inaccurate groups) were analyzed. The emergence of different calibration patterns and differences in the metacognitive process as a function of mathematics achievement and grade level were also examined. Results indicated that: (a) students in the overall sample were little calibrated and over-confident, showing high stability in their judgments and actual performance across problems; (b) inaccurate students reported using information representation sub-processes (drawing/summarizing) less frequently, but writing and reviewing (and also correcting mistakes) more frequently than their accurate peers; and (c) differences in calibration patterns and the metacognitive process were found when achievement level was considered, whereas grade level did not generate any important effect. These findings suggest the usefulness of process-based measures to examine the metacognitive processes involved in making post-performance judgments, considering achievement and its possible mediating role in this relationship.     

Elementary school teachers’ uses of mathematics curricular resources

With the adoption of new content standards, teachers are often left without adequate curriculum resources. This study examined how educators used their curricular resources to teach new mathematics standards in the USA. Analyses of open-ended survey responses from 257 teachers and teacher–leaders in Grades 3 through Grade 5 indicated that every educator reported supplementing their districts’ or schools’ primary curricular resources with other materials. These supplements primarily included resources found for free on websites and resources that claimed to be aligned to the new standards, but varied in terms of alignment to national standards for effective mathematics curriculum. Implications for this study include further research on how teachers make decisions regarding curriculum resources as well as increasing teachers’ access to quality curriculum materials that can support students’ mathematical learning.     

Do creativity self-beliefs predict literacy achievement and motivation?

Previous work has suggested that creativity self-beliefs show only small relations with academic achievement and may only be related to intrinsic, not extrinsic motivation. We set out to re-examine these relationships accounting for the multifaceted and process embedded nature of creativity self-beliefs and the full domain range of extrinsic motivation. One hundred and twenty-two secondary school pupils completed self-report measures of creativity self-beliefs and motivation and were administered as test of fluid intelligence. Creativity self-beliefs were positively related to teacher assessed literacy attainment, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and also inversely related to amotivation. Creativity self-beliefs accounted for a significant additional proportion of variance in both literacy achievement and in motivational measures, beyond that already accounted for by fluid intelligence. These findings suggest that it is important to attend to the multifaceted nature of creative self-beliefs and the full domain range of extrinsic motivation.     

Adaptability: does students’ adjustment to university predict their mid-course academic achievement and satisfaction?

ABSTRACT

Individual differences in ‘adaptability’ – cognitive, behavioural, and emotional adjustment in the face of change, novelty, and uncertainty – are theorised to influence students’ academic achievement and course satisfaction; although the literature examining these relations in tertiary education is sparse. In the present study, first-year undergraduate students were surveyed for their adaptability, academic buoyancy, and academic motivation (predictor variables) along with their mid-course academic achievement and course satisfaction (outcome variables). Correlation analyses revealed that adaptability was significantly associated with all other variables in this study. Multiple regression analyses revealed that after controlling for individual differences in academic buoyancy and academic motivation, adaptability explained unique variance in both academic achievement and course satisfaction. These findings have important implications for researchers and educators seeking to understand first-year students’ adjustment to university and the influence this may have on their educational outcomes.     

Relationships between teachers’ metacognitive knowledge and students’ metacognitive knowledge and reading achievement

The study examined the relationships between teachers’ metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies and their students’ metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension. The study was carried out among language art teachers (N?=?34) and their students (N?=?534) in the last year of primary school (ninth grade) in Estonia. Multilevel modeling was used to test the hypotheses of relationships between students’ metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension, while controlling for students’ previous reading comprehension (in eighth grade) as well as the relations between teachers’ metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies and students’ metacognitive knowledge and comprehension. The results showed that students’ metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies related to their reading comprehension, concurring with previous findings. The main finding was that teachers’ metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies significantly related to their students’ metacognitive knowledge, but not to reading comprehension. These results indicate that students’ reading comprehension may be supported by improving their metacognitive knowledge of reading strategies. In addition, the findings highlight the importance of teachers’ metacognitive knowledge in students’ metacognitive knowledge.     

Elementary school mathematics teachers’ perception of their professional needs

This study explored Israeli elementary school mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their professional needs, with the purpose of developing in-service training courses which cater to these needs. Eighty-four teachers responded to the questionnaire and were interviewed. The results indicate that the respondents’ main needs are associated with strengthening their didactical knowledge capability of dealing with emotional aspects that relate to pupils’ learning of mathematics. Although most of the respondents lack formal mathematics education, they attribute less importance to their need to enhance knowledge in the field. In light of Israeli pupils’ relatively low attainments in mathematics, the authors believe that the education system should require teachers to expand their mathematics knowledge and that only teachers with appropriate knowledge will be permitted to teach the discipline.     

Do single-sex schools enhance students’ STEM (science,technology, engineering,and mathematics) outcomes?

In many countries, males currently lag behind females in schooling attainment but females are still underrepresented in STEM studies. This pattern has raised renewed interest in the potential of single-sex schools for enhancing STEM outcomes. Utilizing the unique setting in Seoul, where assignment to single-sex or coeducational high schools is random, and with multiple years of administrative data from the national college entrance examinations and a longitudinal survey of high school seniors, we assess causal effects of single-sex schools on students’ math test scores and choice of the science-math test. We also assess whether single-sex schools affect students’ interests and self-efficacy in math and science, and expectations and actual choices of a STEM college major in university. We find significantly positive effects of all-boys schools consistently across different STEM outcomes but not for girls. We address one possible mechanism by conducting mediation analysis with the proportion of same-gender math teachers.     

Developing culturally responsive mathematics teachers: secondary teachers’ evolving conceptions of knowing students

Research advances in teaching, learning, curriculum, and assessment have not changed the continued underperformance of marginalized students in mathematics education. Culturally responsive teaching is a means of addressing the needs of these students. It is sometimes challenging, however, to convince secondary mathematics teachers about the importance of culture in mathematics education. To contribute to what is known about supporting secondary mathematics teachers in developing a culturally responsive teaching practice, we studied the impacts of a graduate course called Culture in the Mathematics Classroom on 13 teachers enrolled in the course. The course was designed to guide secondary mathematics teachers in understanding and growing their capacity to enact culturally responsive teaching in their classrooms. The purpose of our research was to explore how teachers’ perceptions changed as a result of their engagement in the class with respect to understanding the role of culture in knowing and being responsive to their students. Specifically, we examined how each of the four course projects seemed to individually and collectively influence teachers’ thinking. Overall, teachers appeared to expand their cultural awareness and dispositions for cultural responsiveness that would support them in knowing and supporting their students in the manner of a culturally responsive teacher. Teachers did not, however, develop some more “advanced” understandings related to power and privilege in society. This study provides researchers and mathematics teacher educators with a potential analytic framework for understanding teacher change with respect to culturally responsive teaching.     

Mainstream and immigrant students’ primary school mathematics achievement differences in European countries

European Journal of Psychology of Education - The few studies on the achievement differences of mainstream and immigrant primary school students in large-scale assessments point to an achievement...     

Effects of biology teachers’ professional knowledge and cognitive activation on students’ achievement

This study examined the effects of teachers’ biology-specific dimensions of professional knowledge – pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and content knowledge (CK) – and cognitively activating biology instruction, as a feature of instructional quality, on students’ learning. The sample comprised 39 German secondary school teachers whose lessons on the topic neurobiology were videotaped twice. Teachers’ instruction was coded with regard to cognitive activation using a rating manual. Multilevel path analysis results showed a positive significant effect of cognitive activation on students’ learning and an indirect effect of teachers’ PCK on students’ learning mediated through cognitive activation. These findings highlight the importance of PCK in preservice biology teachers’ education. Items of the rating manual may be used to provide exemplars of concrete teaching situations during university seminars for preservice teacher education or professional development initiatives for in-service teachers.     

The impact of perceived teachers’ autonomy support on students’ mathematics achievement: evidences based on latent growth curve modelling

European Journal of Psychology of Education - According to the self-determination theory, autonomy-supportive teaching is considered an effective approach to motivate students to learn. The present...     

The pre-service teachers’ mathematics anxiety related to depth of negative experiences in mathematics classroom while they were students

One of the aims of this study is to examine whether the worst experiences and most troublesome mathematics classroom experience affect mathematics anxiety in pre-service elementary teachers. Another goal is to find out how the causes of their anxiety relate to these negative experiences. The participants were 167 senior elementary pre-service teachers. Three different instruments were used to collect data; Mathematics Anxiety Rating Scale, Worst Experience and Most Troublesome Mathematics Classroom Experience Reflection Test, and Interview Protocol. The findings show that many pre-service teachers have mathematics anxiety and that the worst experience and the most troublesome mathematics classroom experience have a direct influence on mathematics anxiety in pre-service teachers. Also, the majority of instances of participants’ mathematics anxiety are caused by the teachers, their behavior or teaching approaches in their past.     

Identifying effective teachers: The relation between teaching profiles and students’ development in achievement and enjoyment

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Teaching effectiveness has often been described from a variable-centered perspective according to instructional, organizational, and emotional teaching...     

Elementary teachers’ needs: issues of retention and recruitment

The retention and recruitment of elementary teachers is an increasingly serious problem in many countries. This paper examines literature on work in general, and teaching in particular, in the light of data gathered from teachers who enjoy their jobs. It concludes that there is scope to improve the quality of elementary teachers’ professional lives and hence enhance recruitment and retention possibilities. A further implication would be the greater involvement of teachers in curriculum innovation and inspection.