Learning environment profiles of Turkish secondary biology classrooms

The purposes of this study were to examine how Turkish students perceived their biology classroom environment, how their perceptions compared to those of students in other countries, and what classroom learning environment profiles could be discerned in Turkish high school biology classrooms. Data were gathered from 1,474 high school students in four inner city schools, in Bursa, Turkey. A total of 11 biology teachers participated in the study with 52 of their classes. Data on students’ perceptions of their learning environment were collected with the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire. Results indicated that Turkish classrooms were perceived as being low in terms of Teacher Support and high in terms of Task Orientation. Six distinct classroom learning environment profiles were found: the ‘self-directed learning classroom’, ‘task-oriented cooperative learning classroom’, ‘mainstream classroom’, ‘task-oriented individualised classroom’, ‘low-effective learning classroom’ and ‘high-effective learning classroom’. The most common profile was the ‘mainstream classroom’ for which all WIHIC scales had medium–high scores.     

Classroom learning environment and motivation towards mathematics among secondary school students in Uganda

This article reports a study of secondary students’ perceptions of mathematics classroom learning environment and their associations with their motivation towards mathematics. A sample of 81 students (19 male and 62 female) in two schools were used. Student perceptions of the classroom environment were assessed using a modified What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire. Associations between student perceptions of the learning environment and motivation towards mathematics were examined using simple correlation and multiple regression analyses. The results of the t tests for independent samples indicated a statistically significant difference in student perceptions between different school types. Student perceptions on some of the modified WIHIC scales were statistically significantly associated with student motivation. The results suggest that teachers wishing to improve student motivation towards mathematics, in general, should emphasise the learning environment dimensions that are assessed by the WIHIC. The findings have implications for teachers of mathematics and head teachers, particularly those in secondary schools.     

Identifying exemplary science teachers through students’ perceptions of their learning environment

The purpose of this study was to examine students’ psychosocial perceptions of their science classroom learning environment in order to identify exemplary teachers. This mixed-method study used the valid and reliable What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire with over 3,000 middle school students in 150 classrooms in Australia. Exemplary teachers were defined as those whose students’ perceptions were more than one standard deviation above the mean for three of the five scales of Student Cohesiveness, Teacher Support, Involvement, Task Orientation and Equity. The reliability of the WIHIC scales ranged from 0.75 to 0.87. Eta² showed that the WIHIC was able to distinguish between the perceptions of the students in the classroom. The construct validity of the WIHIC for identifying these exemplary teachers was confirmed through interviews with students and these views are reported in the article.     

Students’ perceptions of the learning environment in tertiary science classrooms in Myanmar

We investigated students’ perceptions of their science classroom environments with the use of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire at the university level in Myanmar. The translated questionnaire was administered to 251 students in first-year science classes at a university. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported the reliability and factorial validity of the Myanmar version of the WIHIC. The constructs of the WIHIC were significantly correlated, but gender differences were not detected in correlations between WIHIC scales. Future research is needed to see if our Myanmar version of the WIHIC fits other samples in schools and universities in this context. It is also suggested that future studies include measures of student attitudes and academic achievement to permit investigation of associations between the learning environment and student outcomes in this country.     

Cultural Background and Students’ Perceptions of Science Classroom Learning Environment and Teacher Interpersonal Behaviour in Jammu,India

This article reports research into associations between students’ cultural background and their perceptions of their teacher’s interpersonal behaviour and classroom learning environment. A sample of 1021 students from 31 classes in seven co-educational private schools completed a survey including the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) and a question relating to cultural background. Statistical analyses showed that the Kashmiri group of students perceived their classrooms and teacher interaction more positively than those from the other cultural groups identified in the study.     

A Cross-National Study of Secondary Science Classroom Environments in Australia and Indonesia

This article reports a cross-national study of classroom environments in Australia and Indonesia. A modified version of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire was used simultaneously in these two countries to: 1) crossvalidate the modified WIHIC; 2) investigate differences between countries and sexes in perceptions of classroom environment; and 3) investigate associations between students’ attitudes to science and their perceptions of classroom environment. The sample consisted of 1,161 students (594 students from 18 classes in Indonesia and 567 students from 18 classes in Australia). Principal components factor analysis with varimax rotation supported the validity of a revised structure for the WIHIC. Two-way MANOVA revealed some differences between countries and between sexes in students’ perceptions of their classroom environments. Simple correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed generally positive associations between the classroom environment and student attitudes to science in both countries.     

Using student perceptions to compare actual and preferred classroom environment in Queensland schools

Students’ perceptions of actual and preferred classroom environment were investigated using the What is happening in this class? questionnaire (WIHIC). The WIHIC assesses seven classroom environment dimensions: student cohesiveness, teacher support, involvement, task orientation, investigation, cooperation and equity. A sample of 978 secondary school students from 63 classes in Queensland responded to the WIHIC. For each item on the WIHIC, students recorded their perceptions of the actual (or real) and preferred (or ideal) classroom environment. Results revealed that statistically significant differences between actual and preferred environments, and that the gap between actual and preferred environment was smaller for more positive classroom environments.     

Do learning environments differ across subjects and nations: Case studies in Hawaii and Singapore using the WIHIC questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to survey a sample of high school students in Hawaii and Singapore about what they perceive to be helpful aspects of classroom environments in their learning of science and humanities subjects. The What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire was administered in the fall of 2003 to 73 high school students in Hawaii and 70 high school students in Singapore. These students were asked to respond to statements that focused on their actual and preferred environments in science and humanities classes for the three dimensions of learning environments of student cohesiveness, student involvement, and task orientation in the actual and preferred classroom. Principal component analyses were conducted separately for the data collected in the science and the humanities classes to make sure that the questions represented the anticipated factors in each of these two subject areas. A three-way multivariate analysis of variance was also conducted for all three dimensions of learning environments for differences in scores on items in the WIHIC questionnaire for the actual classroom subtracted from scores for the preferred learning environment. Results of this test revealed that the primary difference between students in high schools in Hawaii and Singapore was that students in the high schools in Hawaii wanted more student cohesiveness and involvement than the students in high schools in Singapore regardless of the subject. Another interesting finding was in the dimension of task orientation, for which the interaction between student nationality and subject was statistically significant.     

Project Clarion: Three Years of Science Instruction in Title I Schools among K-Third Grade Students

The purpose of the study was to measure the effects of higher level, inquiry-based science curricula on students at primary level in Title I schools. Approximately 3,300 K-3 students from six schools were assigned to experimental or control classes (N?=?115 total) on a random basis according to class. Experimental students were exposed to concept-based science curriculum that emphasized ??deep learning?? though concept mastery and investigation, whereas control classes learned science from traditional school-based curricula. Two ability measures, the Bracken Basic Concept Scale-Revised (BBCS-R, Bracken 1998) and the Naglieri Nonverbal Intelligence Test (NNAT, Naglieri 1991), were used for baseline information. Additionally, a standardized measure of student achievement in science (the MAT-8 science subtest), a standardized measure of critical thinking, and a measure for observing teachers?? classroom behaviors were used to assess learning outcomes. Results indicated that all ability groups of students benefited from the science inquiry-based approach to learning that emphasized science concepts, and that there was a positive achievement effect for low socio-economic young children who were exposed to such a curriculum.     

Students’ Conceptions About ‘Radiation’: Results from an Explorative Interview Study of 9th Grade Students

One basis of good teaching is to know about your students?? preconceptions. Studies about typical ideas that students bring to the science classroom have been and continue to be a major field in science education research. This study aims to explore associations and ideas that students have regarding ??radiation??, a term widely used in various fields and necessary to understand fundamental ideas in science. In an explorative study, the perceptions of 50 high school students were examined using semi-structured interviews. The students were 14?C16?years old and were chosen from 7 different high schools in an urban area in Austria. Following an interview guideline, students were asked about their general associations with the term ??radiation?? as well as about their general understanding of different types of radiation. A qualitative analysis of these interviews following the method of Flick (2009) revealed that the students?? associations were, to a great extent, very different from the scientific use of the term. Several conceptions that could inhibit students?? learning processes could be identified. Consequences for the teaching of the topic ??radiation?? in science lessons, which are based on these preconceptions, are presented in the conclusion.     

Learning environment, attitudes and conceptual development associated with innovative strategies in middle-school mathematics

This study of middle-school students in California focused on the effectiveness of using innovative teaching strategies for enhancing the classroom environment, students’ attitudes and conceptual development. A sample of 661 students from 22 classrooms in four inner city schools completed modified forms of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES), What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire and Test of Mathematics Related Attitudes (TOMRA). Data analyses supported the factor structure, internal consistency reliability, discriminant validity and the ability to distinguish between different classes for these questionnaires when used with middle-school mathematics students in California. The effectiveness of the innovative instructional strategy was evaluated in terms of classroom environment and attitudes to mathematics for the whole sample, as well as for mathematics achievement for a subgroup of 101 students. A comparison of an experimental group which experienced the innovative strategy with a control group supported the efficacy of the innovative teaching methods in terms of learning environment, attitudes and mathematics concept development. Also associations were found between perceptions of classroom learning environment and students’ attitudes to mathematics and conceptual development.     

Relationships between learning environment and mathematics anxiety

We investigated relationships between the learning environment and students’ mathematics anxiety, as well as differences between the sexes in perceptions of learning environment and anxiety. A sample of 745 high-school students in 34 different mathematics classrooms in four high schools in Southern California was used to cross-validate the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) learning environment instrument, together with an updated Revised Mathematics Anxiety Rating scale. Mathematics anxiety was found to have two factorially-distinct dimensions (namely, learning mathematics anxiety and mathematics evaluation anxiety) which yielded different patterns of results for sex differences and anxiety–environment associations. Relative to males, females perceived a more positive classroom environment and more anxiety about mathematics evaluation, but less anxiety about mathematics learning. Some statistically significant associations were found between anxiety and learning environment scales for learning mathematics anxiety but not for mathematics evaluation anxiety.     

Learning Environment and its Association with Student Satisfaction Among Mathematics Students in Brunei Darussalam

This article reports a study of lower secondary mathematics classroom learning environment in Brunei Darussalam and its association with students' satisfaction with learning mathematics among a sample of 1565 students from 81 classes in 15 government secondary schools. Students' perceptions of the classroom learning environments were assessed with a version of the My Class Inventory (MCI) that had been modified for the Brunei context. The study revealed a satisfactory factor structure for a refined three-scale version of the MCI assessing cohesiveness, difficulty and competition. This finding is noteworthy because the factorial validity of the MCI has not previously been established in past research in other countries. Also each scale displayed satisfactory internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity and was able to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classes. A one-way MANOVA revealed that students generally perceived a positive learning environment in mathematics classes. Also the study supported earlier research suggesting that boys and girls hold different perceptions of the same classroom learning environments. Relationships between student satisfaction and classroom environment were investigated using simple and multiple correlation analyses, using both the individual student and class mean as units of analysis. Associations between satisfaction and the learning environment were statistically significant both at student and class levels for most MCI scales. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Development,validation and application of a modified Arabic translation of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire

This article reports the development, translation, validation and application of a modified Arabic version of a modified form of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire. When parallel Arabic and English versions of this questionnaire were field tested with a sample of 763 college students in 82 classes, the WIHIC exhibited sound factorial validity and internal consistency reliability for both its actual and preferred forms, and the actual form differentiated between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Comparison of students’ scores on actual and preferred forms of the questionnaires revealed that students preferred a more positive classroom environment on all scales.     

Parent and student perceptions of classroom learning environment and its association with student outcomes

This research is distinctive in that parents’ perceptions were utilised in conjunction with students’ perceptions in investigating science classroom learning environments among Grade 4 and 5 students in South Florida. The What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire was modified for young students and their parents and administered to 520 students and 120 parents. Data analyses supported the WIHIC’s factorial validity, internal consistency reliability and ability to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. Both students and parents preferred a more positive classroom environment than the one perceived to be actually present, but effect sizes for actual-preferred differences were larger for parents than for students. Associations were found between some learning environment dimensions (especially task orientation) and student outcomes (especially attitudes). Qualitative methods suggested that students and parents were generally satisfied with the classroom environment, but that students would prefer more investigation while parents would prefer more teacher support. The study provides a pioneering look at how parents and students perceive the science learning environment and opens the way for further learning environment studies involving both parents and students.     

Computing laboratory classes as language learning environments

Whereas most research on computer-assisted language learning (CALL) tends to rely heavily on the assessment of academic achievement and language learning outcomes, this study involved an evaluation of the psychosocial learning environment in computing laboratories. The What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) and Attitude to Computers and Computing Courses (ACCC) questionnaires were administered to 152 university students undertaking 1-year compulsory education courses in English at the Centre for Foreign Languages (YADIM) at Çukurova University in Turkey. Analysis of data illuminated students’ perceptions of the computer laboratory class as a language learning environment and paved the way for further learning environment studies involving both students and teachers.     

EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GAMES IN TERTIARY-LEVEL MATHEMATICS CLASSROOMS

The primary focus of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of games when used in tertiary-level mathematics classes in the United Arab Emirates. Our study incorporated a mixed-method approach that involved surveys (to assess students?? perceptions of the learning environment and attitudes towards mathematics), interviews, observations of classes and narrative stories. A sample of 90 students from 3 tertiary-level institutions in Abu Dhabi participated in the study. In-depth qualitative data provided information about the introduction and use of games in mathematics. A narrative, based on classroom observations of students playing Jeopardy!-type mathematics games, provided insights into games in action in the classrooms. The data were analysed to examine students?? interactions during the games and to triangulate, clarify and explain students?? responses to the learning environment and attitude questionnaires. To examine pre?Cpost differences in students perceptions of the learning environment and their attitudes, 2 questionnaires were administered to students before and after the introduction of games. Pre?Cpost differences for 3 of the 6 learning environment scales (Teacher Support, Involvement, Personal Relevance) and both attitude scales (Enjoyment of Mathematics Lessons and Academic Efficacy scales) were statistically significant. Information obtained from interviews with students and teachers were used to explain the pre?Cpost differences.     

The Greek elementary “What Is Happening In this Class?” (G-EWIHIC): A three-phase multi-sample mixed-methods study

Students’ perceptions of their classroom psycho-social climate (CPSC) have been found to relate significantly to students’ learning outcomes. The What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) being one of most prominent instruments in measuring these perceptions. The purpose of the present study was to thoroughly examine the structure of preadolescents’ perceptions of the CPSC, through an elaborate mixed-methods three-phase design, in the Greek elementary school context. The study included semi-structured interviews with students and teachers, and two large-scale administrations of the qualitatively adapted WIHIC version. Both qualitative and quantitative results supported the seven-subscale structure of the instrument and identified potential issues with the conceptual content of two of the subscales. Quantitative findings also supported the theoretical second-order factorial structure of the instrument, but with different subscale allocation. The advantages of mixed-methodology in the cross-cultural examination of student’s perceptions of the learning environment and implications for research are discussed.     

Physical and Psychosocial Environments Associated with Networked Classrooms

This article reports a study of the learning environments in computer networked classrooms. The study is unique in that it involved an evaluation of both the physical and psychosocial classroom environments in these computerised settings through the use of a combination of questionnaires and ergonomic evaluations. The study involved administering a student questionnaire designed to assess aspects of the psychosocial learning environment in these settings, and relating these factors to students satisfaction and to important aspects of the physical learning environment. The sample consisted of 1404 students in 81 classes in Australia and Canada. A questionnaire assessing five aspects of psychosocial environment exhibited good factorial validity and internal consistency reliability. When satisfaction was used as a dependent variable, classroom psychosocial environment (especially autonomy/independence and task orientation) was significantly and directly associated with students satisfaction with their learning. In contrast, no direct associations were found between student satisfaction and measures of the physical classroom environment, such as the workspace and visual environments. However statistically significant associations emerged between physical and psychosocial learning environment variables in classrooms using new information technologies. These associations suggest a model of educational productivity for learning environments in technology-rich classrooms. Qualitative case studies provided more detailed information about selected classrooms.