Characteristics of teaching and students’ emotions in the classroom: Investigating differences across domains

This study investigated the relations between eight characteristics of teaching and students’ academic emotions (enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, helplessness and boredom) across four academic domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English). 121 students (50% female; 8th and 11th graders) were asked about their perceptions of teaching characteristics and their academic emotions using the experience sampling method (real-time approach) for a period of 10 school days, with intraindividual analyses conducted using a multilevel approach. Multilevel exploratory factor analysis revealed that the eight teaching characteristics (understandability, illustration, enthusiasm, fostering attention, lack of clarity, difficulty, pace, level of expectation) represented two factors, labeled supportive presentation style (e.g., comprising understandability) and excessive lesson demands (e.g., comprising difficulty). In line with our hypothesis, we found clear relations on the intraindividual level between the two factors of teaching characteristics and students’ academic emotions in the classroom (e.g., supportive presentation style positively related to students’ enjoyment and negatively related to their boredom). Further, and supporting the universality assumption of teaching characteristics/academic emotions relations, the strength of relations between the two factors of teaching characteristics and academic emotions was very similar across the four academic domains. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.     

Taiwanese high school students’ perspectives on effective mathematics teaching behaviors

This study developed a questionnaire composed of teaching-behavior items obtained from pioneering empirical studies, for measuring students’ perspectives on effective mathematics teaching. The questionnaire was used to survey 4514 high school students in Taiwan, where Western innovative mathematics instruction has been promoted since a curriculum reform in 1993. Exploratory factor analysis revealed factors contributing to how teachers should handle teaching materials, use representations and teaching methods, and guide problem solving. Ten factors were identified. Seven are rooted in traditional Chinese educational culture (e.g., detailed illustration in teaching problem solving), and three were influenced by Western culture (e.g., student active-learning activities in teaching methods). The findings show that teaching behaviors that either require a considerable amount of time or minimize use of time are relatively less favored, including learning in small groups or through games in the student active-learning activities factor and only providing important steps in the speedy lecture factor.     

The validity of student ratings of teaching quality: Factorial structure,comparability, and the relation to achievement

Student ratings are widely used to assess teaching quality in primary and secondary education. This necessitates a thorough examination their validity and reliability in such contexts. To this end, we present validity evidence for using student ratings of teaching quality based on their factorial structure, comparability across grades and subjects, and relation to achievement. Based on data from the 2019 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and its national extensions in Norway (N = 3951 5th graders and N = 4575 9th graders), we could confirm a theoretically assumed three-dimensional factor structure (i.e., classroom management, cognitive activation, and supportive climate). Moreover, classroom management and supportive climate were more comparable across grades and subjects then cognitive activation. Finally, classroom management was associated with achievement across all groups, whereas other dimensions showed mixed results, especially across grades. Overall, the findings indicate that students, especially in Grade 9, can provide a valid assessment of teaching quality.     

Teachers’ motivational profiles and their longitudinal associations with teaching quality

This study used an integrated theoretical approach to investigate teacher motivation and its influence on teaching quality. Drawing on Expectancy-Value-Theory and Achievement-Goal-Theory, a person-centered approach was used to investigate how multiple characteristics (i.e., self-efficacy, enthusiasm, and goal orientation) combined to form teachers’ motivational profiles. The profiles were then analyzed to see if there was a link to teaching quality. Latent profile analysis for 156 secondary-level mathematics teachers identified three motivational profiles which differed only in their performance goals: low performance goal-oriented (49%), high performance goal-oriented (38%), and high performance-avoidance goal-oriented (13%). Multilevel path analysis showed that motivational profile membership was not significantly related to student-rated teaching quality when baseline teaching quality was controlled (N = 1497 available on both measurement points). The findings revealed that the link between teacher motivation and teaching quality was less clear than expected. Possible reasons for the results are discussed.     

The relative benefits of learning by teaching and teaching expectancy

The purpose of this study was to explore the hypothesis that learning is enhanced through the act of teaching others. Specifically, two experiments aimed to disentangle the relative effects of teaching expectancy (i.e., preparing to teach) and actually teaching (i.e., explaining to others for instructional purposes) on learning. Some participants studied a lesson on the Doppler Effect without the expectation of later teaching the material and then took a comprehension test on the material (control group). Other students studied the same lesson with instructions that they would later teach the material; of those expecting to teach, some participants actually taught the material by presenting a brief video-recorded lecture before being tested (teaching group), whereas others only prepared to teach before being tested (preparation group). Results of Experiment 1 indicated that both the preparation group and teaching group significantly outperformed the control group on an immediate comprehension test (Teaching vs. Control: d = 0.82; Preparation vs. Control: d = 0.59). However, when the same test was given following a one-week delay (Experiment 2), only the teaching group significantly outperformed the control group (Teaching vs. Control: d = 0.79; Preparation vs. Control: d = 0.24). Overall, these findings suggest that when students actually teach the content of a lesson, they develop a deeper and more persistent understanding of the material than from solely preparing to teach.     

Student ratings of teaching quality in primary school: Dimensions and prediction of student outcomes

The contribution examines theoretical foundations, factorial structure, and predictive power of student ratings of teaching quality. Three basic dimensions of teaching quality have previously been described: classroom management, cognitive activation, and supportive climate. However, student ratings, especially those provided by primary school students, have been criticised for being biased by factors such as teacher popularity. The present study examines ratings of teaching quality and science learning among third graders. Results of multilevel confirmatory factor analyses (N = 1556 students, 89 classes) indicate that the three-dimensional model of teaching quality can be replicated in ratings of third graders. In a longitudinal study (N = 1070 students, 54 classes), we found ratings of classroom management to predict student achievement, and ratings of cognitive activation and supportive climate to predict students' development of subject-related interest after teacher popularity is controlled for. The analyses show that student ratings can be useful measures of teaching quality in primary school.     

Capturing teacher priorities: Using real-world eye-tracking to investigate expert teacher priorities across two cultures

Classroom teaching is complex. In the classroom, teachers must readily attend to disruptions and successfully convey new tasks and information. Outside the classroom, teachers must organise their priorities that are important for successful student learning. In fact, differing gaze patterns can reveal the varying priorities that teachers have. Teacher priorities are likely to vary with classroom expertise and can conceivably change with culture too. Therefore, the present study investigated expertise related and cultural teacher priorities by analysing their gaze proportions. To obtain this data, 40 secondary school teachers wore eye-tracking glasses during class time, with 20 teachers (10 expert; 10 novice) from the UK and 20 teachers (10 expert; 10 novice) from Hong Kong. We analysed gaze proportions during teachers' attentional (i.e., information-seeking, e.g., teacher questioning students) and communicative (i.e., information-giving, e.g., teacher lecturing students) gaze. Regardless of culture, expert teachers' gaze proportions revealed prioritisation of students, whereas novice teachers gave priority to non-instructional (i.e., not students, teacher materials, or student materials) classroom regions. Hong Kong teachers prioritised teacher materials (e.g., whiteboard) during communicative gaze whereas UK teachers prioritised non-instructional regions. Regarding culture-specific expertise, with Hong Kong experts prioritised teacher materials more than UK experts who, in turn, did so more than UK novices. We thus demonstrate the role of implicit teacher gaze measures as micro-level indicators of macro-level and explicit aspects of instruction, namely teacher priority.     

Teacher self-efficacy and enthusiasm: Relations to changes in student-perceived teaching quality at the beginning of secondary education

Teaching quality is a key factor in student academic success, but few studies have investigated how teaching quality changes at the beginning of secondary education and how such changes are predicted by dimensions of teacher motivation. This study investigated the changes in class-level student perceptions of teaching quality over one school year at the beginning of secondary school and examined how teachers' self-efficacy and enthusiasm predicted such changes. Data from 1996 students (53.8% male; mean age: 11.09 years, SD = 0.55) and their homeroom teachers (N = 105), who were surveyed at the beginning of Grades 5 and 6, were analyzed. Results showed a significant decline in class-level student-perceived emotional support, classroom management, and instructional clarity. Teacher-reported self-efficacy was not significantly related to changes in teaching quality. Teacher-reported enthusiasm buffered the decline in students’ class-level classroom management.     

Perceived classroom disruption undermines the positive educational effects of perceived need-supportive teaching in science

Extensive research has demonstrated the benefits of need-supportive teaching, but minimal research has examined social factors that may constrain these benefits. One factor that students experience contemporaneously to need-supportive teaching is classroom disruption. Perceived classroom disruption is a barrier to quality teaching and learning, especially in science, and may be a negative moderator of perceived need-supportive teaching. Using structural equation modelling (N = 14,530 students), this investigation examines the extent to which perceived need-supportive teaching and perceived classroom disruption uniquely predicted students' science self-efficacy, participation, and achievement; as well as the extent to which perceived classroom disruption moderates the associations between perceived need-supportive teaching and these outcomes. Findings revealed that perceived need-supportive teaching was positively associated with all outcomes. Perceived classroom disruption was negatively associated with self-efficacy and achievement and attenuated the positive association between perceived need-support and achievement. These results provide insight about the boundary conditions of need-supportive teaching.     

论预设与生成在课堂教学中的有效整合

课堂教学是预设与生成、封闭与开放的矛盾统一体。课堂教学的生成是新课程改革中倡导的一个重要的教育理念。因此,课堂教学的预设与生成问题已成为课改进行中的研究热点。新课程改革从新的层面、新的角度阐释了预设与生成的含义及特征,指出课堂教学的实质是预设与生成的整合,只有掌握教学实践中预设与生成整合的策略,才能在教学过程中促进优质课的建设。     

Role of expectations and explanations in learning by teaching

The present study examined the role of preparing to teach (i.e., teaching expectancy) and actually teaching (i.e., explaining to others) on immediate and long-term learning. In Experiment 1, participants studied a base version or an enhanced version of a paper-based lesson on how the Doppler Effect works with the expectation of taking a test on the material or with the expectation of teaching the material by providing a video-recorded lecture. Results indicated that those who prepared to teach (without actually teaching) outperformed those who prepared for a test on an immediate comprehension test (i.e., a teaching expectancy effect; d = .55), regardless of the format of the lesson. In Experiment 2, participants studied while expecting to be tested or expecting to teach the material; some then actually did teach the material by providing a video-recorded lecture, whereas others received additional study time. Results indicated that those who actually taught the material outperformed those who did not teach on a delayed comprehension test (i.e., a teaching effect; d = .56), though this effect was strongest for those who also prepared to teach. Overall, these findings are consistent with the idea that preparing to teach results in short-term learning gains, whereas the act of teaching (i.e., by explaining the material to others) coupled with preparing to teach is important for long-term learning.     

民主的课堂气氛,一种理想的课堂教学状态

民主的课堂气氛是实现有效教学的重要条件,是提高师生课堂生活质量的重要保障民主的课堂气氛表现为课堂人际关系的融洽,师生间的积极互动与交往,教师与学生生命价值的提升。教师、学生、教学环境等是影响课堂气氛形成的主要因素。营造民主的课堂气氛,需要教师更新教育理念,树立教育威信,形成教学艺术风格,提高课堂调控能力,创设良好的教学环境。     

Investigating the “black box” of effective teaching: the relationship between teachers’ perception and student achievement in a large urban district

Given the international need to improve student learning, there is nothing more important than classroom teachers. Obtaining a deeper understanding of effective classrooms is a priority if educational reform efforts are to succeed in any educational system around the world. In the last decade, educational researchers have expanded the knowledge base about the impact of teachers, but far less is known about what effective teachers do that make such a positive difference. This investigation focuses on the relationship between attributes of effective teaching, as perceived by both more and less effective teachers, and fourth grade reading achievement results of their students. This investigation used value-added modeling methods as the first step for identifying the more and less effective fourth grade teachers (N?=?261) and their students (N?=?6,962). Survey research methods were used to compare the perceptions about characteristics of effective teaching for teachers previously identified—in the value-added model—as (a) more effective and (b) less effective. Findings indicated that the more effective teachers value classroom management and organization as the number one characteristic of effective teaching; that, in turn, enables the more effective teachers to focus classroom time on student learning. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Views on using portfolio in teacher education

The usage of portfolio methods to document professional development in teaching is increasing in Germany, but despite its proliferation, the issue of how the effects of portfolio methods can be determined has received little attention. This paper investigates the acceptance of portfolio by the pre-service teachers (N = 144, 112 female) and the effects of portfolio on their professional attitudes and competences. In addition, N = 15 teacher educators were interviewed on their assessment of the portfolio method. Results suggest that the efficiency of the portfolio method depends both on personal competences and on the framing within the training program.     

Classroom effects are as large as grade-level effects on curriculum-based measurement maze reading scores of secondary school students with and without special educational needs

Background

Previous studies used curriculum-based measurement (CBM) maze scores as an indicator of the reading comprehension level of secondary school students with and without special educational needs in multiple grades, pinpointing a high influence of both student- and context-related variables. However, studies on cumulative influence are necessary for better understanding of data-based decision-making.

Methods

We examined a sample of 1066 secondary school students using four linear mixed-effect models: How much variance in maze scores exists between multiple student characteristics (i.e., gender, immigration background, learning disability and developmental language disorder) and context variables (i.e., classroom, grade and school type) across Grades 5–8?

Results

The intra-class correlation (ICC) results show that the influence by the context-related variable classroom (ICC = .094) is almost as large as by the variable grade level (ICC = .126). School type (i.e., inclusive school vs. special school) has the least influence (ICC = .02). In addition, the effects of student-related variables explain only a small proportion of the variance (marginal R² = .114).

Conclusions

Maze scores can be used as a screening instrument for students with multiple characteristics across grades; they also show that it makes no difference which type of school students attend. As teachers and further classroom-related variables have almost as much influence as grade level, we discuss that teachers can minimise classroom effects by using maze scores as a formative approach.     

Civic education in Lesotho: implications for teaching of democratic citizenship

This paper investigates the extent to which civic education is achieving its goals of teaching democracy and producing responsible democratic citizenship in Lesotho. This is done by analysing the conceptions of civic education, democracy, public participation, human rights, freedoms and responsibilities that appear in Lesotho’s documents that are used to teach people about democracy through formal, non-formal and informal education. I therefore argue that in the current Lesotho’s political history, these conceptions do not provide enough conditions for the cultivation of active democratic citizenship. Instead the materials dwell too much on teaching citizens about the systems and structures of government, preoccupied with inconsistent definitions and characteristics of democracy and with informing citizens of the importance of knowing how to vote and abide by the laws of the country; without showing how democracy should operate in a democratic country. The findings reveal that civic education for adults in Lesotho is offered informally, through the civil society organisations and politicians that are largely based in urban parts of Lesotho. This suggest that civic education should be tailored for the rural and urban citizens in a context of democratic transition in a country that still embraces strong traditional ties to communitarian living.     

Teacher,classroom, and student growth orientation in mathematics: A multilevel examination of growth goals,growth mindset,engagement, and achievement

This study examined associations between student- (N = 1414), classroom-, and teacher (N = 91) growth orientation and mathematics engagement and achievement using a multilevel model. Results demonstrated positive associations between student growth orientation and mathematics outcomes and positive associations between classroom and teacher growth orientation and mathematics achievement. There was also a marginally significant interaction effect between classroom and teacher growth orientation on classroom engagement. Findings hold relevance for educational interventions surrounding growth constructs and teachers’ personal growth orientation.     

Effects of Simulated Interventions to Improve School Entry Academic Skills on Socioeconomic Inequalities in Educational Achievement

Randomized controlled trial evidence shows that interventions before age 5 can improve skills necessary for educational success; the effect of these interventions on socioeconomic inequalities is unknown. Using trial effect estimates, and marginal structural models with data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (n = 11,764, imputed), simulated effects of plausible interventions to improve school entry academic skills on socioeconomic inequality in educational achievement at age 16 were examined. Progressive universal interventions (i.e., more intense intervention for those with greater need) to improve school entry academic skills could raise population levels of educational achievement by 5% and reduce absolute socioeconomic inequality in poor educational achievement by 15%.     

Implementation eines wissenschaftlich erprobten,didaktischen Konzepts: Der Einfluss pädagogischer Autonomie auf die Wirksamkeit in der Praxis

There is growing interest in evidence-based interventions that can improve student teachers’ professional development. But how can these interventions be implemented into everyday teacher education practice by teacher educators themselves—without losing their initial, lab-tested effectiveness due to teacher educators’ practical educational autonomy? Through a quasi-experimental field study the following question is investigated: What is the impact of different degrees of educational autonomy (low/middle/high) that 19 teacher educa­tors are granted while implementing an experimentally proven concept into their teacher training courses on the development of the competence to diagnose classroom situations among 261 student teachers? ANCOVAs using planned contrasts indicate that the effectiveness of the concept can be sustained in ‘the real world’ of teacher education practice, even if practitioners—no longer researchers—are responsible for the concept realization; thereby, the highest increase in student teachers’ competence occurred when low educational autonomy was granted, i.e., the concept was implemented closely to the original.