Questionnaire design for student measurement of teaching effectiveness

The design and use of questionnaires in course and faculty evaluation are discussed and the literature surveyed. Problems of questionnaire construction and interpretation of results are described and a questionnaire developed by the authors in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Waterloo is given as an example.     

Myth, Music, and Science: Teaching the Philosophy of Science through the Use of Non-Scientific Examples

This essay explores the benefits of utilizing non-scientificexamples and analogies in teaching philosophy of science courses. These examples can helpresolve two basic difficulties faced by most instructors, especially when teachinglower-level courses: first, they can prompt students to take an active interest in the classmaterial, since the examples will involve aspects of the culture well-known, or atleast more interesting, to the students; and second, these familiar, less-threatening exampleswill lessen the students' collective anxieties and open them up to learning thematerial more easily. To demonstrate this strategy of constructing and employing non-scientificexamples, a lengthy analogy between musical styles and Kuhn's theory ofscientific revolutions is developed.     

Patterns in the Initial Teaching Assignments of Secondary English Teachers: Implications for Teacher Agency and Retention

This study examined the teaching assignments of English teachers in 13 Mid-Atlantic high schools across five states. Data on the experience levels of 175 English teachers teaching 246 classes and surveys from 85 teacher participants were collected. Findings reveal that major agency-thwarting challenges face new English teachers: They typically are assigned to teach the students who need the most assistance, do not have their own classrooms and believe that teacher tracking occurs in their schools. Results suggest that in order to increase teacher agency, retention, and student learning, we must shift the working conditions, rhetoric, and culture around new teachers.     

The effect of a problem solving in-service program on the classroom behaviors and attitudes of middle school science teachers

This study examines the effect of an in-service education program emphasizing problem solving on teacher attitudes toward teaching science and on teaching behaviors. Twenty-two middle school science teachers participated in the program and another 22 served as the control group. The two groups were similar in terms of gender, teaching status, educational background, and professional activity during the treatment period. Before and after the eight-month project, subjects completed attitude surveys and recorded videotapes of themselves teaching science lessons. No difference was noted between the groups on the attitude measure. The videotapes were analyzed using a coding scheme developed for use in this study. A multivariate analysis of variance performed on the observational data showed a significant difference between the groups on the postworkshop measure. The experimental-group teachers shifted to more student-centered classrooms, with less lecture and procedural talk. This study provides evidence that an extended in-service education program can affect the teaching behaviors of science teachers in the middle grades.     

A study of the effects of video tape recording in microteaching training

The study investigated, in a Nigerian setting, whether the use of videotape recordings is an effective method of teacher education prior to full-time teaching. Two groups of students were used for study. The first group was allowed to practice the skills through micro-teaching with the aid of video recording equipment. The second group practiced their own skills through micro-teaching but without the aid of video recording equipment. At the end of the study it was discovered that the group which used the video recording equipment had more significant progress in the mastery of teaching skills.     

Doctoral dissertations in instructional design and technology, 1977 through 1988

This is a summary of data on doctoral dissertations completed in instructional design and technology programs over the period 1977–88. During this period, 1,518 dissertations were completed at 46 different institutions, with nearly half completed at only 7 institutions. The 1,518 dissertations were chaired by 286 different professors, but approximately half were chaired by just 39 professors. The number per professor ranged from 89 to 1. Output was fairly steady over the 12 years, averaging 127 per year, with a low of 106 in 1980 and a high of 149 in 1983 and 1985.     

Psychometric data for teacher judgments regarding the learning behaviors of primary grade children

The psychometric properties of the Classroom Performance Profile (CPP), a teacher rating scale, were investigated using primary grade children from economically at‐risk families. Students were rated as they progressed from kindergarten through third grade. The CPP demonstrated high internal consistency yielding Cronbach alpha coefficients for the total score of at least .96. CPP ratings were correlated with scores from the Woodcock‐Johnson Psycho‐Educational Battery–Revised: Tests of Achievement and the Social Skills Rating System–Teacher Form, Elementary Level. Results suggest that the CPP ratings were positively correlated with measures of academic achievement, academic competence, and social skills, and negatively correlated with problem behaviors. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

On the ecological validity of measuring the sensitivity of professional caregivers: The laboratory versus the nursery

Much research indicates the importance of interactional experience for young children in developing their competence. In particular sensitive responsiveness in interaction has been associated with beneficial developmental outcomes and is often regarded as a central component of good quality child care. This study considers some alternative ways of measuring the sensitivity of caregivers. Thirty professional caregiver-infant dyads were observed in three different situations: In the laboratory during free-play (1), during a task (2) and at the nursery itself while caring for 10 infants with a colleague (3). Results indicated that their sensitivity was highest in situation 1; this score was moderately related to the sensitivity score in situation 2 and to that in the nursery. The sensitivity scores in situations 2 and 3 were not significantly related. The data support the view that sensitivity is subject to contextual influences and that researchers need to think carefully about the when and where of such measurements.