Validity and use of an instrument for assessing classroom psychosocial environment in higher education

A strong tradition in research in primary and secondary schools has involved student and teacher perceptions of psychological characteristics of actual or preferred classroom environment. This paper provides a foundation for the extension of this tradition to the higher education level by describing the development, validation, and use of a new instrument, the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), suitable for small higher education classes often referred to as seminars. The CUCEI assesses students' or instructors' perceptions of the following seven psychosocial dimensions of actual or preferred classroom environment: personalization, involvement, student cohesiveness, satisfaction, task orientation, innovation, and individualization. Administration of the CUCEI to 372 students in 34 classes and to 20 instructors attested to the internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the actual and preferred forms with either the individual or the class mean as the unit of analysis, and supported the ability of the actual form to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. A research application of the CUCEI involving associations between student outcomes and classroom environment tentatively suggested that the nature of the classroom environment affects outcomes. Another research application suggested that both students and instructors preferred a more favorable classroom environment than the one actually present, and that instructors viewed classroom environments more positively than did their students in the same classrooms. Desirable future applications of the CUCEI for research purposes and in improving teaching in higher education are considered.The first main aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation of a new instrument to assess perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment in university and college classrooms. The second major purpose is to report the first two research uses of this instrument in, respectively, a study of associations between student outcomes and classroom environment and an investigation of differences between students and instructors in their perceptions of actual and preferred classroom environment. As well, desirable future research directions involving the new instrument are suggested. Before describing the development and use of the new instrument for the higher education level, important background information about analogous work at the primary and secondary school levels is briefly reviewed in an attempt to place the new work into context.     

A study of Indonesian students' perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment

Extensive research conducted in developed countries has established classroom learning environment as a thriving field of study. The present investigation makes a contribution to classroom environment research in that it involved the translation into Indonesian of scales previously available only in English, and the subsequent validation and use of these translated scales among Indonesian students. The new Indonesian instrument consists of nine seven-item scales based upon the Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire and the Classroom Environment Scale. Analyses of data collected from a sample of 373 Indonesian students from nine schools supported the new instrument's internal consistency, discriminant validity, ability to differentiate between classrooms, and predictive validity (i.e. ability to predict student outcomes). Potential applications of the new instruments in Indonesian classrooms are suggested.

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Zusammenfassung Die in entwickelten Ländern durchgeführte umfassende Untersuchung beweist, daß die Klassenumwelt ein emporkommendes Untersuchungsfeld ist. Die jetztige Nachforschung trägt zur Klassenumweltsuntersuchung bei, insofern als Tabellen bis jetzt nur auf Englisch erhältlich waren und sie durch ihre Übersetzung ins Indonesische auf ihre nachfolgende Gültigkeit und Anwendung bei indonesischen Schülern untersucht wurden. Das neue indonesische Instrument besteht aus neun sieben-Punkte-Tabellen, die sich auf den Fragebogen bezüglich individualisierter Klassenumwelt (Individualized Classroom Environment Questionnaire) und auf die Klassenumweltstabelle (Classroom Environment Scale) stützen. Analysen von gesammelten Daten einer repräsentativen Auswahl von 373 indonesischen Schülern aus neun Schulen bestätigen die inhärente Folgerichtigkeit des neuen Instruments, seine Unterscheidungsgültigkeit, seine Fähigkeit zwischen Klassen zu differenzieren und seine Genauigkeit in der Vorhersage (d.h. die Fähigkeit, die Resultate der Schüler vorherzusagen). Die Untersuchung schlägt potentielle Anwendungen der neuen Instrumente in indonesischen Klassen vor.

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Résumé La recherche approfondie qui a été menée dans les pays développés sur le milieu d'apprentissage qu'est la classe en a fait un champ d'étude florissant. La présente enquête apporte une contribution à la recherche sur le milieu scolaire en ce qu'elle introduit la traduction en indonésien d'échelles d'évaluation qui n'existaient jusqu'alors qu'en anglais, et qu'elle examine la validation ultérieure et l'application de ces échelles, une fois traduites, par les étudiants indonésiens. Le nouvel instrument indonésien consiste en neuf échelles de sept items basées sur le Questionnaire portant sur le milieu scolaire tel qu'il est vécu par chaque individu et sur l'Echelle du Milieu Scolaire. Les analyses des données recueillies auprès d'un échantillon représentatif de 373 étudiants indonésiens appartenant à neuf écoles différentes ont confirmé la valeur intrinsèque du nouvel instrument d'évaluation, sa justesse de discernement, sa capacité à différencier entre les classes, et l'exactitude de ses pronostics (c'est-à-dire la capacité à prédire les résultats des étudiants). Cette étude suggère différentes applications potentielles de ces nouveaux moyens d'évaluation dans les classes indonésiennes.

     

Institution initiatives and support related to faculty development of open educational resources and alternative textbooks

ABSTRACT

Evidence exists that American institutions of higher education are well-entrenched in the consideration of mechanisms for supporting the implementation of Open Educational Resources (OER) and alternative textbooks. Literature reveals that developing and implementing OER is a significant undertaking in terms of time and human resources. This study deploys content analysis of a sample of United States regionally based higher education institutional websites to determine the current state of institutional support mechanisms to implementers just embarking on the OER journey. Findings reveal that institutions have made strides in the development of faculty mini-grants and stipends with guidelines, proposal checklists, and weighting mechanisms to inform decision making. However, due to widespread language across the stratified sample emphasising award pool and individual limits, it is clear that OER funding is still seeking wider support as a permanent funded resource. Sponsorship of institutional OER initiatives seems split between institutional library functions and teaching and learning centres. Other issues, such as ownership and licensing, are significantly underdeveloped in field implementation or fall in a large continuum of practices. Recommendations of shared responsibility and use of data driven initiatives are provided that may improve institutional support of faculty OER adoption, adaption and creation.     

Student Perceptions of Chemistry Laboratory Learning Environments, Student–Teacher Interactions and Attitudes in Secondary School Gifted Education Classes in Singapore

This study investigated the chemistry laboratory classroom environment, teacher–student interactions and student attitudes towards chemistry among 497 gifted and non-gifted secondary-school students in Singapore. The data were collected using the 35-item Chemistry Laboratory Environment Inventory (CLEI), the 48-item Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) and the 30-item Questionnaire on Chemistry-Related Attitudes (QOCRA). Results supported the validity and reliability of the CLEI and QTI for this sample. Stream (gifted versus non-gifted) and gender differences were found in actual and preferred chemistry laboratory classroom environments and teacher–student interactions. Some statistically significant associations of modest magnitude were found between students' attitudes towards chemistry and both the laboratory classroom environment and the interpersonal behaviour of chemistry teachers. Suggestions for improving chemistry laboratory classroom environments and the teacher–student interactions for gifted students are provided.     

Assessment of attention in school children: teachers' ratings related to tests of attention

The paper provides (1) a teacher-administered rating instrument for inattention without confounding the rating with hyperactivity and conduct disorder, and (2) evidence that the ratings correlate with the scores obtained from cognitive tests of attention. In Study I, the first objective was to investigate the construct validity and the inter-rater reliability of the Attention Checklist (ACL) by factor analysing the teacher ratings of 110 Grade 4 children, obtained by using the ACL. The second objective was to investigate the predictive validity of the ACL by examining the relationship between the scores obtained for the participants from teachers' ratings using the ACL and the scores obtained by participants in the lab-type attention tests. The results of factor analysis showed that a single factor labelled ‘inattention’ underlies the 12 items in the ACL. Examining the differences in performance on attention tests, the ‘low attention’ children as rated by the teachers on the ACL scored lower than the ‘high attention’ children on the objective tests of attention. These findings were replicated in Study II, which was conducted to test further the construct validity and predictive validity of the ACL. This time, only those two tests (Auditory Attention and Visual Attention) that had shown relatively poor discrimination between the high and low attention groups in Study I were, again, administered to another cohort of 97 Grade 4 children, as it was our intention to further challenge the reliability of the ACL. Overall, the results of both studies suggest that comprehensive assessment of attention skills should include both ACL and objective measures of selective attention.     

Digital information evolution: the AIDS Library experience

The AIDS Library evolved out of consumer health activism in response to the need for the latest HIV information, materials, and technology. In 1998, staff implemented a microcomputer-based integrated automated library system with Web publishing capability to link catalogs, databases of Philadelphia regional services, online publications, and fact sheets. The Web site, , became "live" December 1, 1998. History leading to its development and future plans are presented.