Abstract
BackgroundTeachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching are partly unconscious. However, they are critical for the delivery of education and affect students’ learning outcomes. Lasting changes in teaching behaviour can only be realized if conceptions of teachers have been changed accordingly. Previously we constructed a questionnaire named COLT to measure conceptions. In the present study, we investigated if different teacher profiles could be assessed which are based on the teachers’ conceptions. These teacher profiles might have implications for individual teachers, for faculty development activities and for institutes. Our research questions were: (1) Can we identify teacher profiles based on the COLT? (2) If so, how are these teacher profiles associated with other teacher characteristics?MethodsThe COLT questionnaire was sent electronically to all teachers in the first three years of the undergraduate curriculum of Medicine in two medical schools in the Netherlands with student-centred education. The COLT (18 items, 5 point Likert scales) comprises three scales: ‘teacher centredness’, ‘appreciation of active learning’ and ‘orientation to professional practice’. We also collected personal information about the participants and their occupational characteristics. Teacher profiles were studied using a K-means cluster analysis and calculating Chi squares.ResultsThe response rate was 49.4% (N = 319/646). A five-cluster solution fitted the data best, resulting in five teacher profiles based on their conceptions as measured by the COLT. We named the teacher profiles: Transmitters (most traditional), Organizers, Intermediates, Facilitators and Conceptual Change Agents (most modern). The teacher profiles differed from each other in personal and occupational characteristics.ConclusionsBased on teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching, five teacher profiles were found in student-centred education. We offered suggestions how insight into these teacher profiles might be useful for individual teachers, for faculty development activities and for institutes and departments, especially if involved in a curriculum reform towards student-centred education.
Highlights
Teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching are partly unconscious
We decided to choose the scale ‘teacher centredness’ for ordering the five profiles, what resulted in a linear decrease in scores from the teacher profile Transmitters to the teacher profile Conceptual Change Agents
Because the three Conceptions of Learning and Teaching questionnaire (COLT) scales are independent we did not expect a linear increase in the mean scores of the COLT scales ‘appreciation of active learning’ and ‘orientation to professional practice’
Summary
Teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching are partly unconscious. they are critical for the delivery of education and affect students’ learning outcomes. We investigated if different teacher profiles could be assessed which are based on the teachers’ conceptions. Beliefs and conceptions describe how teachers think about learning and teaching, while teaching strategies or approaches describe how they teach. It is argued that changes in teaching behaviour can only be realized if attention is paid to teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching [6,10,11,12]. This often implies that faculty development activities should try to influence teachers’ conceptions to align them with the desired teaching behaviour [2,13]. Guskey [14] stated that changes in teaching practice preceed changes in conceptions
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