Classroom Characteristics Research Articles

The Extent to Which the Characteristics of a Metacognitive Oriented Learning Environment Predict the Characteristics of a Thinking-Friendly Classroom

Problem Statement: Based on information presented in previous literature, that the characteristics of learning environments foster metacognition and thinking, it is believed that metacognitive oriented classrooms can contribute to the formation of environments needed to teach thinking, and when metacognitive oriented learning environment characteristics of classrooms are developed, their suitability for thinking education will be enhanced. However, in literature, there is no research looking at the predictive relationship between the characteristics of a metacognitive oriented learning environment and the characteristics of a thinkingfriendly classroom. Purpose of the Study: The purpose of the current study is to investigate the predictive relationships between the characteristics of a metacognitive oriented learning environment in science classes and the characteristics of a thinking-friendly classroom based on the opinions of secondary school students. Method: The study is a predictive study designed in the relational survey model. The sampling of the study consists of 378 students attending secondary schools in the city of Kutahya. In the study, The Metacognitive Orientation Learning Environment Scale–Science (MOLES-S) and Thinking-Friendly Classroom Scale (TFCS) were employed as data collection instruments. In the analysis of the data, Pearson correlation analysis and multi-linear regression were used. Findings and Results: The results of the regression analysis revealed that all the predictive variables together can meaningfully explain 53% of the total

Implementation and outcomes of inquiry-based learning in mathematics content courses for pre-service teachers

This mixed-methods study describes classroom characteristics and student outcomes from university mathematics courses that are based in mathematics departments, targeted to future pre-tertiary teachers, and taught with inquiry-based learning (IBL) approaches. The study focused on three two-term sequences taught at two research universities, separately targeting elementary and secondary pre-service teachers. Classroom observation established that the courses were taught with student-centred methods that were comparable to those used in IBL courses for students in mathematics-intensive fields at the same institutions. To measure pre-service teachers' gains in mathematical knowledge for teaching, we administered the Learning Mathematics for Teaching (LMT) instrument developed by Hill, Ball and Schilling for in-service teacher professional development. Results from the LMT show that pre-service teachers made significant score gains from beginning to end of their course, while data from interviews and from surveys of learning gains show that pre-service teachers viewed their gains as relevant to their future teaching work. Measured changes on pre-/post-surveys of attitudes and beliefs were generally supportive of learning mathematics but modest in magnitude. The study is distinctive in applying the LMT to document pre-service teachers' growth in mathematical knowledge for teaching. The study also suggests IBL is an approach well suited to mathematics departments seeking to strengthen their pre-service teacher preparation offerings in ways consistent with research-based recommendations.

Peer and self-reported victimization: Do non-victimized students give victimization nominations to classmates who are self-reported victims?

Using data from 2413 Dutch first-year secondary school students (M age=13.27, SD age=0.51, 49.0% boys), this study investigated as to what extent students who according to their self-reports had not been victimized (referred to as reporters) gave victimization nominations to classmates who according to their self-reports had been victimized (referred to as receivers). Using a dyadic approach, characteristics of the reporter–receiver dyad (i.e., gender similarity) and of the reporter (i.e., reporters' behavior during bullying episodes) that were possibly associated with reporter–receiver agreement were investigated. Descriptive analyses suggested that numerous students who were self-reported victims were not perceived as victimized by their non-victimized classmates. Three-level logistic regression models (reporter–receiver dyads nested in reporters within classrooms) demonstrated greater reporter–receiver agreement in same-gender dyads, especially when the reporter and the receiver were boys. Furthermore, reporters who behaved as outsiders during bullying episodes (i.e., reporters who actively shied away from the bullying) were less likely to agree on the receiver's self-reported victimization, and in contrast, reporters who behaved as defenders (i.e., reporters who helped and supported victims) were more likely to agree on the victimization. Moreover, the results demonstrated that reporters gave fewer victimization nominations to receivers who reported they had been victimized sometimes than to receivers who reported they had been victimized often/very often. Finally, this study suggested that reporter–receiver agreement may not only depend on characteristics of the reporter–receiver dyad and of the reporter, but on classroom characteristics as well (e.g., the number of students in the classroom).

Effects of classrooms' architecture on academic performance in view of telic versus paratelic motivation: a review.

This mini literature review analyzes research papers from many countries that directly or indirectly test how classrooms’ architecture influences academic performance. These papers evaluate and explain specific characteristics of classrooms, with an emphasis on how they affect learning processes and learning outcomes. Factors such as acoustics, light, color, temperature, and seat arrangement are scrutinized to determine whether and by how much they improve or hinder students’ academic performance in classrooms. Apter’s (1982, 1984, 2014) reversal theory of telic versus paratelic motivation is presented and used to explain these findings. The results show preference for a learning environment that cues a telic motivation state in the students. Therefore, classroom features should not be distracting or arousing. Moreover, it appears the most influential factors affecting the learning process are noise, temperature and seat arrangement. In addition, there is no current agreement on how some particular physical characteristics of classrooms affect learning outcomes. More research is needed to establish stronger conclusions and recommendations.

Association between classroom ventilation mode and learning outcome in Danish schools

Associations between learning, ventilation mode, and other classroom characteristics were investigated with data from a Danish test scheme and two widespread cross-sectional studies examining air quality in Danish schools. An academic achievement indicator as a measure of the learning outcome was calculated from the scores of a standardized Danish test scheme adjusted for a socioeconomic reference index. Pupils in schools with balanced mechanical ventilation had significantly higher achievement indicators than pupils in schools with natural ventilation, where airing took place mostly by manual window opening. Also, the carbon dioxide concentration was lower in classrooms with balanced mechanical ventilation. There was no consistent association between the achievement indicators and the person specific room volume, construction/renovation year, or the occupancy. Measurements of carbon dioxide concentrations and temperatures in 820 classrooms in 389 schools were available. In 56% and 66% of the classrooms included in the two studies, the measured CO2 concentration was higher than 1000 ppm. The findings of this study add to the growing evidence that insufficient classroom ventilation have impacts on learning outcomes.

Does Classroom Characteristic Truly Stimulate Learning Motivation and Performance? Reporting from Malaysian Undergraduates’ Perception

Some researchers find that learning intervention can stimulate learning motivation and performance through classroom characteristic. Ironically, research assessing classroom characteristic that can be used as potential learning intervention have received little attention especially among Malaysian undergraduates. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the mediation effect of motivation to learn on the relationship between classroom characteristic and students’ grade performance. A number of 173 undergraduate students in a large Malaysian’s public university were taken as sample; data were analysed using SPSS and AMOS. Findings indicated that teaching method, followed by lecturer quality, and classroom management were significantly correlated with students’ motivation to learn and performance; wherein, motivation to learn fully mediated the relationship between the classroom characteristics and students’ grade. This has verified that classroom characteristic truly stimulate learning motivation and performance; therefore, it can be used as potential learning intervention.

Teacher Characteristics and Student Achievement: Evidence from Twins

Identifying the impact of classroom characteristics on student achievement has been a fundamental are recurring question in education economics. We employ a novel twin by year identification strategy using matched teacher-student data from North Carolina to credibly estimate how teacher characteristics such as experience, certification, advanced degrees, and education affect achievement on math and reading scores. Our new approach overcomes limitations of earlier studies such as their inability to account for time varying unobservable family shocks to non-schooling inputs. Our findings show that teacher experience and certification have positive and statistically significant effects on reading and math, however, we find inconclusive effects for advanced degrees such as a master’s, as results are sensitive to various specifications. Notably, we show that teacher experience has the largest effects on student achievement, but our effects are smaller than the standard estimates in the literature.

Sociodemographic Inequality in Early Literacy Development: The Role of Teacher Perceptual Accuracy

Previous research has established that student learning is influenced by how accurately teachers perceive student academic ability. But studies rarely investigate the degree to which inaccuracies in teacher perceptions exacerbate demographic inequality in academic ability. Using a sample of almost 14,000 children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort, we found that children whose literacy skills are overestimated by their teachers typically gain more literacy skills during kindergarten. Conversely, children whose skills are underestimated learn less. It is important to note that the skills of socioeconomically disadvantaged children are on average underestimated. As a result, inequalities in kindergarten literacy development stem in part from the links between teacher misperceptions and student background. We also explored the extent to which these relationships operate through practices associated with ability grouping. We found instructional grouping to be a weak facilitator of the link between teacher perceptions and student learning, suggesting the need for further research that identifies the social and structural classroom characteristics that link teacher perceptual accuracy to student learning.

An Analysis of Argumentation Discourse Patterns in Elementary Teachers’ Science Classroom Discussions

This multiple case study investigated how six elementary teachers’ argumentation discourse patterns related to students’ discussions in the science classroom. Four categories of classroom characteristics emerged through the analysis of the teachers’ transcripts and recorded class periods: Structure of teacher and student argumentation, directionality, movement, and structure of student talk. Results showed that the differences between the teachers’ discourse patterns were related to their modified reformed teaching observation protocol (RTOP) scores and to how the interaction of those differences affected student learning. Teachers with high RTOP scores were more likely to challenge their students’ claims, explanations, and defenses and to provide less guidance and more waiting time for their students’ responses than teachers with medium- and low-level RTOP scores. Students in the high-level teachers’ classes challenged, defended, rejected, and supported each other’s ideas with evidence and required less guidance than students in the medium-level and low-level teachers’ classes.

‘Pure’ Farsi and political sensitivities: Language and ideologies in Farsi complementary language classrooms in Denmark

This paper presents an insight into two Farsi complementary language classrooms in Copenhagen, Denmark, characterised by political sensitivities. We illustrate a number of characteristic features of the classrooms concerning language use, pedagogical methods and cultural phenomena, which were related to key adults’ preferences, and we consider possible interpretations of them as indexical signs. In particular, we emphasise ideological interpretations (e.g. the monolingualism norm and language purism) and we relate the classroom characteristics to the contemporary state of Iran as well as to the time and place in which the classes occurred. We analyse both explicit metapragmatic messages and implicit ways of indicating ideologies, and see both types as characterised by avoidance of particular referents, that is, by unmentionables.

Taiwanese Preschool and Elementary Teachers Beliefs about Discipline, Students, and Teaching Practices

East Asian children are among the top academically performing students in the world (OECD, 2010), yet research examining teaching that leads to this success has just begun to identify beliefs. The present study investigated Taiwanese teachers’ beliefs about discipline, students, and teaching practices in preschool (N=98) and elementary school (N=251). Results indicated two-three dominant viewpoints on each topic within each sample and emphasized beliefs about the importance of controlling behaviors, caring about students, and role modeling. In most cases, teachers’ background and classroom characteristics did not relate to beliefs. We discuss findings within and between samples, as well as implications.

Preschool teachers’ classroom behavioral socialization practices and low-income children's self-regulation skills

The present study examined associations between teachers’ classroom behavioral socialization practices and the development of preschoolers’ self-regulation skills throughout the year, as well as the moderating roles of child gender and initial self-regulation skills. The predominantly low-income sample consisted of 216 children from 68 preschool classrooms within 29 private child care centers. Findings suggest that teachers devoted very little time to whole-group classroom behavioral socialization practices. Hierarchical linear models revealed that classroom behavioral socialization time negatively predicted both spring self-regulation scores (lagged dependent variable models) and change in children's self-regulation scores from fall to spring (change score models). These patterns remained even after controlling for a variety of child, family, teacher, and classroom characteristics. Cross-level interactions indicated that the negative association between behavioral socialization time and change in self-regulation was stronger for girls than for boys. Preschoolers’ initial self-regulation in the fall did not moderate the association between behavioral socialization time and self-regulation in either model. Implications for practice are discussed.

Book Review: The Long Crusade: Profiles in Education Reform, 1967-2014

The Long Crusade: Profiles in Education Reform, 1967-2014 Raymond Wolters Washington Summit Publishers 2015, 612 pagesIn this well-written and carefully referenced book, University of Delaware historian Raymond Wolters takes us on a fascinating historical journey through the increasingly desperate attempts of American education reformers to explain the black-white gap in educational achievement and find ways to close it. In order to do this, he adopts the original approach of presenting detailed biographies of America's main twentieth century educationalists and analyses of their views. These allow us to understand how their viewpoints developed.Wolters tells us at the outset that at the time that USA schools were legally desegregated -following the landmark 1954 case in Topeka, Kansas, Brown v. the Board of Education - the average black student's test scores were 85% of the average student's test scores. Wolters documents all the failed attempts to do something about this, all of them predicated on the 'Doctrine of Zero Group Differences' and thus the assumption that whatever the cause of the achievement gap it must be remediable. The gap has to be a product of environmental factors because the alternative is simply unthinkable. Along the way, we meet a series of interesting, if naive, academics who have tried to solve the problem, wading into a minefield along the way.Much of the background and early crusade is given to us through the biography of the pro-integration educationalist Jonathan Kozol. Wolters explains that the desegregation of schools had meant only that there should be no racial discrimination in selecting the student. This was instituted and, as a consequence, most children attended their local school. However, because neighborhoods tended to be racially segregated, this meant that by the 1960s, schools were overwhelmingly racially homogeneous. And the black-white difference in school achievement remained robust. It was assumed this was because black schools had worse facilities and worse teachers.In 1966, Johns Hopkins University sociologist James Coleman conducted an extensive report into the racial disparity in education. He found that 80% of pupils were in schools that were at least 90% while 65% of black pupils were in schools that were at least 90% black. He also found that the facilities and teacher standards at black and schools were pretty much the same. Finding that the black-white achievement gap had not changed, he needed to find an environmental explanation and after poring over the statistics he found that blacks who attended majority schools scored very slightly higher than other blacks. Accordingly, he argued that being in a more 'middle class' (i.e. white) school stimulated the less able pupils meaning that more integrated schools would close the racial gap. Kozol leapt on this and argued that integrated schools should be introduced and this became government policy. By the late 1960s, courts were reinterpreting the Brown ruling to mean that desegregation meant a racial balance at schools. And so began the bussing of black students to schools. But the achievement gap still did not change.Coleman, who is presented as a kind of 'tragic hero' of environmentalism, then realized his fundamental error. The blacks who had been attending schools in 1965 either lived in largely areas (in the North) or were from relatively prosperous black Southern families. They were not representative of blacks and being at a school probably had nothing to do with their relatively high academic ability. Bussing also had the consequence of white flight, which Coleman documented in 1975 showing that a 5% increase in black pupils caused 10% of pupils to leave. Coleman also conceded that once the black proportion of the school population increased even slightly, 'the characteristics of the lower class room' would quickly take over, meaning it was 'understandable' that parents withdrew their children. …

Taking peer victimization research to the next level: complex interactions among genes, teacher attitudes/behaviors, peer ecologies, & classroom characteristics.

This commentary reviews research findings of the five papers in the special entitled "School-related Factors in the Development of Bullying Perpetration and Victimization", which represent critical areas that are often overlooked in the literature. First, one paper points to the complex interaction between a genetic disposition for aggression and classroom norms toward aggression. Second, an intervention paper unpacks the underlying mechanisms of an efficacious school-wide bully prevention program by opening the "black box" and testing for mediators. Third, the remaining studies employ a wide range of rigorous designs to identify how teachers' attitudes, behaviors, and classroom practices play a critical role in the prevalence of victimization and bullying in the classroom. Further, teachers' attitudes and behaviors are shown to be predictive of youth's willingness to intervene to assist a peer who is being victimized. Results are situated in what is known about bullying prevention, and how the findings from these studies could maximize the sensitivity of future prevention efforts.

Kindergarten classroom functioning of extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight children

BackgroundCognitive, behavioral, and learning problems are evident in extremely preterm/extremely low birth weight (EPT/ELBW, <28weeks gestational age or <1000g) children by early school age. However, we know little about how they function within the classroom once they start school. AimsTo determine how EPT/ELBW children function in kindergarten classrooms compared to termborn normal birth weight (NBW) classmates and identify factors related to difficulties in classroom functioning. MethodsA 2001–2003 birth cohort of 111 EPT/ELBW children and 110 NBW classmate controls were observed in regular kindergarten classrooms during a 1-hour instructional period using a time-sample method. The groups were compared on frequencies of individual teacher attention, competing or offtask behaviors, task management/preparation, and academic responding. Regression analysis was also conducted within the EPT/ELBW group to examine associations of these measures with neonatal and developmental risk factors, kindergarten neuropsychological and behavioral assessments, and classroom characteristics. ResultsThe EPT/ELBW group received more individual teacher attention and was more often off-task than the NBW controls. Poorer classroom functioning in the EPT/ELBW group was associated with higher neonatal and developmental risk, poorer executive function skills, more negative teaching ratings of behavior and learning progress, and classroom characteristics. ConclusionEPT/ELBW children require more teacher support and are less able to engage in instructional activities than their NBW classmates. Associations of classroom functioning with developmental history and cognitive and behavioral traits suggest that these factors may be useful in identifying the children most in need of special educational interventions.

What if pupils can assess their peers anonymously? A quasi-experimental study

Peer assessment has proven to be a promising assessment form, but there is only limited research about how to decrease the undesirable social effects that are inherent to the process, such as peer pressure and fear of disapproval. In previous research, anonymity has proven to be an important factor in peer assessment in higher education. In the current research, peer assessment was studied in secondary education and classroom response technology (CRT) was introduced as a tool that enables anonymity within face-to-face settings. A quasi-experimental study was set up in four classes to compare traditional non-anonymous peer assessment (raising score cards) with anonymous peer assessment (giving scores using CRT). It was questioned whether students felt more positive towards anonymous peer assessment, and reported to feel less negative social effects. Subsequently, the hypothesis that anonymous peer assessment would be a more valid methodology is verified. Finally, teachers' experiences with both peer assessment interventions were studied. Although some concerns were raised about the validity of anonymous peer assessment, it has been found that pupils felt more positive towards peer assessment and experienced less peer pressure and fear of disapproval when scores were given anonymously using CRT. Teachers reported that using CRT was an objective way of assessing but raised some concerns with regard to the control of the teacher, and the classroom characteristics. In this regard, implications for future research are discussed.

Building-related health symptoms and classroom indoor air quality: a survey of school teachers in New York State.

Most previous research on indoor environments and health has studied school children or occupants in non-school settings. This investigation assessed building-related health symptoms and classroom characteristics via telephone survey of New York State school teachers. Participants were asked about 14 building-related symptoms and 23 classroom characteristics potentially related to poor indoor air quality (IAQ). Poisson regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between these symptoms and each classroom characteristic, controlling for potential confounders. About 500 teachers completed the survey. The most frequently reported classroom characteristics included open shelving (70.7%), food eaten in class (65.5%), dust (59.1%), and carpeting (46.9%). The most commonly reported symptoms included sinus problems (16.8%), headache (15.0%), allergies/congestion (14.8%), and throat irritation (14.6%). Experiencing one or more symptoms was associated most strongly with reported dust (relative risk (RR) = 3.67; 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.62-5.13), dust reservoirs (RR = 2.13; 95% CI: 1.72-2.65), paint odors (RR = 1.73; 95% CI: 1.40-2.13), mold (RR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.39-2.11), and moldy odors (RR = 1.65 95% CI: 1.30-2.10). Stronger associations were found with increasing numbers of reported IAQ-related classroom characteristics. Similar results were found with having any building-related allergic/respiratory symptom. This research adds to the body of evidence underscoring the importance to occupant health of school IAQ. Teachers play an important role in educating children, and teacher well-being is important to this role. Health symptoms among New York teachers while at work are common and appear to be associated with numerous characteristics related to poor classroom IAQ. Improving school Indoor Air Quality may reduce sickness and absenteeism and improve teacher performance.

The Flipped Classroom in Training and Development: Fad or the Future?

This article provides an overview of the characteristics of the flipped classroom, discusses the foundations of this innovative instructional model, and analyzes the possibility of adoption and application to corporate learning platforms. The article assesses whether the flipped classroom is simply a temporary trend in education and learning or has the potential to truly revolutionize instructional design and delivery in the realm of training and development.

Moral Disengagement from Bullying: The Effects of Gender and Classroom

We examined the effects of gender and classroom membership on moral disengagement-cognitive justifications of detrimental conduct. Sixth-graders aged 11 to 13 years (N = 273) participated in the study. Bullying was registered using the Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire and moral disengagement was measured on a 14-item scale designed for this study. The study showed that moral disengagement related to bullying and varied as a function of gender, which supports the relevance of considering gender in moral education anti-bullying programs. Next, the study revealed significant differences in moral disengagement between classrooms. This finding points to the need to elucidate associations between moral disengagement and classroom characteristics.

Investigation of Preschool Teachers’ Opinions about Physical/Spatial Characteristics of Preschool Classrooms in Preschool Education Institutions

This study investigates the opinions of teachers about whether or not the existing physical/spatial conditions within the classrooms are appropriate for the developmental characteristics of children and the related literature. In this research, qualitative methods such as observation and interview are employed. In an attempt to call attention to the classroom physical conditions of all preschool education institutions, a qualitative sampling method, Maximum Variability Sampling is utilized. The data collected from 60 preschool teachers via the interview form that is developed by the researchers based on related literature. As a result of the analysis of variance; age, education level, years of service, years of service in the institution, type of school, age group and classroom size and the total point value of the physical conditions are compared.As a result, between the mean total score of the inside the classroom / physical properties of teachers, a statistically significant difference has been found according to their age, years of service, work, school type, working time in the organization, age group they work with and class population.