Classroom Context Research Articles

Enhancing Teachers’ Capacity to Manage Classroom Behavior as a Means to Reduce Burnout: Directed Consultation, Supported Professionalism, and the BASE Model

More than a buzzword, teacher burnout captures the zeitgeist of the last few years as schools grapple with the challenges of education in a post-COVID-19 pandemic world. Garwood sounds an alarm and issues a call to action to address teacher burnout given its implications on students in general and, more specifically, on its implications for the fidelity of service delivery interventions for those students most in need. Of the malleable factors related to burnout, this article focused on teachers’ capacity to manage classroom behavior and discusses the potential of the Behavioral, Academic, and Social Engagement (BASE) Model to disrupt processes that can lead to teacher burnout. To illustrate the model’s potential, we present perspectives from middle school teachers shared in focus groups about challenging classroom behaviors and their professional development needs, and we discuss how the BASE Model can help address teachers’ capacity for managing their classroom context. Implications for teacher training and supported professionalism to reduce burnout are discussed.

Insights into Classroom Dynamics: Indonesian EFL Teachers' Self-Efficacy in Instructional Strategies

Teachers' self-efficacy in instructional strategy has been indicated for its crucial role and function and its profound implications on teaching practices and student outcomes. This study aims to illuminate the intricate relationship between teachers' self-efficacy and their utilization of instructional strategies. Drawing upon Bandura's theory of self-efficacy, mixed-method research with convergent parallel design was employed to explore the perceptions and experiences of Indonesian EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers regarding their confidence in employing diverse instructional techniques within the classroom context. The data were collected through a questionnaire completed by 36 EFL teachers and semi-structured interviews involving six teachers. The results show that self-efficacy is pivotal in shaping instructional practices and highlight the need for targeted support and professional development initiatives to enhance teachers' confidence and competence in effectively employing varied instructional strategies. The results also show that learning facilities, time constraints, and curriculum change posed significant barriers to adopting certain strategies. This research contributes valuable insights to the field of EFL education, offering practical implications for teacher training programs and curriculum development efforts to optimize classroom dynamics and foster positive learning outcomes for students

A democratic curriculum for the challenges of post-truth

Post-truth has been widely applied in the wake of COVID-19, to stipulate causes for growing economic and political inequalities, misinformation in digital spaces and disillusionment with political institutions and notions of common/public good, to name a few. To address these concerns, this article constitutes a series of suggestions for how educators might engage with curricula that are embedded with democratic ideals. The first section will provide a brief survey of how various incarnations of the national curricula in Australia have been used as a vehicle for both envisaging a future in Australia and promoting civic participation as a way of fostering an inclusive society. The forms it developed into during the 1980s to the 2010s, however, usually promoted national priorities over localised concerns, such as the aims of individual teachers, schools and curricula. Over the long term, these tendencies have provided the foundation for a shift in educational discourse from generating social capital under the Whitlam government (Lingard, 2000). More recent discourse by contrast has focused on how digital resources can be effectively used, accountability, minimising teacher demoralisation and burnout, maximising student engagement (Dunning, 2022) and tinged with concerns about how constructive critical thinking can be better encouraged (Paterson & Gavrin, 2022). In this article, the structures which catalysed such changes will be contextualised in relation to how post-truth has emerged as a byword for a range of disruptive factors, such as denial of knowledge expertise (Malpas, 1992; Coper, 2022), and how authorities (in governments and media) have pragmatically lied to subordinates (Tesich, 1992; Keyes, 2004; Consentino, 2020). The second part examines how these same conditions have been recently perpetuated through schools being characterised as key to economic recovery, rather than places to regenerate relationships such as those between community-school or curriculum-teacher-student in response to the disruption which has emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, there is a focus on what is being—and could be—done to encourage democratic thinking in an Australian classroom context, as ways of addressing phenomena linked with post-truth by generating cultural and political capital.

Unlocking the Needs to Design Audiovisual Media to Incorporate Climate Change Education in ELT

Climate change is a crucial topic to be included in the Grade 7 Junior High English book, highlighting its significance in educating students about the causes, impacts, and potential solutions to this global issue. This study focuses on conducting a need analysis related to the use of audiovisuals in learning climate change within the context of EFL classrooms as needs analysis will inform us what is suitable for 7th grade students who have just started learning English formally. Specifically, the research investigates the requirements of 7th-grade students at MTs Negeri 2 Palembang for audiovisual resources to enhance climate literacy. Employing a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods such as questionnaires and interviews, the study uncovers students' strong desire to learn about climate change through audiovisuals. Moreover, it identifies a preference for audiovisual media over traditional text-based materials and highlights the support from teachers and stakeholders at MTs Negeri 2 Palembang for integrating climate change education into EFL teaching practices. In light of these findings, the researchers recommend the development of audiovisual resources tailored to facilitate the seamless integration of climate change education within EFL classrooms. Additionally, they advocate for teacher training to effectively utilize audiovisual media as an instructional tool. This study contributes significantly to climate change education by addressing the identified needs of both students and teachers, thereby guiding the design of effective instructional materials and teaching practices.

ChatGPT: Enhancing Learner Agency and Multilingual Practices in English Writing Class

ChatGPT is a newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) model that has the potential to improve student motivation and engagement in English writing classrooms. By using ChatGPT, teachers can create more engaging and effective writing instruction that fosters learner agency. This study explored how AI tools, such as ChatGPT, can be used to enhance learner agency and multilingual practices in English writing classrooms. The study successfully integrated learner agency theory and power dynamics theory into the specific and innovative context of ESL classrooms. The study investigated students' attitudes and experiences with the use of AI in writing classrooms. The results showed that most students had positive attitudes towards AI writing tools and believed that they could improve writing efficiency and quality.

Creating Culture of Thinking in Language Classrooms: An Interpretive Inquiry Into Saudi University EFL Instructors’ Beliefs and Practices

Guided by sociocultural theory (SCT) perspectives, this mixed-methods study investigated Saudi university EFL instructors' beliefs and teaching practices regarding the creation of culture of thinking (CoT) in language skills classrooms, and the factors affecting this process. Research data were gathered from 169 EFL university instructors through a self-report questionnaire. Among the participants, 12 instructors participated in a semi-structured interview. Additionally, classroom observations were conducted in seven classrooms. Questionnaire data were analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics while interview and classroom observation data were analyzed qualitatively. Instructors’ beliefs were examined in terms of their conceptions of thinking skills, and their perceptions of the importance of creating and sustaining a CoT in EFL classrooms. Their beliefs and reported practices were then compared to their actual classroom practices. Data analysis revealed several key findings. Firstly, there was an obvious incongruence between instructors' stated beliefs, reported practices, and actual classroom teaching practices. Though most instructors were favorable toward the CoT, they did not apply it to their classrooms. Secondly, several factors were identified to have mediated instructors' beliefs and practices pertaining to the CoT. These factors were related to cultural values (e.g., individual thinking, obedience, and respect for adults) as well as institutional and classroom contexts (e.g., workload, examination system, students’ thinking habits, and language proficiency). Finally, instructors lacked the strategies necessary to effectively implement CoT. Based on these findings, pedagogical implications and future research studies are proposed.

Pursuing Language Through Critical Metalinguistic Engagement

In this article Renata Love Jones and Patrick Proctor introduce the notion of pursuing language to engage in critical dialogue about the nature and focus of language and literacy education in multilingual and multicultural contexts. A persistent threat in language and literacy education is standardization that constrains how language and literacy are operationalized, which further limits how children can bring their unique communicative practices into schools and classrooms. In response, the authors describe pursuing language as a state of being responsive in our language and literacy instruction, with the goal of developing literacy skills through culturally affirming and anti-oppressive practices. They operationalize this pursuit of language in classroom contexts by delineating a framework of critical metalinguistic engagement. The article begins with a theory of languaging and goes on to unpack critical metalinguistic engagement by each of its component parts—critical, metalinguistic, and engagement—and concludes with an argument for being intentional about pursing language through relationships and dispositions that affirm language diversity in educational practice and research.

Potent Roles of Humor in EFL Classes in Higher Education: An Exploratory Study of Lebanese Perspectives

This paper focuses on scrutinizing the attitudes and opinions of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors and learners on the use of humor in higher education in Lebanon as a pedagogical tool in classroom contexts. It is used in building a harmonious relationship between instructors and students, lowering affective barriers to learning, keeping students attentive to class activities, developing creativity and increasing instructional effectiveness as well as students’ learning. It also aims to describe the instructors’ experiences in employing it in their classrooms and to determine the students’ perspectives on its potent roles in learning. In this exploratory study, a mixed-method design and a convenient sampling of participants were utilized. A total of 13 EFL instructors, working at 1 public and 4 private universities in Lebanon, and 86 EFL students participated in the study. To describe and quantify their perceptions of the potent roles of employing humor in EFL classes, two online surveys of two sets of questions each, including closed-ended and open-ended, and four focus group discussions were administered. The overall qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data indicated that Lebanese EFL instructors and students have positive attitudes towards integrating humor as a pedagogical tool and as a fundamental part of the teaching strategies in EFL higher education classes. This is because it creates an open communication climate, captures students’ interest in the subject matter, boosts attention, reduces anxiety, makes the instructor more approachable, and yields better instructor evaluation. The findings of this study also revealed the need to train teachers to use humor artfully.

THE USE OF ENGLISH INTERACTION STRATEGIES IN COOPERATIVE LEARNING: A CASE STUDY OF FOUR CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS’ SPOKEN DISCOURSE

Background and Purpose: Previous studies have examined the efficacy of the cooperative learning approach to enhance speaking outcomes, but little is known about what happens in the interaction process of cooperative learning and how cooperative learning works to promote speaking interaction. The current study examines Chinese college students’ interaction strategies in cooperative learning activities and how cooperative learning instruction influenced their interaction strategy use.
 
 Methodology: This research adopted the sequential explanatory design. Thirty students from an intact class at a Chinese public university participated in a 12-week cooperative learning instruction and kept learner diaries over time. One cooperative learning team of four members was randomly chosen for observing their interaction strategy use throughout the semester fortnightly. The frequencies of their interaction strategies employed in the transcribed recordings were analysed through descriptive statistics and the learner diaries were analysed through thematic analysis.
 
 Findings: The findings indicated that the four students’ Modified-Interaction strategies were employed much less frequently than Social-Interaction strategies when they worked cooperatively, and training in Modified-Interaction strategies was greatly needed for promoting students’ effective interaction and language development. It has also been found that cooperative learning instruction was helpful in promoting students’ Social-Interaction strategy use as it provided a natural and conducive environment for students to socialize and cooperate towards the group goals. 
 
 Contributions: This study can provide insights into implementing cooperative learning activities and training interaction strategies in a formal language classroom context.
 
 Keywords: Cooperative learning, peer interaction, interaction strategies, modified interaction, social interaction.
 
 Cite as: Jia, J., & Stapa, M. (2024). The use of English interaction strategies in cooperative learning: A case study of four Chinese college students’ spoken discourse. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 9(1), 25-52. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol9iss1pp25-52

Do teachers’ beliefs about the nature and learning of mathematics affect students’ motivation and enjoyment of mathematics? Examining differences between boys and girls across six countries

Mathematics teachers’ beliefs are central to mathematics teaching and student learning. Because different aspects of motivation and affect—particularly enjoyment—primarily develop within the classroom context, examining how different teachers’ beliefs may affect student outcomes in mathematics is imperative. The current study examines teachers’ beliefs about the nature and learning of mathematics in connection to students’ motivation (i.e. intrinsic value, utility value and perceived competence) and enjoyment of mathematics across different settings by considering students’ mathematics achievement, gender and classroom composition (i.e. socioeconomic and behavioural). Data were collected from 3rd- and 4th-grade mathematics teachers (N = 686) and their students (N = 11,782) in six countries (i.e. Norway, Finland, Sweden, Portugal, Estonia and Serbia). A two-level structural equation modelling technique (TSEM) (i.e. student level and classroom level) with random slopes was employed to address our research questions. The results indicate that students’ intrinsic value and perceived competence positively relate to their enjoyment of mathematics in all six countries. Teachers’ beliefs about the nature and learning of mathematics moderate the within-classroom relationship between boys and girls and the motivation and enjoyment of learning mathematics in Portugal and Norway. Unlike boys, girls consistently perceive themselves as less competent in mastering mathematics, even in primary school. Classroom socioeconomic composition had a more pronounced influence on teachers’ beliefs in Sweden, Norway and Serbia. In relation to teachers’ beliefs, classroom behavioural composition was relevant in Estonia and Sweden. In Finland and Norway, classroom composition was essential to boys’ and girls’ differential motivation and enjoyment of mathematics learning.

Exploring perceived capacity to speak in silent English majors: A longitudinal study before, during, and after study abroad

In the Japanese classroom context, student silence is a widely observed phenomenon (King, 2013). As such, the volition to speak, which is central to willingness to communicate (WTC; MacIntyre et al., 1998), may be weak compared to other sociocultural contextual factors (Humphries et al., 2023). Therefore, the authors focused on two silent university English majors' perceived capacity to speak (CTS). Using focused essay journals (MacIntyre et al., 2011), retrospective timeline graphs (Ikeda et al., 2020; Fukui Yashima, 2021) and semi-structured interviews, the authors explored CTS fluctuations longitudinally before, during and after a study abroad (SA) year. They analysed situational cues and characteristics (Rauthmann et al., 2015; Zhang et al., 2018). Results indicated that both participants felt sensitive to and depended on their interlocutors' kindness, empathy and patience. Implications are discussed for supporting students before, during and after SA.

Facilitating learning and interaction in K-12 remote teaching contexts

AbstractThe use of a facilitator is a growing phenomenon in K-12 remote teaching contexts. The aim of this study is to analyse aspects of facilitating students’ learning and interaction, with a special focus on the role of the facilitator. Frame factor theory was used as an analytical framework, including different educational conditions. The following research questions were posed: (1) How do different frame factors condition remote teaching? (2) How do these frame factors influence the role of the facilitator in remote teaching? Data were generated from observations (12 h) and interviews with remote teachers and facilitators (N = 18). Results show that frame factors seem to create two types of classroom context that condition the role, task, and responsibility of the facilitator. In the larger classroom context, the facilitator was a threefold resource - practical, pedagogical, and social in an ongoing collaboration with the teacher, whereas in the small classroom context, the facilitator mainly was a practical resource when needed.

Productive classroom dialogue and its association with student achievement in knowledge-building environments

The first purpose of the present study was to characterize progressive and metacognitive dialogue in knowledge-building classrooms. The second purpose was to examine the association between the quality of classroom dialogue and students’ learning outcomes, including domain knowledge and conception of collaboration. One hundred thirty college students and their teacher participated in this study. A total of 73 lessons were video-recorded. Qualitative analysis of ­classroom dialogue identified dialogic moves into three categories—articulation and elaboration, building-on and connection, and reflection and coordination. The findings provide a rich illustration of how students engage in metacognitive and progressive dialogue. Quantitative analysis indicated that student engagement in classroom dialogue was positively associated with their domain knowledge and conception of collaboration. The results revealed that considering student involvement in classroom dialogue is essential for understanding how knowledge building occurs in classroom contexts and how collective knowledge and conception of collaboration are developed through classroom dialogue.

Developing culturally-situated student feedback literacy through multi-peer feedback giving: an online community-based approach

While multi-peer feedback has been increasingly implemented in the academic writing classroom in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, scant attention has been paid to the development of culturally-situated student feedback literacy arising from the provider-provider interaction in teacher-centered EFL classroom contexts. This study investigated how student reviewers developed their culturally-situated feedback literacy in online community-based multi-peer feedback. Drawing on multiple sources of data (pre-task surveys, feedback comments, post-task stimulated recalls, in-depth group interviews, and follow-up individual WeChat interviews) from 31 Chinese EFL learners, our analysis revealed that the openly shared, asynchronous multi-peer feedback (1) helped students construct knowledge and community norms; (2) facilitated the students in multiple rounds of comparison and self-reflection; (3) encouraged open criticism as acts of in-group cohesion and established students’ own standards for affective appropriateness; and (4) motivated students to take actions to close the gaps in their feedback-giving practices within the community. ABSTRACT IN CHINESE 在以英语为外语 (EFL) 的学术写作课堂中, 多人同伴反馈的使用日益增多。然而, 鲜有研究关注在教师主导的 EFL 课堂环境中, 学生反馈者之间的互动如何促进其发展适应特定文化的反馈素养。本研究旨在探究学生在基于在线社群的多人同伴反馈中如何发展其适应特定文化的反馈素养。本研究分析了 31 名中国 EFL 学习者提供的多种数据, 包括任务前调查、反馈评论、任务后刺激回忆、小组访谈以及后续的个人微信访谈。研究结果表明, 公开共享的异步多人同伴反馈: (1) 帮助学生构建知识和形成社群规范； (2) 促进学生进行多轮比较和深入的自我反思； (3) 鼓励公开的批评行为, 使其成为群体凝聚力的一种表现, 并帮助学生建立关于情感恰当性的个人标准； (4) 激励学生采取行动, 改善他们在社群中的反馈实践。

(Non-)Conceptualisations of teaching and learning in innovative learning environments – a meta-narrative review

A current trend in educational research on innovative learning environments is to focus on student-centred learning, rather than a teacher-focused classroom. This turn to learning environments comes with theoretical and conceptual challenges concerning the dynamics of the classroom context and the interactions that take place within it. The aim of this review is to map the conceptions of teaching and learning in studies focusing on innovative learning environments and how they are applied in relation to the collected data. The review shows that several studies do not relate their empirical data to theoretical concepts in a systematic way. It is also suggested that the complexity of a learning environment requires an operationalised, conceptual comprehension in order to gain a full understanding of its conditions for teaching and learning.

The implementation of writing pedagogies in the Write to Read intervention in low-SES primary schools in Ireland

This study describes the initial implementation of the writing component of the Write to Read (W2R) literacy intervention in eight low-SES (socio-economically disadvantaged) elementary-level urban schools. Through customised onsite professional development provided by coaches, the writing component sought to build teachers’ capacity to design and implement a writing workshop framework infused with research-informed practices for writing suitable for their school and classroom contexts, including attention to cognitive, social and affective dimensions. The paper draws on quantitative and qualitative questionnaire data gathered from classroom teachers in the eight schools in Year 1 (n = 66) and Year 3 (n = 62) of implementation, and semi-structured interviews with randomly selected teachers in each school in Year 4 (n = 18). In general, teachers succeeded in implementing a writing workshop approach to teaching writing, within the broader W2R literacy framework, including the allocation of more time to writing instruction. Professional development, including observation, feedback and demonstration by W2R literacy coaches, contributed to high levels of teacher confidence in such areas as planning and teaching fiction and non-fiction writing genres, and analysing writing samples to inform mini-lessons. By Year 3, teachers noted marked or good improvements in students’ attitudes towards writing, volume of writing produced, knowledge of writing genres, and language of response to writing. Areas in need of further support included aspects of the craft of writing, including writing vocabulary, supporting pupils to set goals for writing, selecting mentor texts to teach writing genres, and using a rubric to assess writing development.

Queer breaches and normative devices: language learners queering gender, sexuality, and the L2 classroom

ABSTRACT Cisgender and heterosexual norms permeate every level of language classrooms, from textbooks to classroom discourse to teachers’ actions, constraining queer/trans learners’ ability to be themselves. Yet queer/trans and non-queer/trans learners alike may challenge cisheteronormativity within the language classroom and create new possibilities. We investigate the possibilities of queer/trans learners’ agency within these normative structures by bringing together three cases from larger separate projects, examining the context and actions of learners in each setting as they attempt to queer their classrooms to make them habitable. Drawing from Ahmed’s queer phenomenology, we analyze the devices that orient students to classroom cisheteronormativity, actions that students and their accomplices may take to breach these norms, and the reactions to and potential of such breaches within the L2 classroom context. We find that orienting devices, including curricular representation, language use, and grading practices, convey implicit and explicit messaging that can limit expressions of gender and sexuality. Yet queer breaches, when not subject to straightening, can lead to new classroom possibilities for expression, playfulness, and identity validation. We conclude by considering the implications of this analysis for practice.

Resilience: supporting children's self-regulation in infant and toddler classrooms.

Resilience is a process that develops as a complex transaction as children experience and shape their social-ecological contexts. The dynamic development of self-regulation is an aspect of resilience that has received increased attention as a key mechanism predicting a variety of important short- and long-term outcomes. The current study examined how the self-regulation skills of infants and toddlers in a classroom could potentially shape classroom interactions and quality which, in turn, could potentially shape the development of self-regulation skills of the individual infants and toddlers enrolled in the classroom across an early childhood program year. The unique contribution of this study is the focus on a critical component of resilience, self-regulation, in an understudied age group, infants and toddlers, in an important and understudied context, the infant-toddler early childhood classroom. Data are from a statewide evaluation of early childhood programs serving children birth to age 3 growing up in low-income contexts. Multi-level mediation models were employed to examine the mediation effect of classroom quality between classroom-level self-regulation and individual children's gain in self-regulation over a year. We found a significant indirect path. The results showed that classroom-level self-regulation skills demonstrated by infants and toddlers in the fall predicted higher levels of teachers' implementation of three important aspects of classroom quality - support for social-emotional, cognitive, and language development - in the winter. We also found that higher levels of teachers' support for social-emotional, cognitive, and language development associated with children's increased growth in self-regulation skills from fall to spring. The direct path from classroom-level self-regulation demonstrated in the fall to individual children's gain in self-regulation was not significant. These findings, unique due to the focus on infants and toddlers in a classroom context, are discussed within the larger body of existing self-regulation research conducted with older children and prevalent theories outlining developmental mechanisms. Implications for both infant-toddler classroom practices and future research are addressed. Relative to practice, our findings have implications for informing how the development of self-regulation, an important component of resilience, can be supported in the youngest children, infants and toddlers, specifically those enrolled in center-based classrooms serving young children growing up in families with low incomes. We focus on the need to improve the support and professional development of infant-toddler teachers which, in turn, can improve classroom quality and foster resilience in infants and toddlers. Relative to research, our use of a relatively new measure of infant-toddler classroom quality, the Quality of Care for Infants and Toddlers (QCIT), shows how this tool can expand infant-toddler research, a need in the current literature. Future research using different measures, designs, analytical strategies, and diverse samples and contexts is needed to further explain very young children's development of self-regulation, a critical component of resilience.

Exploring the Effect of Corpus‐Based Writing Instruction on Learner‐Corpus Interaction in L2 Revision: A Study of Chinese EFL Disciplinary Writers

AbstractThe use of academic corpora in second language (L2) writing pedagogy has gained popularity in recent decades, particularly in genre‐specific contexts for graduate‐level L2 students (Charles, 2007; Lee & Swales, 2006). However, its overall effectiveness is mainly observed within classroom contexts, influenced by various contextual and participant‐related factors (Vyatkina & Boulton, 2017). Moreover, these investigations have predominantly relied on retrospective data useful for understanding learners' perception of corpus‐analysis experiences, but not for how learners strategically integrate corpora into personal toolkits for self‐directed writing tasks. Addressing these gaps, this study tracks five Chinese EFL graduate students' corpus use through a 5‐week concept‐ and corpus‐based tutoring intervention and investigates how they navigated a discipline‐specific corpus alongside other digital resources during post‐intervention self‐directed revisions. By triangulating screen recordings with retrospective data (questionnaires, interviews, draft revisions, and stimulated recalls), the results showed that while participants were generally favorable toward the specialized corpus and its complementary role to personal toolkits, individual problem‐solving patterns in revision revealed less overall reliance on the corpus and its effectiveness primarily in addressing known linguistic problems. Implications for a relational understanding of digital tools support and the integration of other pedagogical activities in L2 writing instruction are discussed.

Six Steps to Surviving a Teaching Emergency

We describe how a modified version of an emergency survival strategy led our team in addressing problems of practice identified in two second grade classrooms. We attended to the urgent needs of students by enacting the curriculum with integrity, doing what was most important and effective, while accommodating their classroom context (LeMahieu, 2021). We describe the steps we took, the influences on our thinking, and the resulting impact. In hopes of elevating the participating teachers’ voices, we have integrated the explicit reflections of the teachers as they responded to prompts from the mathematics teacher educator. We offer our own Six Steps to Surviving a Teaching Emergency as a way to structure collaborative professional development between mathematics teacher educators and classroom teachers.