Classroom Instructional Practices Research Articles

Relationships between student and instructional factors and algebra achievement of students in the United States and Japan: an analysis of TIMSS 2003 data

Algebra knowledge is a critical part of middle-school mathematics achievement, and success in algebra is necessary for taking higher level mathematics courses and leads to higher scores on standardized tests. The purpose of this study was to simultaneously examine relationships between mathematics beliefs, classroom instructional strategies, and algebra achievement of adolescent students in the United States and Japan using data from the TIMSS 2003 assessment. Students from both countries who earned higher test scores were more likely to indicate positive beliefs in their mathematical ability, whereas students who earned lower test scores expressed negative comparisons of themselves to other students. Considering instructional practices, students who frequently worked problems on their own tended to earn higher test scores. These results indicate that students' mathematics beliefs and classroom instructional practices were significantly related to algebra achievement for students in the United States and Japan.

Primary grade writing instruction: A national survey.

A random sample of primary grade teachers (N = 178; 97% female) from across the United States was surveyed about their classroom instructional practices in writing. Most of the participating teachers (72%) took an eclectic approach to writing instruction, combining elements from the 2 most common methods for teaching writing: process writing and skills instruction. Although 90% of the teachers reported using most of the writing instructional practices that were included in the survey, there was considerable variability between teachers in how often they used specific practices. The study provides support for the following 7 recommendations for reforming primary grade writing instruction: (a) increase amount of time students spend writing; (b) increase time spent writing expository text; (c) provide better balance between time spent writing, learning writing strategies, and teaching writing skills; (d) place more emphasis on fostering students' motivation for writing; (e) develop stronger connections for writing between home and school; (f) make computers a more integral part of the writing program; and (g) improve professional development for writing instruction in teacher education programs.

High School Chemistry Instructional Practices and Their Association with College Chemistry Grades

This large-scale survey study looks for connections between high school chemistry classroom instructional practices and the performance of these students in introductory college chemistry. Based on survey data collected from over 3000 students in 31 different colleges and universities, the results indicate that students who reported higher frequencies of high school chemistry experiences such as peer teaching and “everyday” (i.e., common) examples, on the average, earned higher college grades. However, students who reported higher frequencies of demonstrations and individual work among other indicators, on the average, earned lower grades. Overall, the results suggest that peer engagement in high school chemistry may be associated with success in college chemistry.

Using Assessment to Inform Instruction in Cherokee Language Revitalisation

Language loss is a concern for the Cherokee Nation in northeastern Oklahoma. As part of language revitalisation efforts, in 2001 Cherokee Nation opened the Cherokee Immersion Preschool in which teachers use only Cherokee throughout the day with their monolingual English-speaking students. Based on a study of the Immersion Preschool that spanned six months, this paper describes the positive backwash effects of assessment on practices of teachers in the programme. Specifically, we examine the role that classroom observation coupled with a formal language assessment – the Cherokee Preschool Immersion Language Assessment – played in identifying undeveloped aspects of the children's Cherokee language skills and targeting specific techniques teachers could use to encourage children to communicate more effectively in Cherokee. The findings suggest that beneficial backwash produced by meaningful and well designed assessments has the potential to positively inform teachers toward improving classroom instructional practice. The Cherokee Immersion Preschool's experience with language assessment has implications for Native American communities implementing early childhood immersion for language revitalisation purposes.

International Organizations, the “Education–Economic Growth” Black Box, and the Development of World Education Culture

International Organizations, the “Education–Economic Growth” Black Box, and the Development of World Education Culture

The mathematical tale of two teachers: A longitudinal study relating mathematics instructional practices to level of intellectual development

In this article the development of two teachers as they make the transition from pre-service teachers to experienced teachers is examined. While these teachers participated in the same mathematics methods course and similar collaborative environments in their practicum experiences, their mathematics classroom instructional practices revealed stark differences by the time they were experienced teachers. In an effort to investigate these differences, the teachers’ beliefs were explored in relation to those promoted in their pre-service course and in relation to their implementation of current mathematics education reform practices.

Impact of Instructional Consultation Teams on the Disproportionate Referral and Placement of Minority Students in Special Education

The current study investigated the impact of implementing Instructional Consultation Teams (IC Teams) on the disproportionate referral and placement of minority students into special education. Data were collected on referral and placement patterns of minority students in 13 IC Teams schools and 9 comparison schools. Three accepted indices of disproportionality—including risk indexes, odds ratios, and composition indexes—were calculated and analyzed for the baseline and for 2 years of project implementation. After 2 years of implementation, there were significant decreases in the risk of minority students in IC Team project schools being referred to and placed in special education when compared to nonproject schools. Moreover, the odds of minority students' being referred and placed in special education decreased by almost half in IC Team schools. Similar decreases in IC Team schools were noted when analyzing the composition indexes. The current findings also highlight the influence that quality classroom instructional practices have on the referral and placement of minority students for special education services.

International Organizations, the "Education-Economic Growth" Black Box, and the Development of World Education Culture

International Organizations, the "Education-Economic Growth" Black Box, and the Development of World Education Culture

Conflictual relationships between kindergarten children and their teachers: Associations with child and classroom context variables

The focus of this study was on kindergarten children's reports of teacher–child relational conflict and the associations of the reported conflict with (a) child characteristics (gender, behavior problems, and academic achievement); (b) the quality of classroom practices (teacher instructional practices, transition-to-school activities, and perceptions of support provided by the school); (c) teachers' perceptions of the classroom and school relational climates; and (d) teachers' perceptions of workload stress. These variables were examined with a group of 103 economically disadvantaged children and their kindergarten teachers in 24 public schools. There was evidence that teacher–child conflict was related to problem behaviors, teachers' perceptions of workload stress, as well as classroom instructional practices and the classroom/school relational climate.

A Case Study Examining Classroom Instructional Practices at a U.S. Dental School

A case study is used to illustrate how an evaluation strategy was used to assess classroom instructional practices following a multiyear institutional curriculum revision process. From January through April of 2003, twelve faculty in medicine and three faculty in dentistry who taught in the first- and second-year basic science courses within the dental curriculum participated in a qualitative study. The purpose was to use a formative evaluation process to assess the impact of the curriculum revision at the level of classroom instruction. The observations revealed that seventeen of the twenty classes observed were teacher-centered, passive, and lacked observable effort to help students understand the relationship of the lecture content to the oral health problems. Findings illustrate the importance of using formative evaluation as a mechanism to assess change efforts and how evidence-based study can be used to support initiatives directed toward assessing active student learning and problem solving. Raising faculty awareness about the importance of acquiring evidence-based educational skills, aligning instruction with course goals and objectives, formatively assessing teaching, and providing learning experiences that will actually be used in practice are essential to ensuring that active learning and critical thinking are demonstrated in the curriculum.

Understanding Student Differences

Students have different levels of motivation, different attitudes about teaching and learning, and different responses to specific classroom environments and instructional practices. The more thoroughly instructors understand the differences, the better chance they have of meeting the diverse learning needs of all of their students. Three categories of diversity that have been shown to have important implications for teaching and learning are differences in students' learning styles (characteristic ways of taking in and processing information), approaches to learning (surface, deep, and strategic), and intellectual development levels (attitudes about the nature of knowledge and how it should be acquired and evaluated). This article reviews models that have been developed for each of these categories, outlines their pedagogical implications, and suggests areas for further study.

Teacher scoring of large‐scale assessment: professional development or debilitation?

This qualitative, multiple case study draws into question claims that teacher involvement in large‐scale assessment is professionally debilitating. Four teacher‐scorers of reading in the 1998 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada's School Achievement Indicators Programme national literacy assessment were interviewed pre‐, during, and post‐marking in terms of their personal and professional motivations for participation, their perception of the role of such evaluations in classroom practice, their self‐concept as autonomous professionals, and the impact of such evaluations on their relationships with colleagues, students, and administrators. Teachers reported that active participation in marking served to clarify rather than corrode their pedagogical values, affirmed or improved their classroom assessment and instructional practices, validated their self‐perceptions as professionals, and had a neutral or negligible impact on school relationships. It is concluded that involvement in low‐stakes, large‐scale assessments is not inconsistent with notions of professionalism.

Beyond the Reading Wars: Exploring the Effect of Child-Instruction Interactions on Growth in Early Reading

This study examined the influence of interactions between first graders' fall language-literacy skills (vocabulary and decoding) and classroom instructional practices on their spring decoding scores. Instructional activities were coded as teacher managed or child managed and as explicit or implicit, as well as for change in amount of time spent in the activity over the school year. Findings revealed that specific patterns of instructional activities differentially predicted children's decoding skill growth. Children with low initial decoding scores achieved greater decoding growth in classrooms with more time spent in teacher-managed explicit decoding (TME) instruction. In contrast, for children with initially high decoding scores, amount of TME had no effect. Children with low initial vocabulary scores achieved greater decoding score growth in classrooms with less child-managed implicit (CMI) instruction but with increasing amounts of CMI instruction as the school year progressed. However, children with high initial vocabulary scores achieved greater decoding growth in classrooms with more time spent in CMI activities and in consistent amounts throughout the school year. Children's initial decoding and vocabulary scores also directly and positively affected their decoding score growth. These main effects and interactions were independent and additive, thus children's first-grade decoding skill growth was affected by initial vocabulary and decoding skill as well as type of instruction received-but the effect of type of instruction (TME or CMI amount and change) depended on children's initial vocabulary and decoding scores. Implications for research and educational practices are discussed.

Constructivism and Block Scheduling: Making the Connection

The student-centered learning practices associated with constructivism could benefit from the increased class time that block scheduling offers. But, Mr. Hackmann observes, too often block scheduling is adopted as an end in itself, not as a tool to facilitate a specific pedagogical approach. THROUGHOUT much of the 20th century, classroom instructional practices tended to follow behaviorist learning theory, which regards teaching as a highly diagnostic and prescriptive process. The behaviorist approach typically advocates the presentation of curriculum content in small increments followed immediately by student practice. Behaviorism continues to play a significant role in today's classrooms, where many teachers rely primarily on direct instruction methods.1 In the past few decades, a growing body of research on cognitive processing has made inroads into classroom practices. Whereas behaviorism primarily focuses on the teacher's role as transmitter of knowledge, a different view of learning has emerged - constructivism - that emphasizes the student's role in the learning process. Building upon the work of Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and others, constructivist theory is based on the premise that individuals must be socially engaged in learning - actively creating knowledge from their existing knowledge base, beliefs, and personal experiences.2 Constructivists advocate learners' participation in context-bound, real-world problem solving and call upon students to engage in metacognition. Although constructivism appears to be attracting a growing following, it has not been readily embraced at the secondary school level. Arguably, constructivist practices may be implemented more easily in self-contained elementary classrooms or through the interdisciplinary teaming approach commonly used in middle schools. High schools tend to be departmentalized and more concerned with curriculum, and secondary teachers may be less willing to employ methods perceived as reducing the emphasis on content. An additional factor limiting attention to the constructivist movement at the secondary level could be the involvement of many faculties in another restructuring initiative - block scheduling. Much of the recent literature on high school education has addressed alternative scheduling, which may have overshadowed other educational trends. In the 1980s and 1990s, national task forces denounced the excessive rigidity of the traditional high school schedule - uniform 45- to 55- minute periods - and its stifling effect on classroom practices.3 In response, many faculties created block models that divide the instructional day into 80- to 110-minute class sessions, roughly double the length of traditional daily-period classes. Block scheduling has become established practice in high schools, but many educators are unable to explain why it is superior to traditional daily-period formats and what results it is intended to produce. Currently, there is no solid theoretical foundation for block scheduling, and there also is limited research documenting its effectiveness in improving student achievement.4 Many teachers have struggled to make effective use of the longer time blocks because they lack a conceptual understanding of the purpose for these extended time frames and of how they may facilitate learning. Constructivism and block scheduling appear to have occurred in parallel, yet independent, movements. However, there are many points of convergence between these two concepts. Here I present the commonalities between the two movements and demonstrate that block scheduling should logically be considered as a vehicle to promote constructivist practices. Constructivist Dialogue at the Secondary School Level In contrast to the well-developed teaching models based on behaviorism, constructivism is an emerging theory that is currently descriptive, not prescriptive, in nature.5 To promote greater comprehension and mastery of content, constructivists emphasize depth of understanding rather than a superficial treatment of subject matter. …

Dongguk–Royal University

Dongguk–Royal University

Loss of the Creature: The Obscuring of Inclusivity in Classroom Discourse

Amidst few empirical studies of the effects of high stakes testing on classroom talk, this study concretely illustrates erosion of inclusive teacher-student interaction. Using discourse analysis, it compares K-12 classroom instructional practices before and after the imposition of standardized testing and illuminates the negative transformation of five inclusionary discursive practices. Before testing mandates: 1) diversity was regarded as a resource for opportunities to learn something valuable; 2) standards for academic achievement provided a wide range of possible performances; 3) teachers and students were flexible in their stances toward what constituted academic performance; 4) students' constructed student “selves” were part of a dialogue about academic expectations; and 5) students' personal texts were a legitimate part of the curriculum. In test-impacted classrooms, in contrast, meanings for diversity, performance standards, and performance stances contracted, and talk about students' selves and their personal texts narrowed. In an illustrative case, an “at risk” student's effort to express his point is overridden by his teacher's well-meaning urgency to clean up his prose to meet testing expectations for literate language. The discourse analytic approach informing this research can also inform teacher education and professional development.

Instructional practices of part‐time and full‐time faculty

AbstractExploring differences between instructional practices of full‐time and part‐time faculty, this chapter reveals that the average time spent by part‐ and full‐time faculty in most classroom instructional practices is essentially equivalent. However, differences emerge regarding time spent in various classroom practices, the availability of faculty to students outside class, and faculty connections with colleagues and the institution.

Standards-Based Reform in Practice: Evidence on State Policy and Classroom Instruction from the NAEP State Assessments

The movement for higher standards in American education has attracted considerable public and scholarly attention during the past decade. Largely due to significant methodological challenges, however, there has been limited empirical investigation of the structure and operation of this movement on a nationwide scale. This paper develops an empirical strategy for studying broad-based educational change employing quantitative methods and an extensive database consisting of state policy indicators and data on schools and classrooms from a large number of states participating in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) State Assessments in Mathematics. Two main elements of standards-based reform are examined: (a) correspondence between the structure of the national standards movement and patterns of state-level policy activism, and (b) linkages between state policy and classroom instructional practices. The results of a Rasch measurement analysis indicate that patterns of state policy activity closely resemble standards-based reform, as it is known as a national movement. Multilevel statistical modeling using data from a large longitudinal panel of schools further shows that state activism has a significant independent effect on teachers’ use of classroom practices consistent with a standards-based model of mathematics education. While of a modest size, this state policy effect remains robust after taking into consideration other conditions at the classroom, school, and state levels, including the prior use of standards-based instruction for schools and states. Evidence also suggests that these policy effects on instruction may operate by promoting greater teacher receptivity to reform, particularly through relevant professional development experiences.

Changing General Education Classroom Practices to Adapt for Gifted Students

Funded by the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act, the Mustard Seed Project's major goal T91maoivti1ts was to train teachers to differentiate curricula for gifted students in the general education classroom. This study addressed the changes in classroom practices and the factors that influenced these changes. Changes were measured using the Classroom Instructional Practices Scale Johnsen, 1992). The sample included 1 urban and 5 rural sites, 8 principals, 74 teachers, mentor teachers, and 18 community representatives. Throughout the two years of implementation, majority of teachers at each site made changes. Changes in classroom practices and influencing factors, were determined from interviews, field notes, formal and informal observations, and a final survey. Participants cited staff-development activities, leadership, mentoring, resources, and project support as extremely beneficial.

Affective Thought, Personalized Democracy, and the Council’s Multicultural Mission

DeStigter argues for an approach to teaching that transcends traditional student-teacher relationships while maintaining the presense of content knowledge and pedagogy. Culturally-informed pedagogical practices must be supplemented with the awareness of some of the likely cultural characteristics of students as well as an understanding that each student is an individual. This awareness is integrally tied to caring. Take the time, Destigter suggests, to learn as much as possible about the identities and communities of your students in order to respond with culturally sensitive classroom environments and instructional practices.