Opportunity To Learn Research Articles

Examining English Learners' Opportunity to Learn from High School to Community College: A Qualitative Case Study

AbstractStudents classified as English learners (ELs) in high school are more likely to start their postsecondary education in community colleges (CCs). Many high school EL graduates enter a CC, hoping to make good academic progress and later transfer to a 4‐year college. However, past research has found that such students often struggle in CCs and rarely earn a postsecondary credential or transfer to a 4‐year college. ELs' high school academic preparation and their subsequent college access—or lack thereof—are closely related. Yet, there is little research connecting ELs' academic preparation in high school and their subsequent ongoing trajectories once they are enrolled in CC. Drawing on the concepts of opportunity to learn (OTL) and opportunity sequences, this qualitative case study examines six high school ELs' academic trajectories from high school through CC. Our analysis shows a negative opportunity sequence in which ELs' limited OTL in high school lands them in remedial education at a local CC, which in turn delays their exposure to disciplinary courses in their majors. The students' struggles with their first disciplinary courses subsequently hinder their CC persistence and timely transfer to a 4‐year college, forcing them to reset their postsecondary goals.

Social Determinants of School-to-School Differences in Opportunity to Learn (OTL): A Cross-National Study

Do some students learn more than others because they attend School A instead of School B? Or is educational inequality generated elsewhere, from common processes within schools, or outside of formal schooling? Within these paradigmatic questions, this study investigates the social determinants of school-to-school differences in STEM course-taking experiences, a key component of Opportunity to Learn (OTL), in a cross-national setting. Drawing on an internal-development model and social stratification theories, we examine whether observed school-to-school differences in OTL can more clearly be attributed to functional or dysfunctional sources, using a large cross-national sample from TIMSS with 278 observations across 67 countries/regions, dating from 1995 to 2019. Results from Generalized Multilevel Linear Models indicate that variation in school-level OTL comes primarily from variation in school readiness in a given country. Yet, we also observe evidence that supports conflict forces of differentiation. This paper contributes to existing cross-national studies of educational inequality by tracing the fundamental origins of inequality in OTL, locating potentially dysfunctional sources of OTL between schools.

Digitized Evaluation of Academic Opportunities to Learn (OTLs) Concerning Linguistically Responsive Teaching (LRT): Descriptive Results from Nine Universities

Teachers in Germany are not prepared to teach in a linguistically responsive way. To change that, multiple development and research projects in this area have been established over the past decade. Recent studies show that pre-service teachers still have few opportunities to learn (OTLs) in the field of linguistically responsive teaching (LRT). This study aimed to transfer the theoretical model and the DaZKom test into pre-service teacher training and evaluate LRT-relevant OTLs at nine different universities across Germany with 1649 pre-service teachers. We focused on how LRT-relevant OTLs were perceived by pre-service teachers, how LRT-related OTLs and pre-service teachers’ academic backgrounds (course of studies and experience) were related, and how OTLs impacted LRT competence. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the teacher training and evaluations were conducted digitally. We found that pre-service teachers report a relatively low number of LRT-relevant OTLs in their studies. In particular, LRT-relevant activities have so far been taught very rarely at universities. Also, different emphases still prevail at universities regarding the qualitative and quantitative offer of LRT-relevant OTLs, because of differences among the nine participating universities. Based on these findings, we recommend that universities offer LRT-relevant learning opportunities in the curriculum.

Refining the opportunity to learn construct through the Productive Disciplinary Engagement framework

ABSTRACT Opportunity to learn (OTL) is a ubiquitous measure of the likelihood of learning in educational research, which typically has been characterized by three dimensions: time, coverage of content, and quality of instruction. The last dimension has been defined in highly divergent ways, which gives it a double-edged nature. While it may be operationalized to better serve a specific problem or context, it also makes it harder to achieve consensus or derive broader implications across studies. Using the four design principles from the Productive Disciplinary Engagement (PDE) framework, we show how PDE can characterize the quality of instruction dimension in OTL that reflects contemporary understandings of the end-goals of science education i.e. learning science as practice. This revision is valuable for science educators and evaluators who rely on OTL measures for it helps them: i) evaluate the quality of instruction consistent with reformed science teaching in valid and reliable ways, and ii) address questions about the adequacy of content coverage in the subject. We exemplify analysis using this refined OTL model with a case study of middle-school learners in Singapore engaged in the challenging scientific practice of argumentation.

The relationship between opportunities to learn in teacher education and Chinese preservice teachers’ professional competence

ABSTRACT Although research on the relationship between opportunities to learn (OTL) in teacher preparation and preservice teachers’ learning outcomes, including aspects of their knowledge, has significantly increased in recent years, the relationship between OTL and preservice secondary school teachers’ cognitive competence and, particularly, the situated aspect of competence, in Mainland China remain poorly understood. This paper examines this association based on a study involving 583 preservice teachers chosen from four preservice teacher education institutions. The results revealed that the preservice teachers received adequate OTL in various domains, such as tertiary-level mathematics and mathematics education pedagogy. However, mainly due to the influence of academically oriented teacher preparation models in Mainland China, there were quite weak overall connections between OTL and the four examined aspects of teachers’ professional competence (mathematics content knowledge, mathematics pedagogical content knowledge, a mathematics instruction-related perspective on noticing, and a general pedagogy-related classroom perspective on noticing). Comparatively speaking, relatively strong associations existed between OTL in teaching methods, school-based teaching practicums, and the situated aspect of competence (e.g. noticing). These findings show that, to a great degree, initial teacher preparation in Mainland China does not relate closely to preservice teachers’ professional competence.

What Mathematics Content Do Teachers Teach? Optimizing Measurement of Opportunities to Learn in the Classroom

AbstractMeasuring opportunities to learn (OTL) is crucial for evaluating education quality and equity, but obtaining accurate and comprehensive OTL data at a large scale remains challenging. We attempt to address this issue by investigating measurement concerns in data collection and sampling. With the primary goal of estimating group‐level OTLs for large populations of classrooms and the secondary goal of estimating classroom‐level OTLs, we propose forming a teacher panel and using an online log‐type survey to collect content and time data on sampled days throughout the school year. We compared various sampling schemes in a simulation study with real daily log data from 66 fourth‐grade math teachers. The findings from this study indicate that sampling 1 day per week or 1 day every other week provided accurate group‐level estimates, while sampling 1 day per week yielded satisfactory classroom‐level estimates. The proposed approach aids in effectively monitoring large‐scale classroom OTL.

Reported and Enacted Emergent Literacy Instruction: Understanding Young Students With Extensive Support and Complex Communication Needs, Opportunity to Learn

Literacy instruction has an important role in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) because spelling and writing support precise communication. Unfortunately, few students with extensive support needs and complex communication needs (ESN/CCN) develop literacy skills at or above the first grade reading-level. Given that learning to read and write begins with extensive emergent literacy learning opportunities, limited skills may result from insufficient opportunity to learn (OTL) emergent literacy skills. This study examined the instruction provided in early U.S. childhood classrooms to students with ESN/CCN to understand OTL during this critical period. This study used a concurrent embedded mixed methods design integrating a survey of teachers of students with ESN/CCN ( n = 26) with a qualitative multiple case study ( n = 2). Results suggest the time teachers are devoting to instruction is not translating into increased OTL for individual students. Solutions that may increase learning opportunities and implications for future research are discussed.

Discontinued knowledge growth: on the development of teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge at the transition from higher education into teaching practice

ABSTRACT In spite of a prominent discussion in the literature about the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education there is a lack of empirical research examining the effects on teachers’ development of professional knowledge after graduating from higher education into teaching practice. This study uses a database of 191 German and Austrian teachers whose general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) was tested at four time points to cover their teaching career from entering into initial teacher education through graduation until entering the teaching profession. In both country contexts, teachers acquire knowledge during their initial teacher education, indicating the impact of formal opportunities to learn (OTL) during higher education. However, the knowledge growth discontinues at the transition from academic learning in higher education institutions into teaching practice at school. Teachers with high school grade point average (GPA) are significantly less affected, which reflects the relevance of future teachers’ cognitive entrance characteristics to higher education.

Motivation and Opportunities-to-Learn in Science as Predictors of Student Science Performance

In this study, we investigated the relationships between three pivotal factors that influence student performance, including opportunity-to-learn (OTL) factors, which included proximal indicators that represent science-specific learning opportunities, student motivation (propensity factor), and crucial student and teacher antecedent factors by using Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study dataset. Results showed that student propensity factors, particularly self-concept in science, and family socioeconomic status were the two strongest and positive, significant predictors of student science performance. However, the link between OTL and science performance was mixed. Additionally, OTL had less predictive power than propensity factors on science performance, but the relationship between OTL and propensity factors were strong. Implications for the examination on the opportunity-propensity model and science education are discussed.

Pre-service teachers’ beliefs about linguistic and cultural diversity in schools: the role of opportunities to learn during university teacher training

We investigated pre-service teachers’ beliefs about linguistic and cultural diversity in schools and the extent to which these beliefs differ between students at the beginning and at the end of university teacher training using a sample of 1,319 pre-service teachers at different stages of study from a large public university in Germany. Given the cross-sectional nature of our data, comparisons of the different student groups (Semesters 1–2 vs. Semester 6+) were based on a propensity score matching approach. We further examined the relationship between pre-service teachers’ beliefs and their opportunities to learn (OTL) using a subsample of 428 pre-service teachers. The findings suggest that beliefs about language-supportive teaching and egalitarian—but not multicultural—beliefs differed at the beginning and at the end of initial teacher training. Student teachers who studied German as a second language (GSL) more strongly endorsed beliefs about language-supportive teaching and egalitarian and multicultural beliefs than other students.

Analysis of Grade 10 Opportunity-to-Learn Dynamics of Market from Two Economics Textbooks

This theoretical paper analyses the Opportunity-to-Learn (OTL) Dynamics of Market offered in two Grade 10 economics textbooks. The study asked whether opportunities provided in economics textbooks improve learners’ performance in Dynamics of Market. Following a Content Analysis approach, three OTL variables; Content organization, Content coverage and Tasks were used as the theoretical framework to couch this study. One of the findings was that Less High-Order tasks were found in both textbooks hence do not develop learners’ Higher order Cognitive skills. The overall study showed that the analysed economics textbooks do not offer enough OTL Dynamics of Market. This study is significant because it helps both educators and policy makers to explore more on ‘must-have features’ of economics textbook before it could be prescribed for use. It makes contribution to international literature on textbook analysis in the field of economics education, this is rare in economics education studies. It is recommended that Higher order tasks should be included in future editions of the Grade 10 economics textbooks thus, suggesting the need to analyse economics textbooks in high schools for effective learning. Although the study analysed specific textbooks, its findings shed light on how learning opportunities relate to performance more generally.

Opportunities to learn, technological pedagogical knowledge, and personal factors of pre-service teachers: understanding the link between teacher education program characteristics and student teacher learning outcomes in times of digitalization

Despite the need to foster pre-service teacher competence with respect to information and communication technology (ICT) integration in school during the current era of digitalization, scientific understanding of the correlation between the relevant characteristics of teacher education programs and student teachers’ learning outcomes remains limited. This paper thus examines the relationship between student teachers’ opportunities to learn (OTL) and technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) with the aim of obtaining insights into their learning processes and the effectiveness of teachers’ preparation upon completing their bachelor studies. A sample of 338 student teachers in their 6th semester at the University of Cologne was used. Findings from path modeling reveal that measures of OTL relate to TPK. While no direct effect of technological pedagogical OTL on TPK was identified, an indirect effect between conventional pedagogical OTL and TPK, mediated by student teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) was found. Among the personal factors that affect student teachers, their motivation for using ICT reveals a direct effect on TPK. Further factors, such as gender and teacher education program type have no effect on TPK. The findings will be discussed in relation to expectations of teacher education effectiveness.

The effect of learning opportunity factors and efficacy belief on mathematical knowledge in the teaching process

The present study investigates the influence of opportunities to learn (OTL) and mathematics teaching efficacy beliefs (MTEB) towards mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT). Using a structured questionnaire together with paper and pencil test adapted from the literature reviewed, data were collected from 187 pre-service elementary teachers in Institute of Teacher Education Indonesia. Data were analyzed using Smart PLS 3.0. The result of the structural equation model indicated that both OTL-Practicum (β = 0.395, p < 0.001) and OTL-Program (β = 0.324, p < 0.001) were positively related to MKT. The second regression analysis was to examine the impact of mathematics teaching efficacy belief on the MKT. The results showed that mathematics teaching outcome expectancy belief (MTOEB) (β = 0.322, p < 0.001) was positively related to MKT, whereas personal mathematics teaching efficacy belief (β = 0.017, p > 0.1) was not related to MKT. Overall, the belief and OTL factors explain a total of 54% variance in MKT. Implications from these findings to the successful teacher's education program implementation in Indonesia were further elaborated

Factors That Affect Student Outcomes in U.S. Geography Education

The ideal of U.S. public education as “a great equalizer” remains unrealized across large swaths of the country. Young people in schools are at varying levels of educational advantage and disadvantage owing to wide gaps in learning opportunities and disparate access to high-quality curriculum. Unequal educational achievement has also been linked to inequities affecting some students before they enter school due to socioeconomic circumstances, prejudice, and discriminatory social systems and structures. In this study, we begin to partition the various factors that account for inequality in student outcomes in the context of U.S. geography education. Using large-scale data sets provided by the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Department of Education, we developed a two-level statistical model to analyze the extent to which geography achievement in eighth grade varies systematically with contextual opportunity to learn (OTL) factors and the relative poverty level of neighborhoods around schools. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to account for data clustering, producing an achievement estimate for each predictor and controlling for the effects of all other predictors. Statistically significant OTL predictors included instructional exposure, taking geography prior to eighth grade, teaching experience, and the availability of computers in classrooms. Schools located in neighborhoods with higher income-to-poverty ratios outperformed schools in neighborhoods closer to the federal poverty threshold. Controlling for OTL and school neighborhood effects accounted for some of the geography achievement disadvantage associated with race and other student characteristics. Geographers can further explore these relationships with formal mediational models and educational programs based on equity-oriented frameworks.

Peer Effects in Education: Theoretical Synthesis of Frame Factor Theory and Opportunity to Learn using TIMSS 2011

Despite a vast literature, previous research into compositional effects and peer effects in education has remarked on the lack of consensus within the field. To date, peer effects in education and students’ different opportunities to learn in school has been studied separately. In this study, it is argued that these perspectives need to be synthesized. A multilevel structural equation model (M-SEM) is derived from such a synthesis of the Frame Factor Theory (FFT) and Opportunity to Learn (OTL) and tested on Swedish TIMSS 2011-data (n=3928). The results indicate that class composition affects the presence of limitations on instruction and advanced content coverage, both of which is related to opportunities to learn and individual students’ achievement in mathematics.

Teachers’ Frequency of ICT Use in Providing Sustainable Opportunity to Learn: Mediation Analysis Using a Reading Database

As classrooms have become increasingly digitized, information and communication technology (ICT) has been frequently used by teachers. On that basis, whether teachers’ ICT use could provide students with more and sustainable opportunities to learn (OTL) has aroused more attention in the relevant research field. However, there has been scarce evidence for teacher-related factors that elucidate the correlation between the ICT use of teachers and providing OTL in secondary education. Given this inefficiency of evidence, this study aimed to investigate the above correlation and explore the mediation effects of teachers’ self-efficacy and teachers’ flexible strategy use to solve individualized challenges (i.e., adaptive instruction). The data of 10,796 teachers in 389 secondary schools were analyzed using R based on a multilevel mediation model. As indicated by the results of this study, teachers achieved higher self-efficacy and adaptive instruction levels when ICT was used more frequently in reading classrooms, which would further enhance the provision of OTL for students. In addition, experienced teachers were better at facilitating adaptive instruction and self-efficacy using ICT. The above results could lay a solid foundation for future empirical studies to incorporate ICT in reading course design. Furthermore, it is imperative to carry out teacher training programs to improve teachers’ beliefs and practices in providing OTL for better sustainable education in ICT education contexts.

Post-COVID-19 Pandemic Era Teaching and Learning Strategies in South African Schools

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a total shutdown of global economies and education institutions to lessen the spread of the virus. Due to strict compliance with safety protocols, educational institutions were duty-bound to shift from traditional face-to-face to virtual classroom teaching and learning strategies. This new teaching approach was unanimously embraced and adopted by all institutions globally. The easing of COVID-19 restrictions has led to the re-opening of mainstream schools. As a result, the study focused on teaching strategies adopted by educators after the lockdown. This study employed an interpretive paradigm anchored on the opportunity to learn (OTL) theory. Teaching and learning strategy is one of the key variables grounded in the OTL. Critical issues emerged from this conceptual paper. Among these was the lack of uniform teaching and learning methods approved by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in the post-COVID-19 era. The teaching approach adopted during the national shutdown mostly benefited learners from affluent homes, lack of digital learning and teaching support systems disadvantaged learners from poor communities. This study recommended, among others, the provision of adequate online teaching resources for implementing blended teaching and learning methods in South African schools. Keywords: Blended teaching approach, COVID-19 pandemic, Strategy, teaching and learning, South Africa

Expanding opportunities to learn in secondary science classrooms using unconventional forms of classroom assessments

AbstractThis study explores the role of unconventional forms of classroom assessments in expanding minoritized students' opportunities to learn (OTL) in high school physics classrooms. In this research + practice partnership project, high school physics teachers and researchers co‐designed a unit about momentum to expand minoritized students' meaningful OTL. Specifically, the unit was designed to (a) expand what it means to learn and be good at science using unconventional forms of assessment, (b) facilitate students to leverage everyday experiences, concerns, and home languages to do science, and (c) support teachers to facilitate meaningful dialogical interactions. The analysis focused on examining minoritized students' OTLs mediated by intentionally designed, curriculum‐embedded, unconventional forms of assessments. The participants were a total of 76 students in 11th or 12th grade. Data were gathered in the form of student assessment tasks, a science identity survey, and interviews. Data analysis entailed: (a) statistical analysis of student performance measured by conventional and unconventional assessments and (b) qualitative analysis of two Latinx students' experiences with the co‐designed curriculum and assessments. The findings suggest that the use of unconventional forms of curriculum‐embedded assessment can increase minoritized students' OTLifthe assessment facilitates minoritized students to personally and deeply relate themselves to academic tasks.

Does opportunity to learn explain the math score gap between madrasah and non-madrasah students in Indonesia?

The opportunity to learn (OTL) is one of the important aspects of achieving the goal of the learning process. There have been three dimensions of OTL: instructional time (IT), content covered during instruction (CC), and quality of instruction (QI) mentioned in the literature and used as a framework in this article. This study aims to reveal the gap in math ability between madrasah and non-madrasah students in Indonesia and the contribution of the three OTL aspects toward math scores. This study employed a cross-sectional survey approach with self-report instruments. The data were obtained from a survey of participants in the New Students National Selection for Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (Islamic High-school managed by the ministry of religious affairs) in 2021. There were 8,258 participants, consisting of 4,842 students from madrasah and 3,416 from non-madrasah. This study used multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the data. The findings show that (a) there is a gap in math ability score between madrasah and non-madrasah students which is -27, with a mean math ability score of madrasah students being lower than non- madrasah students, and (b) the time invested in learning significantly affects the occurrence of gaps in math ability scores, while the scope of the materials and the quality of learning do not affect the occurrence of the gap in math ability scores. These findings suggest that it is important for the Ministry of Religious Affairs to consider the addition of mathematical lesson duration in madrasah while restructuring the allocation for Islamic lessons.

Effects of Opportunities to Learn on Peruvian Students’ Science Achievement in Program for International Student Assessment 2015

Opportunities to learn (OTL) are considered important variables to enable equitable educational standards in teaching. The main objective of this work was to test a five-level hierarchical model to explain the general achievement and science competencies of Peruvian students in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015, controlling for the student’s age and gender, and the economic, social, and cultural status, both for the student (ESCS) and the school (MESCS). The Peru database was taken from PISA 2015 and was based on the results of 6,971 Peruvian students from 281 schools. The 10 plausible values of performance in science reported by PISA 2015 were used, and each of the four sub-competencies was evaluated. The values weighted likelihood estimate (WLE) of the following composite variables were standardized: (1) In teaching-learning activities, the disciplinary environment in science classes, teaching support in science classes at the students’ choice, and inquiry-based science teaching-learning practices; teacher-directed science instruction were considered. (2) For the formative evaluation factor, feedback, student perception about the evaluation, and adaptation of the instruction to the formative evaluation were considered. (3) The control variables were as follows: the age and gender of the students, the index of social, economic, and cultural status (ESCS) at the student level, and the average of the index of the social, economic, and cultural status of each school (MESCS), as well as the interaction of OTL variables with ESCS. The results of the linear hierarchical analysis showed that the achievement of Peruvian students in science in PISA 2015 (general competence) is mainly due to feedback perceived, adaptive instruction, teacher-directed science instruction, and inquiry-based science teaching-learning practices. The feedback perceived and the inquiry-based science teaching predicted negatively and significantly to science performances. The effect of inquiry-based science teaching-learning on science achievement decreased as hierarchical analysis models became more complex and decreased substantially when simultaneously interacting with perceived feedback, the student gender, and ESCS. The results also showed that the gender, the ESCS of the students, and the MESCS of the school were significant and positive predictors of academic performance. When considering each of the scientific competencies evaluated, the models are like the general score. Mainly, the MESCS of the school controls or diminishes the effect that the instructional variables have on science performance, except for the negative effect of feedback on academic performance, even when the ESCS is controlled by the school level.