Positive Attitude Of Teachers Research Articles

Development and Validation of Information Technology Mentor Teacher Attitude Scale: A Pilot Study

The aim of this study development and validation of a teacher attitude scale toward Information Technology Mentor Teachers (ITMT). ITMTs give technological support to other teachers for integration of technology in their lessons. In the literature, many instruments have been developed to measure teachers’ attitudes towards the technological tools and instructional technology but almost none proposed to collect information about their attitudes towards ICT coordinators. Perception of teachers is very important because ICT support can play a crucial role in developing positive teacher attitudes toward technology and also successful implementation of technology in curricula. Most of the schools have expensive technological equipment but many teachers have been frustrated by lack of support in integrating these technologies into their classroom. In this regard, in order to evaluate teachers’ attitudes toward information technology mentor teachers, an attitude scale with 21 items was prepared by considering related literature, expert opinions and interview results. The scale was administered to 40 teachers form a public elementary school. Based upon the factor and reliability analysis, teacher attitude scale toward ITMT has been developed with 17 items and three factors. Coefficient alpha values belong to each subscales, confidence, willingness and efficacy were .88, .80 and .87 respectively.

DEVELOPING A TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMME TO PROMOTE SCIENTIFIC LITERACY IMPROVING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE ABOUT SCIENCE

Usually elementary teacher education has pitfalls in developing important dimensions of scientific literacy (SL) through science teaching. So, to refine some Teacher Education Program (TEP) characteristics is important to potentiate their positive attitudes towards links amongst science technology and society themes (STS) so that they may improve their students’ SL. This study aims at identifying characteristics of a TEP that promote teachers’ key attitudes about STS and develop dimensions of teaching practice transferral to teachers’ practices to foster their students’ SL. It reports a longitudinal case study (3 years) to refine characteristics of a TEP, answering the questions: a) what features should a TEP have, to improve consistently positive attitudes of teachers about STS?, (b) which gains in teachers' attitudes towards the STS were obtained from the implementation of TEP? The TEP incorporated, progressively, findings based on literature and other characteristics resulting from improvements, namely: (a) exploring contexts and using materials and equipment from daily routine; (b) developing epistemic practices related with experimental work in open challenge activities; (c) transferable teacher mediation traits. The TEP, with the referred characteristics, allowed teacher to develop important attitudes about: scientific inquiry, willingness to engage in issues related to science and science as a social enterprise. Key words: teacher education, teachers STS attitudes, scientific literacy.

Research experiences, attitudes, and barriers to publishing among the dental postgraduate teachers: a cross-sectional study.

Research is important in medical and dental sciences to improve healthcare. Faculties play an important role in research productivity and student motivation in research. The aim of this paper was to assess the attitude and experiences of dental post-graduate teachers toward article writing and reading and to discuss the barriers faced by them. A total of 150 dental post-graduate teachers from various Dental Colleges in South India participated as the study group. A questionnaire relating to publishing practices was distributed, and the results were analyzed. Majority of the study group (82%) were involved in the publication with many (48.4%) doing so for career progression. Journal prestige was the main reason for selection of journals. Lack of time was the main reason for those not involved in the publication. This study revealed the positive attitude of teachers toward scientific reading and writing. They only require motivation and time.

Predictors of culturally relevant attitudes and expectations of urban music teachers in the USA

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of student/teacher demographic differences, teacher quality indicators (TQIs), teacher preparation and school/community support on urban music teacher attitudes toward and the expectations of their students. The study aimed to verify the psychometric appropriateness of the researcher-created survey instrument and determine what combination of variables best predicted positive teacher attitudes and high teacher expectations. The Culturally Relevant Teaching Questionnaire was administered to K-12 public school music educators (N = 584) from 20 large cities in the USA. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that survey items adequately represented the intended constructs. Four separate simultaneous multiple regression analyses were completed to determine the relative effects of the focal variables on Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Teaching, Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Music, Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes and Expectations. Support was a strong predictor for Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Music, Expectations and Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes. Preparation was a moderate predictor for all four dependent variables. Teacher/student socio-economic status match was a moderate predictor for Expectations, Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Teaching and Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes. Teacher/student ethnicity match was a moderate predictor for Implicitly Prejudiced Attitudes and TQIs have a small but meaningful negative effect on Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Music and Culturally Relevant Attitudes about Teaching. Because Support and Preparation were strong predictors and demographic matches were moderate predictors of urban music teacher attitudes and expectations, efforts to improve urban music education should focus on improving local support and increasing culturally relevant preparation of pre-service music educators.

Views of teachers regarding effective clinical teaching and learning in dental education

This was a qualitative study conducted in one government and one private dental college selected purposively. Study population was final year clinical teachers of selected Dental Colleges. A total of 35 teachers (twenty from private dental college and fifteen from govt. dental college) participated in this study. An open ended questionnaire was developed for in-depth interview of the teachers. Analysis of the teachers' responses revealed that their views were related to only three issues: (1) Organization of teaching experiences: Make objectives realistic and practical, feedback, (2) Clinical experiences related factors: Student’s active involvement, working with patient and their family/ attendant and (3) Supervisory factors: Knowledgeable faculty, positive attitude of teachers. Dental faculty involved in teaching activities should be encouraged to take formal training. Study recommended increasing time and patient availability in clinical setting for effective clinical learning and skill competency.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjdre.v3i1.16592 Bangladesh Journal of Dental Research & Education Vol.3(1) 2013: 25-29

Effectiveness of role play in enhancing the speaking skills of the learners in a large classroom: An investigation of tertiary level students

This investigation looks at enhancement in learners’ speaking skills through role play in groups in a large classroom and this study also examines the teacher’s assessment of students for further development of their speaking skills. About one-hundred twenty students of the department of English, Stamford University Bangladesh were involved in this investigation process from January 2012 until April 2012 in the speaking classes. For the research, qualitative data were collected in the form of questionnaires, group interviews, classroom observation, and students’ performance evaluation result. The result from class room observations of students’ performance has been presented in the form of graphic analysis. The result shows learners’ improvement in speaking skills through role play and how the positive attitudes of teachers help to further their speaking skills. From the response of the student’s questionnaire it has become obvious that role play has been enthusiastically accepted by the students as it challenges their creativity and ability to think critically, which enables them to speak more logically and confidently in the classroom. The result of the group interview shows the advantages and disadvantages of students’ performance while doing the role play in groups inside the classroom and it also helps students to overcome inhibition when it comes to speaking in front of others. Through classroom observation the teacher identifies students’ ability to adapt with the situational factors and also measures their fluency and use of accurate language by recording their performances. The teacher also records the gradual progress of students for further development of their speaking skills and ascertains how beneficial it is to do role play in a large classroom. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/sje.v7i0.14475 Stamford Journal of English; Volume 7; Page 218-233

Inservice science teachers' views of a professional development workshop and their learning of force and motion concepts

Teacher attitudes affect their instruction such that positive teacher attitudes enhance the teaching and learning process. The purpose of this study was to explore inservice science teachers' views of learning physics within the context of a professional development experience and to investigate the relationship between those views and the teachers' understanding of force and motion concepts. The conceptual understanding pretest results indicate the need for inservice science teacher professional development that focuses on conceptual understanding. The relationship between participants' views and their conceptual understanding at posttest has additional implications for the curriculum for these science teachers' professional development experiences.

Construct Validity for the Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Computers Questionnaire

Positive teacher attitudes toward computers are widely recognized as a necessary condition for effective use of information technology in the classroom (Woodrow, 1992). To measure attitudes toward technology, it is important to have valid and reliable instruments. In this study, the authors used confirmatory factor analysis to verify construct validity for the Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Computers (TAC) Questionnaire, an instrument created from 32 well-validated scales, as a more parsimonious questionnaire covering areas assessed by previously existing instruments in the field. Since its creation as 284 items in 1997, this Likert- and Semantic Differential–based instrument has undergone two major refinements, each of which was designed to reduce the number of items while retaining subscale internal conshhhncy reliabilities in the range of .8–.9. The 51-item version of the TAC (v. 6.1) produced acceptable goodness-of-fit indices for its nine subscale constructs, based on analysis of 1,179 teacher responses from 2003. High internal consistency reliabilities were also verified-for additional sets of 2006 teacher data and 2008 preservice teacher preparation data. This led the authors to conclude that the TAC is a well-validated, reliable instrument for teachers’ self-appraisal of their attitudes toward computers, wonby of continued use in multiple language and cultural environments.

What Makes a Good Program? A Case Study of a School Admitting High Academic Achievers

This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that explored the administration and implementation of the Tier 1 Program (Secondary 1 Curriculum) of the Project P.A.T.H.S. The case study method was used to explore perceptions of the teachers and the project coordinator of program effectiveness, and to identify various factors for program success. A school admitting high academic achievers was selected, and site visits, as well as individual and focus group interviews, were conducted with the program coordinator, social worker, and course teachers. The results suggested that clear vision and program goals, high quality of curriculum, helpful leadership, positive teacher attitude, and strong administrative support are factors for program success. Analyzing the data enables the researchers to understand the characteristics of a successful program as well as the interplay among factors for producing success.

The influence of teaching experience and professional development on Greek teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion

On the assumption that the successful implementation of any inclusive policy is largely dependent on educators being positive about it, a survey was undertaken into the attitudes of Greek teachers to inclusion. The 155 respondents were general education primary teachers drawn from one region of Northern Greece, with a proportion deliberately selected from schools identified as actively implementing inclusive programmes. The analysis revealed positive attitudes towards the general concept of inclusion but variable views on the difficulty of accommodating different types of disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Teachers who had been actively involved in teaching pupils with SEN held significantly more positive attitudes than their counterparts with little or no such experience. The analysis also demonstrated the importance of substantive long‐term training in the formation of positive teacher attitudes towards inclusion. The paper concludes with recommendations for developing critical professional development courses that can result in attitudinal change and the formulation of genuinely inclusive practices.

Middle-Level Reform: The Introduction of Advanced English and Science Courses

Seven middle-level schools in a large suburban district created an open enrollment system for advanced English and science courses. The advanced courses provided students with an opportunity to learn through the use of primary sources, high-level literature, and a variety of projects. A vertical teaming process in each middle–high school attendance area was instrumental in promoting teacher collaboration and acceptance of a Pre-AP philosophy intended to expand student access to advanced courses. The vertical teams included representative teachers of advanced courses from across grade levels. The adopted philosophy focused on connecting a wider base of students to the benefits of a rigorous, college preparatory curriculum. Although all students were allowed to enter advanced courses without prerequisite criteria and teachers were encouraged to work across vertical teams to provide scaffolding to prepare students for advanced work, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds were still significantly less likely to enroll in advanced coursework. Qualitative data underscored the importance of positive teacher attitudes in implementing an open enrollment policy. Teachers were encouraged by the success they experienced in teaching students who would have been excluded from a more selective program. Unfortunately, equity of opportunity in open enrollment policies may not be sufficient to encourage greater participation of minority and low socioeconomic status students in academically advanced programs. Educators must maintain high expectations for all students, provide equitable opportunities for all students to engage in curricula that exceed the minimum standards for academic content areas, and provide support for students to be successful in these courses.

Implementation and Effects Of One-to-One Computing Initiatives

There are now a large number of initiatives designed to make laptops with wireless connectivity available to all students in schools. This paper synthesizes findings from research and evaluation studies that analyzed implementation and effects of one-to-one initiatives from a range of countries. Factors related to successful implementation reported in the research include extensive teacher professional development, access to technical support, and positive teacher attitudes toward student technology use. Outcome studies with rigorous designs are few, but those studies that did measure outcomes consistently reported positive effects on technology use, technology literacy, and writing skills.

What Do Emergency Medicine Learners Want from Their Teachers? A Multicenter Focus Group Analysis

To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no reports describing what learners believe are good emergency medicine (EM) teaching practices. EM faculty developers are compromised by this lack of knowledge about what EM learners appreciate in their teachers. To determine what Canadian EM learners consider to be good prerequisites and strategies for effective teaching in the emergency department (ED). Clinical clerks and residents from the Canadian College of Family Physicians, Emergency Medicine certification [CCFP(EM)] fellowship program, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Emergency Medicine certification [FRCP(EM)] fellowship program, and off-service programs from all five Ontario medical schools participated in monitored focus-group sessions. Conversations were recorded, transcribed by a third party, and coded by two independent assessors using standard grounded theory methods. The text was categorized based on the final code into basic themes and specific qualifiers, which were then sorted by frequency of mention in the focus groups. Results are presented in descriptive fashion. Twenty-eight learners participated. They identified 14 major principles for good EM teaching, and a further 30 specific qualifiers. The top five principles were: "has a positive teacher attitude," "takes time to teach," "uses teachable moments well," "tailors teaching to the learner," and "gives appropriate feedback." Agreement on classification of ideas was 86%. Learners are sensitive to the constraints of the ED teaching environment, and have consistent views about good ED teaching practices. Among 14 general principles identified, "takes time to teach," "gives feedback," "tailors teaching to the learner," "uses teachable moments," and "has a good teacher attitude" were the most commonly reported.

What Do Emergency Medicine Learners Want from Their Teachers? A Multicenter Focus Group Analysis

Background: To the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no reports describing what learners believe are good emergency medicine (EM) teaching practices. EM faculty developers are compromised by this lack of knowledge about what EM learners appreciate in their teachers. Objectives: To determine what Canadian EM learners consider to be good prerequisites and strategies for effective teaching in the emergency department (ED). Methods: Clinical clerks and residents from the Canadian College of Family Physicians, Emergency Medicine certification [CCFP(EM)] fellowship program, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Emergency Medicine certification [FRCP(EM)] fellowship program, and off-service programs from all five Ontario medical schools participated in monitored focus-group sessions. Conversations were recorded, transcribed by a third party, and coded by two independent assessors using standard grounded theory methods. The text was categorized based on the final code into basic themes and specific qualifiers, which were then sorted by frequency of mention in the focus groups. Results are presented in descriptive fashion. Results: Twenty-eight learners participated. They identified 14 major principles for good EM teaching, and a further 30 specific qualifiers. The top five principles were: “has a positive teacher attitude,”“takes time to teach,”“uses teachable moments well,”“tailors teaching to the learner,” and “gives appropriate feedback.” Agreement on classification of ideas was 86%. Conclusions: Learners are sensitive to the constraints of the ED teaching environment, and have consistent views about good ED teaching practices. Among 14 general principles identified, “takes time to teach,”“gives feedback,”“tailors teaching to the learner,”“uses teachable moments,” and “has a good teacher attitude” were the most commonly reported.

Gender Differences in Student Attitudes toward Computers

This study reports the development of a student computer attitude survey. The instrument highlighted gender differences in computer attitudes of 462 middle and high school students. The principal components analysis confirmed five expected factors: confidence, perception of computers as male domain, positive teacher attitudes, negative teacher attitudes, and perceived usefulness of computers. The main gender differences related to greater confidence among males and the perception of computers as a male domain supported by males and rejected by females. Male students reported high levels of negative interactions with teachers, though this did not affect their confidence or skill level.

Closing a window on the world: Convergence and UK television services for schools

‘Closing a Window on the World: convergence and UK television services for schools’ is about the proven value to UK schools of the two free television services provided by Channel 4 and the BBC, and a serious threat to their future. The first part of the chapter discusses the first ‘revolution in learning’, based on the development of television as a ‘window on the world’ for UK schools since the 1960s. Research evidence for the very positive teacher attitudes to their use of the services in the 1990s is cited. The second part begins by discussing a BBC consultation exercise undertaken in the autumn of 2000, seeking support for a policy decision to develop a new ‘digital curriculum’ for schools. Recent research into the effectiveness of such technologies is reviewed. While schoolchildren enjoy using ICT (and especially video components it may include), there is as yet no firm evidence to support the confident claims being made for its effectiveness in promoting learning. The chapter concludes that the BBC decision to begin the rundown of its ‘traditional analogue’ television service for schools is premature. At a sensitive time for public service broadcasting, it threatens the future of free services teachers have used and respected for many years. Without government action to include relevant provision in forthcoming broadcasting legislation, UK schools seem likely to lose this distinctive and valued support for their work and their ICT resources are also likely to be impoverished.

Étude sur la participation des parents dans les activités scolaires ou parascolaires

This preliminary study of parental participation in curricular and extra-curricular activities was conducted in the general framework of the healthy heart project in St. Louis du Parc, an underprivileged and multiethnic neighbourhood in Montreal. A general understanding of this type of participation is essential in order to adapt the role parents play in health programs developed in conjunction with the school. A conceptual framework was developed to help understand how and why parents of primary school children participate in school activities. Qualitative analysis of 15 semi-directed interviews conducted with various schools and other organizations revealed those obstacles to parental involvement, and the factors that encourage parents to participate. It was clear that there were wide social and cultural gaps between parents and schools. An important factor is how people perceive those barriers. Teachers stressed organizational and language communications difficulties. Others pointed to the lack of knowledge of the community, to poor communications skills and the parents' lack of those skills that would allow them to participate actively. A more open-minded attitude by school authorities and a more proactive and positive attitude of teachers toward parents are essential requirements, but not the only ones. Further interviews with parents should help provide more details and information.

Plain talk about creating a gifted‐friendly classroom

This article discusses optimum conditions for gifted students in regular classrooms, including the advantages of cluster grouping and curriculum compacting. The need for providing psychological safety is also discussed, as well as the importance of positive teacher attitudes toward gifted students. Specific cognitive and affective classroom strategies are recommended and additional resources are suggested.

Effects of Using School-Based Participatory Decision Making to Improve Services for Low-Performing Students

In this study we examined the effects of a multicomponent school reform process. In the first stage, 12 elementary school principals received instruction in using a participatory change process with their schools' staff, along with a host of strategies for instructing and organizing services for remedial and special education students. In the second stage principals (1) led their schools' staff in an assessment of students' needs and worked with teachers in decision making and planning to redesign services for low-achieving students, until (2) school staff reached consensus on a reform plan, and then (3) obtained assistance and training requested by their staffs. In the third stage, schools implemented the new program for 1 year. Measures of teachers' perceptions, students' achievement, and teachers' ratings of student behavior were obtained from 72 teachers and 1,362 students in 12 experimental schools and from 76 teachers and 1,062 students in 10 control schools. Results indicated that the intervention program resulted in positive teacher attitudes toward the change process, in new approaches to organizing instruction, and in more mainstreamed instruction. However, we observed no treatment effects on students' achievement and behavior.

Evaluation of Texas' child-care-oriented nutrition education and training program

Five studies were conducted to evaluate changes in child nutrition related knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of child care personnel participating in Texas' Nutrition Education and Training (NET) Program. Pre- and post-testing showed that brief (4–8 hour) workshops were consistently effective in promoting positive changes in knowledge and in reinforcing positive attitudes of teachers and food service personnel in licensed child care centers. Mailed surveys and surveillance of user feedback demonstrated that nutrition teaching aids (e.g., posters, curriculum guides) and food service management materials (e.g., handbooks, cookbooks) distributed to child care centers and made available through NET's lending library collection were used at rates that were acceptable but less than ideal. Data from questionnaires completed by the directors of child care centers whose staff had participated in NET workshops (n = 17) and a comparison group of centers (n = 16) indicated that nutrition instruction in preschool classrooms was closer to ideal in the workshop group. Involving food service personnel in learning activities for the children was a relative strength of nutrition education in the workshop group. Problems diagnosed in day-care center menus (i.e., deficiencies in food energy, iron, and variety of fruit) persisted 6 and 12 weeks after the staff participated in a menu planning workshop. The same pattern of menu strengths and weaknesses was observed in a comparison group (n = 20) as in the workshop group (n = 20). When the results of all five studies were combined, the majority of statistically evaluated outcomes were significantly positive and none were negative. Because the program had a greater impact on knowledge and attitudes than on behavior, it was concluded that, in addition to continued support for the NET program, there is a need for expanding the model on which the program is based.