Teacher Cognition Research Articles

Reinforcement and Punishment: The Concepts Teachers Need to be Carefully Watched

Abstract: Numerous acts done by teachers without proper consideration were impactful to students. This study determines the level of teacher cognition to reinforcement and punishment concept in the learning process at school. In addition, this study also aims to assign the accuracy of applying these concepts to students. Mixed-method using embedded design was implemented to address the goals. As 49 teachers responded from several schools in the District of Kepulauan Pongok, South Bangka. Besides, in-depth interviews were also conducted with five teachers who were selected. The research sample was set based on purposive sampling. The data collection techniques were a questionnaire in the form of a rating scale and an in-depth interview form with a feasibility test previously performed using the Content Validity Index. Likewise, the data obtained were processed using the calculation of the average, standard deviation, percentage as well as content analysis. The results indicated that 2.86 out of 5 or 57.2% of the teachers had good understanding towards the two concepts. Meanwhile, 3.15 or 63% of the teachers were familiar to reinforcement. Besides, 2.44 or 4.88% of the teachers were familiar to give punishment. In other words, the comprehension as well as it application are classified very moderate and needed to be carefully watched.

Teacher cognition about oral skill development in the foreign language classroom: A literature review from Norway and Sweden

The study of language teacher cognition (LTC) allows us to understand better language teaching regarding what teachers know, how they come to know it, and how they draw on their knowledge. Due to the recently increasing LTC research interest but simultaneously lack of synthesis and overview in Norway and Sweden, a descriptive review of the literature was conducted. Results show a great variety of topics in both countries. However, multilingualism in Norway and assessment in Sweden stand out as particularly well-researched. In addition, results also show little research collaboration among two educationally-similar countries regarding LTC. In this sense, this literature review was initiated with an a priori interest in identifying LTC research on oral skill development that would allow the establishment of joint research ventures among the authors in both countries.

Teachers’ stated cognition and its relationship with oral corrective feedback practices in EFL classrooms

Many studies have examined the effects of oral corrective feedback on language learning. However, much less research has examined the role of teacher cognition in this area. In particular, research on teacher cognition and its relationship with teachers' actual classroom practices has received relatively less attention. The present study examined four male and female EFL teachers' stated cognition and its relationship with their corrective feedback practices in intermediate-level classrooms. Data consisted of audio recordings of 14 h of classroom interaction collected over five weeks, a cognition questionnaire, and stimulated recall sessions. The findings revealed that while all the teachers highlighted the importance of corrective feedback, important differences were observed in their views about corrective feedback strategies. Notable discrepancies were also observed between teachers' stated cognition and their actual classroom practices regarding both the types and the amount of feedback used. The findings further our understanding of what teachers’ cognitions consist of and what roles it plays in instructional contexts.

Conceptual framework to understand language teacher identities

Language teacher identity (LTI) has recently become a prominent theme in the second language teacher education (SLTE) research because teacher identities play a major role in teachers’ learning-to-teach processes and instructional practices. Teacher identity refers to teachers’ dynamic self-conception and imagination of themselves as teachers, which shifts as they participate in varying communities, interact with other individuals, and position themselves (and are positioned by others) in social contexts. Therefore, it casts an influence upon a wide array of matters, ranging from how language teachers learn to perform their profession, how they practice theory and theorize their practice, how they educate their students, and how they interact and collaborate with their colleagues in their social setting. This paper offers a conceptual framework for LTI that explicates the interrelationships between teacher identity and these core constructs: teacher learning, teacher cognition, teachers’ participation in communities of practice, contextual factors, teacher biographies, and teacher emotions.

Investigation and Analysis of the Construction Mechanism and Effectiveness of Art Education Clubs in Local Colleges and Universities

Art clubs are important carriers for local colleges and universities to implement aesthetic and art education and cultivate high-quality talents. Art clubs have established a construction work mechanism which is responsible by school-level leaders, coordinated by relevant functional departments, and implemented by the teaching departments of aesthetic education and public art education. The art club implements a membership system and a credit system. In the process of construction, the system and mechanism of art clubs in some local colleges and universities are not perfect, the concept of club construction is backward, and there are deviations in the concept and cognition of teachers and students in aesthetic education. In some art clubs, the aesthetic education coordination mechanism is not complete, the aesthetic education teachers and funds are insufficient, and the aesthetic education curriculum resources and teaching methods are single. As a result, the construction of art clubs and the effect of aesthetic education are not ideal. The systematic investigation of the construction mechanism, implementation path and initial results of art clubs in local colleges and universities will help promote the construction of art clubs in colleges and universities, it also can meet the individual needs of college students in aesthetic education and art education.

EXPLORING TEACHERS' PRACTICAL DECISION MAKING IN TERMS OF TEACHING PROCEDURES

The role of teaching English in senior secondary schools as a component of Indonesian education policy has increased. The curriculum states that the main objectives of English language education are to improve students' basic communication skills, to develop English language, or learning, interests and habits, and to introduce global culture to society. Since language education is based on interpersonal relationships and communication with others, which stem from self-knowledge and understanding, exploring oneself together with oneself can be an important professional in the field. Borg (2003) states that there are several problems related to language education that have not been studied in contact with teacher cognition. This study is about the teacher's consideration in making decisions about teaching procedures. This study uses a qualitative research design to collect data using interviews and observations.
 Keyword: Decision making, Teachers, Teaching procedures.

Identification of Attitudes of Early School Education Teachers towards Contemporary Art in Early School Education – Construction of a Research Tool by Design

This document is a continuation of the reflections on issues related to the phenomena surrounding the reception of contemporary art, initiated in the scientific study Around Art Reception. A Model of Empirical Cognition of Early School Education Teachers’ Attitudes to Modern Art – A Project Study. The article presents basic assumptions regarding the exploration of attitudes of early school education teachers towards contemporary art, and its main part is an attempt to present the author’s research tool in the form of a measure to identify the attitudes of early school education teachers towards contemporary art in the early school education process. The presented research tool consists of 50 test positions grouped in three dimensions: thoughts and beliefs about the characteristics of the object of an attitude, sensations and emotions associated with the object of an attitude, as well as actions and behaviours towards the object of an attitude, aimed at determining the attitudes of early school education teachers towards contemporary art in the early school education process within the following system: acceptance – ambivalence – rejection. The projected research tool is the initial proposal for further attempts by researchers of the subject to create their original tools for identifying audiences’ attitudes towards contemporary art.

Business English Classroom Motivations: Cognition of Business English Teachers in Chinese Universities

Business English Classroom Motivations: Cognition of Business English Teachers in Chinese Universities

Narrative Research on the Internal Cognition of Assistant Language Teachers at the Preparation Stage of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme

Narrative Research on the Internal Cognition of Assistant Language Teachers at the Preparation Stage of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme

ENGLISH TEACHERS IN CLIL SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN MADRID: BELIEFS, ATTITUDES AND KNOWLEDGE

This study aims to explore the teacher cognition of EFL specialists working in CLIL Secondary settings in Madrid. More specifically, the dimensions of teacher knowledge and beliefs regarding the bilingual education programme and their own role are addressed. Being part of a larger study, it was designed as a multi-case study in which six EFL teachers from different Secondary schools took part. Moreover, a mixed-methods approach was followed in order to contrast and triangulate the results. First, they were administered a questionnaire consisting mostly of Likert-type scale questions which were analysed following quantitative procedures. Secondly, semistructured interviews were conducted with each of the participants and were later examined following a qualitative content analysis approach. The questions were concerned with their beliefs, attitudes and knowledge about CLIL, its outcomes, the role of language in these programmes and their own ideal professional role within them. The results show that although the participants’ vision about CLIL, its benefits and the role of language diverge; their beliefs are compatible with CLIL underpinnings. Also, they believe their contributions as language experts must be considered. The findings of this study, which could be replicated and extended to more language teachers, can help us design tailored teacher education programmes which take EFL teachers’ beliefs into account.

DOES EXPERIENCE MATTER? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF EFL TEACHERS’ CHALLENGES

Even-though teaching experience has been identified as one of the main variables affecting student academic gains, teacher cognition, and practices, research focusing on the influence of experience on language teacher challenges is still rare. Hence, the study aims to analyse comparatively the challenges encountered by EFL teachers with varying lengths of teaching experience. Quantitative data were collected utilising a questionnaire involving 208 language teachers. The respondents self-reported being especially challenged by teaching speaking, learner motivation, teaching writing and listening, learner engagement, differentiating instruction, and providing effective learning. The overall challenge rate was moderate. Notably, a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of challenges was established between groups of teachers with varying lengths of teaching experience. As expected, novice teachers reported being more challenged than their most experienced counterparts. Contrary to popular belief, challenge estimates of a group of experienced teachers (10-15 years) were higher than that of less experienced teachers (1-5 years). The principal implication of the current study is that experienced language teachers also need assistance in dealing with professional challenges arising from the complexities of language teaching. To serve well, teacher development courses should be sensitive to language teacher needs and challenges, aligned with transformations they undergo as they move along the career stages

In-service Middle School Teachers’ Cognition in the Use of Technology in English as a Second Language (ESL) Teaching and Learning Context in Dingxi City, China

Many in-service ESL teachers have low interest in using technology in classrooms on account of complex internal and external factors. Thus, guided by Davis’s (1989) technology acceptance model and Borg’s (2003) language teacher cognition theory, this study, which uses a quantitative descriptive survey, aims to further understand in-service middle school English as a second language (ESL) teachers' cognition in the use of technology in Dingxi city, China. The results show that in-service middle school ESL teachers have general positive cognition toward technology in their classrooms and that these teachers are high-level users of technology. The findings suggest that academic institutions can provide more decent technological support to in-service middle school teachers as this will cater to their needs in ESL teaching and learning.

Elementary Teachers’ Environmental Education Cognition and Attitude: A Case Study of the Second Largest City in Taiwan

This study aims to explore the perceptions and attitudes of national elementary school teachers toward environmental education to understand the difference between different teachers’ background variables on environmental education cognition and attitude and the correlation between cognition and attitude. This research adopts the questionnaire survey method and takes elementary school teachers from the second largest city in Taiwan, Taichung City, as the research sample. Stratified random sampling was adopted, and 636 questionnaires were distributed. In total, 536 questionnaires were effectively recovered, and the effective recovery rate was 84.27%. The descriptive statistical analysis of sample data, an independent sample T-test, a one-way analysis of variance, Scheffe’s comparison test, and Pearson’s product-difference correlation were used for analysis. The study results are: (1) Elementary school teachers in Taichung City have good environmental education and teaching cognition and environmental issue cognition. (2) The attitudes toward the environmental education of elementary school teachers in Taichung are positive and active. (3) Senior and experienced elementary school teachers in Taichung City have a high awareness of environmental education due to their participation in many workshops and environmental protection activities. Therefore, there are significant differences in the cognition and attitude of environmental education from elementary school teachers. (4) There is a significant correlation between the cognition and attitude of elementary school teachers in Taichung City toward environmental education. This research shows that teachers with more senior teaching experience have better cognition and attitude toward environmental education.

The core-peripheral belief dynamic and its impact on teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL) in grade 8 in the Faroe Islands

The objective of this qualitative parallel case study was to elicit the teacher cognition of grade 8 teachers in the Faroe Islands about teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL). Teacher cognition and actions were studied in context based on data from semi-structured interviews, mixed questionnaire and observations. Manual thematic analysis through using a priori and post priori codes was adopted to parse data and establish the influence of teacher cognition on teaching in the classroom and identify any common trends among participants. The results show that teacher cognition has a marked influence on teaching speaking. Congruence between cognition and teaching is apparent, with some instances of incongruence. Congruence between teacher cognition and teaching speaking rests on two factors – the marked influence of ‘apprenticeship of observation’ i.e., the influence of teachers’ personal experiences from years of education that shapes their thoughts and teaching and teacher understanding of teaching speaking as ‘doing’ speaking i.e., providing opportunities for students to speak in the classroom. Incongruence stems from the core-peripheral belief dynamic, where the predominance of core beliefs over peripheral beliefs affects the efficacy of teaching speaking.

The core-peripheral belief dynamic and its impact on teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL) in grade 8 in the Faroe Islands

The objective of this qualitative parallel case study was to elicit the teacher cognition of grade 8 teachers in the Faroe Islands about teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL). Teacher cognition and actions were studied in context based on data from semi-structured interviews, mixed questionnaire and observations. Manual thematic analysis through using a priori and post priori codes was adopted to parse data and establish the influence of teacher cognition on teaching in the classroom and identify any common trends among participants. The results show that teacher cognition has a marked influence on teaching speaking. Congruence between cognition and teaching is apparent, with some instances of incongruence. Congruence between teacher cognition and teaching speaking rests on two factors – the marked influence of ‘apprenticeship of observation’ i.e., the influence of teachers’ personal experiences from years of education that shapes their thoughts and teaching and teacher understanding of teaching speaking as ‘doing’ speaking i.e., providing opportunities for students to speak in the classroom. Incongruence stems from the core-peripheral belief dynamic, where the predominance of core beliefs over peripheral beliefs affects the efficacy of teaching speaking.

Exploring English for medical purposes (EMP) teacher cognition in the Chinese context.

It has been a growing trend in Chinese universities to shift from English for general purposes (EGP) to English for specific purposes (ESP) teaching. Against this background, large groups of teachers previously engaged in teaching EGP have become or are becoming ESP teachers, which means a complex process of learning for subject-specific information, transforming teaching practices and constructing new identities. Despite this, very little has been written about the ESP teacher cognition (TC) of language teaching or the factors influencing this shift in teaching. This study involved English for Medical Purposes (EMP) teachers in Chinese universities as participants, and a scale of EMP TC with 31 items was developed on the basis of questionnaire results. Data from exploratory factor analysis revealed six dimensions of the scale, namely, teacher attitude, teacher belief, teacher learning, teacher support, role identification, and teacher practice—that combine to constitute and influence EMP TC. While the identity factor has attracted wide attention in ESP teacher research, other factors have largely been neglected. Thus, this research highlights the importance of more factors in shaping and changing the language teaching cognition of EMP or ESP teachers in large, especially the teacher belief factor. In addition, results of independent samples t-tests indicated significant difference in EMP teacher learning in terms of gender, differences in EMP teacher attitude and teacher support in terms of EMP teaching experience. Suggestions for enhancing EMP TC are offered on the basis of the conclusions of this research.

Locally- and globally-oriented L2 teacher education research: A synchronic analysis of topics and research methodologies

Research in second language teacher education (SLTE) is critical for making short- and long-term policies and decisions about SLTE programs, materials, methods, etc. Therefore, it is essential to know the “what,” “how,” and “where” of SLTE research. Hence, the purpose of this synchronic study was to investigate research topics (what) and the research methodologies (how) of SLTE papers published in international and Iranian journals (where) between 2014 and 2020. To that end, we investigated a corpus, including 100 articles, consisting of 50 SLTE papers published in seven international journals and 50 SLTE papers published in seven Iranian journals. Results indicated that while there were significant differences in using qualitative and quantitative research methodologies by SLTE papers published in international and Iranian journals, there were no significant differences in using mixed methods in those journals. Moreover, results showed that the most frequent SLTE topics addressed in the papers published in international and Iranian journals were teacher professional development, teacher psychology, teacher identity, teacher cognition, teacher belief, teacher knowledge, practitioner research, teacher education design, sociocultural theory, teacher practice, and teacher and culture. However, there were no significant differences in SLTE topics addressed in the SLTE papers published in international and Iranian journals.

The impact of teacher professional development on teacher cognition and multilingual teaching practices

ABSTRACT This longitudinal case study examined the impact of in-service teacher professional development (PD) on teacher cognition relative to multilingualism and pedagogical practices in linguistically diverse classrooms. Two teachers of English as an additional language (EAL) at a primary school in Norway, who teach large numbers of linguistically and culturally diverse students, participated in twelve workshops that focused on both theoretical and pedagogical aspects of language learning and multilingualism. Drawing on questionnaire and classroom observation data collected during two phases of the project (before and after PD), the findings suggest that the teachers displayed individual trajectories in the development of teacher cognition and practices. While one of the teachers showed considerable change over time, the other one remained more stable, suggesting that individual differences, such as language and family background, education, and teaching experience mediate the impact of PD. Implications for local PD at the site of data collection and broader implications for PD in multilingual contexts are discussed.

Teacher cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence: A qualitative study on preservice Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong SAR, China.

The purpose of this study is to examine preservice Chinese language teachers’ cognition in teaching intercultural communicative competence. In the study we collected data through in-depth interviews with seven preservice teachers in a Master of Education program (Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, TCSL) at a university in Hong Kong SAR, China. The findings indicated that the participants had a relatively positive attitude and inclination toward the development of students’ intercultural communicative competence, while their conceptualizations of culture tended to be static and ambiguous. In addition, the participants’ objectives in teaching intercultural communicative competence were found to be more attitude-than knowledge- or skill-oriented. The study offers valuable insights that preservice language teachers’ cognition plays a crucial role in their future professional development and calls for curricular innovations with intercultural aims in teacher education programs.

Insights into Teacher Beliefs and Practice in Primary-School EFL in France

Teacher beliefs affect choices of methods, representations of learning, and classroom practice, and are important in understanding primary EFL teaching in France, where language teaching has been a compulsory subject entrusted to generalist class teachers for 20 years. This quantitative study explores questionnaire data from 254 primary teachers, associating teacher beliefs and classroom practice. With respect to views of language teaching and learning, the study reveals a three-way division of teachers between grammar-oriented teaching (PPP), communicative-language teaching (CLT), and ‘sceptical’ teachers. The PPP (n = 72) group employed the smallest range of teaching activities and rarely taught older pupils. The CLT group (n = 60) tended to have higher English proficiency and more in-service training and offered the widest range of oral activities. The sceptical group (n = 85) took no strong theoretical position, had lower English proficiency, and focused on listening and speaking skills. We found no correlation between teacher age and language learning beliefs or teaching practices. However, teachers who offered a wider range of activities in any of the five competences tended to have more in-service training and higher English proficiency. Further correlations were found between oral language teaching and technology integration, and written language teaching and teaching experience. The paper concludes with links to previous teacher cognition research and suggestions for teacher education.