Daniel C. Moos, PhD

Amanda Miller (Elementary Education Candidate ’13)

Research to be presented at American Education Research Association (AERA) in April 2013

Personal beliefs as a lens: The role of Epistemological and Self-Regulated

Learning beliefs in pre-service teachers’ evaluations of lesson plans

OverviewThis study examined how epistemological beliefs (EB) and self-regulated learning beliefs (SRLB) affect pre-service teachers’ evaluation of lesson plans. The sample included 33 pre-service teachers, who were individually run through the study. The participants completed a self-report questionnaire (measuring EB, SRLB, and views of instructional practice), thought aloud as they evaluated two lesson plans, and were interviewed about their views. Participants with more sophisticated views of certain knowledge and innate ability viewed a constructivist approach to teaching as more effective. Participants with stronger constructivist views of teaching made significantly more evaluations based on the lesson plan’s support of self-regulated learning. Participants with stronger traditional views of teaching made significantly fewer evaluations on the student-centered nature of the lesson plan.

Overview

• Introduction• Personal beliefs• Epistemological beliefs• SRL beliefs• Research Questions

• Overview of Study• Research questions• Method and procedure• Data analysis & discussion• Acknowledgements

Daniel C. Moos, PhDDepartment of Education

Gustavus Adolphus CollegeAERA 2013

Introduction: Personal Beliefs

“Discovery Learning” “Critical Thinking”

“Constructivist Approach”

“Humanistic Approach”

Introduction: Personal Beliefs

“Discovery Learning” “Critical Thinking”

“Constructivist Approach”

“Humanistic Approach”

Teacher as a Facilitator

Introduction: Personal Beliefs Teacher as a prescriber….

• Learning happens quickly or not at all

• Multiple perspectives have little merit

• It is the teachers job to provide a standardized interpretation of the material

• Students do not have the capacity to regulate their learning

Tall in the the saddle

What role does prior knowledge and experience play in pre-service teachers’ development?

Introduction: Personal Beliefs

Daniel C. Moos, PhDDepartment of Education

Gustavus Adolphus CollegeAERA 2013

Introduction: Epistemology Beliefs What role do personal beliefs play in pre-

service teachers’ view of instructional practice?

Epistemological beliefs (Schommer, 1990, 1993a,b )• Certainty of knowledge: Is knowledge absolute …

tentative?• Structure of knowledge: Is knowledge isolated …

interconnected?• Authority source of knowledge: Is knowledge

transmitted from an authority figure?• Control of knowledge: Is ability fixed … malleable?• Speed of knowledge: Is knowledge acquired quickly

… not at all?

Introduction: Epistemology Beliefs What role do personal beliefs play in pre-

service teachers’ view of instructional practice?

Self-Regulated Learning Beliefs (Lombaerts et al.,

2009): The extent to which students have the capacity to be active participants in their own learning • Students have the capacity to determine what they

want to learn • Students should be able to make decisions about the

sequence and duration of their learning activities • Each student should be given the opportunity to

regulate his/her own learning

Overview of Study: Research Questions

• 1. To what extent do pre-service teachers’ EB and SRLB affect their views of instructional practices, as evidenced by a self-report questionnaire?

• 2. To what extent do pre-service teachers’ views of instructional practices affect their perceptions of lesson plans, as evidenced by a think-aloud protocol?

Daniel C. Moos, PhDDepartment of Education

Gustavus Adolphus CollegeAERA 2013

Overview of Study: Participants & Measures

• Participants (N = 33)• Pre-service teachers from SLAC in midwest (USA)• 28 males (85%) and 5 females (15%); 17 (52%) elementary, 5

(15%) middle level, and 11 (33%) high school• Measures

• Self-regulated Learning & Epistemological Beliefs• Self-Regulated Learning Teacher Belief Scale, self-report

(Lombaerts et al., 2009)

• Epistemic Belief Inventory, self-report (Shraw, Bendixen, & Dunbkle, 2002)

• Instructional Practices • Traditional vs. Constructivist approach, self-report (Chan & Elliot,

2004)

• Think-aloud during evaluation of two content specific lesson plans (participants individually run)

Measures, continued

Self-regulated learning comments

(Perry’s work)

Student Centered Comments

Lesson Plan Logistics

Comments

•Student Choice

•Control of Challenges

•Developmental considerations

•Student motivation

•Student learning

•Chronology

•Assessment

•Content

•Modification

Open coding process (Strauss & Crobin, 1990)

Overview of Study: Results (II)

Pre-service teachers who had more sophisticated beliefs related to:• Certain Knowledge• Innate Ability

… were significantly more likely to believe that a constructivist approach to teaching was more effective

1. To what extent do pre-service teachers’ EB and SRLB affect their views of instructional practices, as evidenced by a self-report questionnaire?

Overview of Study: Results (I)

Pre-service teachers with stronger constructivist views of teaching:• Made more evaluations based on the lesson plan’s

support of self-regulated learning

2. To what extent do pre-service teachers’ views of instructional practices affect their perceptions of lesson plans, as evidenced by a think-aloud protocol?

Pre-service teachers with stronger traditional views of teaching:• Made fewer evaluations based on the student-centered

nature of the lesson plan’s

Overview of Study: Discussion (I)Theoretical Implications

• Applying long held assumption that learners construct knowledge in an idiosyncratic process• Personal beliefs act as a “lens” during evaluation of

instructional practices• Pre-service teachers’ attention is guided by their personal

beliefs• Raises theoretical consideration of the relationship between

metacognition and personal beliefs (Bromme, Pieschl, & Stahl, 2010; Hofer & Sinatra, 2010; Mason & Bromme, 2010; Muis & Franco)

Overview of Study: Discussion (II)Theoretical Implications

• Context for teacher education programs:• Importance of designing a teacher education program that explicitly

accounts for this highly individualized process

Overview of Study: Discussion (III)Practical Implications

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Thank you! Daniel C. Moos, PhD

Amanda Miller (Elementary Education Candidate ’13)

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Contact InformationEmail: dmoos@gustavus.edu

Website: homepages.gac.edu/~dmoos