Research & Analysis Chapter One

Classroom Life

Key Terms

• Subject-matter knowledge

• Action-system knowledge

• Motivation• Classroom

Management• Instruction• Expectations

• Qualitative approach• Quantitative approach• Reliability of

observations• Anecdotal records• Running records• Time sampling• Event sampling

Five Dimensions of Teaching and Learning

Multidimensionality- records & schedules/single event…..many consequences (waiting helps motivate---can cause loss of interest)Simultaneity-many things happen at one timeImmediacy-events happen rapidly and need a responseUnpredictability and Public Nature of Classrooms- attitude & response affects climateHistory- common understandings develop early & can influence rest of year (what you think of your students; what they think of you)

Types of Knowledge• Subject-Matter knowledge----Knowledge about

major concepts of the curriculum content being taught (e.g., math, history, English, art).

What you know Action-System knowledge----Knowledge about

major theoretical frameworks and concepts for motivating and managing students, communicating clear expectations, presenting content clearly, and responding to individual differences.

= Pedagogical Content knowledge!How you teach

Teach Us Something

• Who has something to teach us?

• I’m going to teach …

Action Systems

• Endogenous

• Exogenous

• Constructivist

– What do you believe?– What does your classroom look like?

Four Constructs for Analyzing Teaching

Motivation- that which prompts, induces, or moves students toward action

Management- rules, procedures, and techniques used to establish and maintain an orderly learning environment

grading, questioning, being humanExpectations- inferences teachers make about the

future behavior and academic success of their students

Instruction- strategies used to present information and involve students in activities – stage presence

Rules for Your Classroom

KISS – Keep it short & simple

1. As few as possible – 3 or 4 good ones

2. Positive – instead of “don’t run” try “always walk”

3. Never personalize rules – “don’t act like Charlie, be more like James”

4. Imagine rules for adults, would it be something you’d use with your friends?

5. Consider consequences.

Sally Turner Case Study (pgs. 4-7)

1) Motivation

a) Personalizing the lesson

b) Feedback to incorrect responses

c) Focus on positive learning goals

d) Active student role

2) Classroom Management

a) Materials

b) Negative comments

c) Credibility (consistency?)

d) Rhetorical questions (continued)

Sally Turner case study (cont’d)

3) Classroom Instruction a) Teacher questions b) Teacher questions after student response c) Controlling classroom interaction d) Student questions4) Teacher Expectations

a) Gender equality b) Teacher sensitivity to cultural diversity

c) Reaction to spontaneous comments

Identify strengths & weaknesses related to:

Introducing the lessonPresenting the mathematics

materialTypes of questions and feedbackClassroom managementTeacher expectationsSensitivity to cultural diversity

Teachers’ Awareness of Their Classroom Behavior

Teachers differed widely in the extent to which they stayed w/ students in failure situations (repeated or rephrased a question or asked a new question) or gave up on them (gave the answer or called on someone else).

Teachers need to be sensitized to some issues (gender, race, ethnicity, culture) that may be vastly different than the teacher’s background experiences.

Teachers need feedback mechanisms (supervisor observation or videotaping)

Two Approaches for Observing Teaching

QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE

Narrow focus Broad focus

Checklists or coding schemes

Detailed descriptions of events

Records certain categories of events (time or event sampling)

Analysis emphasizes how events unfolded and how they were experienced by the participants

Focus is closed (dictated in advance)

Interviews with teachers and students to get their interpretations of behaviors

Reliability of Observations

***Objective observations vs. personal biases interfering with your observations

Ex. If 2 observers are watching a videotape and coding the # of academic questions a teacher asks, one observer may tally 16 and another tallies only 10.

Agreement can be estimated if observers achieve 60-90% agreement by using this formula from Emmer and Millet (1970):

Agreement = 1- A - B (A is always the larger number)

A + B

1- 16 -10 = 1- 6 = 1- .23 =.77

16+10 26

Narrative Strategies: Anecdotal Record- Brief

notes identifying a student’s behavioral pattern

Running Record- Detailed, ongoing descriptive account of the behavior and context

Anecdotal Records

No environmental context

Shorter periods

Less detail

Running Records

Enviornmental context important

Longer periods

More detail

Frequency Counts

TIME SAMPLING For frequently occurring behaviors

EVENT SAMPLING

When selected behavior occurs, it is

recorded

Time Sampling Assignment

• Time Sampling – observing for events during a specified period of time

• Event Sampling – observing for an event and not tied to a specified period of time.

• Pick a partner. Assignment will be done as a team.

1. Identify a topic that interests you-10 pts.

• A management issue -- – out of seat behavior– Speaking out behavior– Aggressive behavior– Leadership behavior– Etc.

• A teaching behavior– Movement about the room– Questioning – divergent, convergent– Who gets called on?– Who gets managed?– Length of time between questions – wait time.– Interruptions– Etc.

• Student Behavior– On task time– Off task time– Interactions with others– Selection of choice options– Etc.

Select a topic – 10 points

• With your partner –

1.Choose a topic

2.Do the research – find out, in the literature what has been done in the past.

• At least three sources• At least two pages• Include a summary paragraph and a research

question

3. Get your “prospectus” approved by your teacher and by me.

4. Identify if you are using a time sampling, or an event sampling technique.

5. Describe in detail, how you will conduct your study – 10 pts

6. Conduct your study by gathering your data independently from your partner.

7. Check for reliability – 6 ptsAgreement = 1- A - B (A is always the larger

number)

A + B

1- 16 -10 = 1- 6 = 1- .23 =.77

16+10 26

8. Report your results – 10 pts• Report your data using a table or graph• Describe in narrative format what the data means in the table

– don’t make conclusions here, just say what you found.

9. Report your conclusions – 10 pts• What does it mean• How can you use your data

10. Bibliography. – 5 pts• Include bibliographic information (APA style) for

anything that you might have used in your literature review.