Transcript OBSERVATIONS OF TEACHER EXPERTISE BEHAVIOR BASED ON A CHECKLIST DEVELOPED FROM STUDENT PERCEPTIONS

OBSERVATIONS OF TEACHER EXPERTISE
BEHAVIOR BASED ON A CHECKLIST
DEVELOPED FROM STUDENT
PERCEPTIONS
EdCamp Philly
unConference
David D. Timony, Ph.D.
May 22, 2010
Statement of the problem
Expertise theory is not an applicable approach to
exploration in the classroom. This is primarily
due to the fact that the focus of expert
performance is misplaced.
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to examine student
perceptions regarding teacher expertise in the
classroom.
Significance of this study
The utilization of student perception of teacher
expertise is an area of research that has not
been approached in this manner.
By examining the behaviors that students perceive
as functions and indicators of teacher expertise,
it is my aim to explore the relationships among
student perception, student/teacher outcomes,
and inter-collegial perception.
Expertise theory background

1899 Bryan & Harter
– Telegraphers
– Automaticity
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More current trends are an outgrowth of
Information processing theory
1965 de Groot chess masters
1998 Ericsson scientific study of expert
performance and expert acquisition
Key components of
Expertise development

Deliberate practice

Mentoring/coaching

Domain specificity

Principled knowledge
Glaser & Chi (1988)
Experts
 Excel in domain
 Perceive meaningful patterns
 Perform with speed & accuracy
 Possess better short/long term memory
 Perceive problems in deep, principled way
 Analyze problems qualitatively
 Self-monitor effectively in problem solving
Ericsson, Charness, & Tesch-Romer (1993)
Experts
 Perform 10+ years of practice
 Utilize maximal adaptation within
constraints of problems
An expert…
To whom?
An untapped resource
– Student as Expert?
or
– Student as consumer of Expertise?
A new inquiry
How capable are students of identifying
expertise in the classroom?
Competence
Defining the rules and roles in instructional
contexts (Shelton, Lane, & Waldhart, 1999)
• Student perceptions of college teachers
• College teachers’ conveyance of competence
• Positive perceptions benefit teacher and student
Study One
An inquiry began in the interest of exploring the
perceptions of high school students regarding
their experiences and reactions to teachers
whom they perceived to be experts or novices.
Research questions
•
Is there a difference between high school students
and adults who participate in the Student
Perception Descriptor survey?
•
Are students as perceptive as teachers and
administrators in identifying behaviors of novice
and expert teachers?
•
Do students adjust their effort based on their
perception of teacher expertise?
Discussion group
Participants
15 high school students
African American
Low SES
Urban boarding school
Procedure
Student Perception Descriptor Survey
• 100-item survey
• Based on frequency and clarity of statements
• 49 items predicted as expert descriptors
• 48 items predicted as novice descriptors
• 3 dichotomous items included
• Many student generated descriptors are reflective
of the descriptors found in competence literature
Survey
Participants
27 high school students
13 faculty members
5-25 years in current positions
range of content areas
10 university students
Results
The mean responses of the high school
students range from 1.44 to 4.37 (2.93)
compared to
high school teachers whose responses range
from 2.23 to 3.85 (1.62)
Results
An ANOVA revealed 9 variables w/significant
differences at the .01 level and 11 variables with
significant differences at the .05 level.
On eight of the nine items in the .01 range, the high
school students rated the items as predicted when
the survey was created.
In all but two cases, the high school teachers rated
the survey items in the 3 range.
1=HS; 2=HS faculty; 3=college
Sig # Item
Mean
1
2
3
GMD
SD
1
0.000
42
Low self-esteem
2.06
1.59
2.40 2.83
1.24
.944
2
0.000
54
Disorganized
2.18
1.74
2.50 2.85
1.11
.896
3
0.001
25
Gullible
1.94
1.56
2.44 2.42
0.84
.810
4
0.002
61
Immature
1.72
1.44
1.60 2.38
0.78
.834
5
0.002
88
Tough
3.44
3.78
2.80 3.23
0.98
.837
6
0.004
63
Moves at a slow pace
2.52
2.22
3.00 2.77
0.78
.735
7
0.006
30
Doesn't compromise
3.04
2.63
3.33 3.69
1.06
1.040
8
0.008
69
All information memorized
3.82
4.11
3.90 3.15
0.96
.941
9
0.010
87
Not strict enough
2.16
1.85
2.40 2.62
0.77
.817
Admins and teachers riding the fence?
•
•
•
•
•
not reliant on textbook
students give extra effort
well educated
demonstrates self control
students feel like they are learning
Summary
Research question #1:
Is there a difference between high school students
and adults who participate in the Student
Perception Descriptor survey?
There were significant differences between students
and adults on 20 items.
Summary
Research question #2:
Are students as perceptive as teachers and
administrators in identifying behaviors of novice
and expert teachers?
Overall, the administrators and high school teachers
were more likely to choose ‘either’ than the
college students or the high school students
Summary
Research question #3:
Do students adjust their effort based on their
perception of teacher expertise?
Students in the discussion group reported that the
decreased their effort if they perceived teachers to
be novices.
The major study
The major study

Classroom observations of 25 teachers
– Regular class periods of 42-60 minutes in length
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Two non-traditional schools
– Public charter school
– Semi-private boarding school
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Matching content areas
–
–
–
–
Social sciences
Language arts
Mathematics
Science
3/4
4/3
3/3
3/2
Measures

Teacher Behavior Checklist
– Original instrument
– Developed from Study One data

Existing means: questionnaires
– Summarized in Palmer et al. (2005)
 Training
 Certification
 Affiliations
 Tenure
 Principal indication and ranking
Research questions:
What type and frequency of behaviors from the Teacher
Behavior Checklist are demonstrated in the high
school classroom?
What is the relationship among teachers indicated as
experts according to existing means, nominated as
experts by their supervisors, and those indicated as
experts according to behaviors observed in class
using the Teacher Behavior Checklist?
Question 1
Most observed behaviors
Connects with students
111
Uses examples
Controls class through teaching
Motivates students
Controls the pace of learning
92
86
82
79
Explains subject clearly and effectively
Helpful
Easy to understand
79
77
76
Wants to fit in with students
Knows subject thoroughly
75
69
Question 1
Frequency and variety
Unique behaviors
Total behaviors
mean = 45 (4.13)
mean = 103 (16.24)
Unique Expert Behaviors
Total Expert behaviors
mean = 34 (2.85)
mean = 81 (21.23)
Question 1
Expert scoring

Expert score
– Total expert behaviors observed / total opportunities

Novice score
– Total novice behaviors observed / total opportunities

Expertise composite
– Expert score / Novice score
Question 2
Intercorrelations
Uses examples
Explains the subject clearly and effectively
Controls class through teaching
Controls the pace of learning
Maintains little control over the class
Can be taken advantage of
Pushes students to excel
Students excel
Controls the pace of learning
Maintains little control over the class
Students excel
---
Students give extra effort
Immature
Inconsistent with expectations
Question 2
Teacher types
Correlations with four existing measures:
Principal rank
Experience
Cooperating teacher
Mentoring teacher
Question 2
Principal rank
Correlated items primarily focus on the operation of the
classroom rather than content or outcomes.
Helpful
not Immature
Professional towards all students
doesn’t want to Fit in with students
Maintains control over the classroom
Question 2
Experienced teachers
Correlated items focus on content knowledge and the delivery of
teaching.
Impresses students with knowledge
Knows a subject thoroughly
Easy to understand
Explains the subject clearly and effectively
Incorporates new concepts well
Controls the pace of learning
Moves at a challenging pace
Uses examples
Question 2
Cooperating teacher
Correlated items focus on relationships with students
Aims to please students
Confident
Controls the pace of learning
Friendly
Gives students proper respect
Knows the range of student abilities
Not quick to send students to the office
Treats all students the same
Question 2
Mentoring teacher
Correlated items were a mix of content, delivery, classroom
management, and student relationship items.
Explains the subject clearly and effectively
Incorporates new concepts well
Knows the range of students’ ability
Uses examples
Brings authority to the workplace
Controls the class through teaching
Controls the pace of learning
Gives students proper respect
Sees things from the students’ points of view
Question 2
Behavioral schemes
A greater number of expert behaviors were
demonstrated by teachers who were:
more experienced
cooperating teachers
mentors
tenured
Question 2
Behavioral schemes
A greater number of expert behaviors were
demonstrated by teachers who were also
indicated as experts by:
Cleary & Groer (1994)
Moallem (1998)
Swanson, O’Connor, & Cooney (1990)
Question 2
Expert scoring
Higher Expert scores were calculated for
teachers who were:
more experienced
cooperating teachers
cooperating teachers many times
mentors
tenured
Conclusion

Student reported expert and novice behaviors
were accurate and measurable.
 This study provides support for the utility of
high school student perception in the
evaluation of teacher expertise.
 Support for the hypothesis that teachers with
more expertise use a narrower behavioral
scheme is supported by the data in this study.
Conclusion

This study opens many doors and asks many
more questions while beginning to address an
important gap in the literature.
I am eager to continue seeking these answers.