Browsing by Subject "Teacher beliefs"
Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item The contribution of teacher beliefs and student motivation on the academic lives of different learners(2010-12) Shankar, Shobha; Schallert, Diane L.; Svinicki, MarillaToday's classrooms have a significant diversity of learners who are expected to engage in similar academic activities and meet common standards of academic competency irrespective of their individual differences. As a result, for many students, school is a challenging endeavor that elicits emotional responses ranging from low self-efficacy to frustration, stress and anxiety. Research has shown that factors such as students' motivation and teachers' beliefs are important influencers of classroom achievement. These factors determine students' persistence towards their academic goals as well as the standards teachers set. This report reviews the literature on major constructs of motivation and teacher beliefs specifically with different learners, that is second language learners and students with learning disabilities. A proposal of a synthesis model is offered, with the primary objective of depicting the influence of teacher beliefs and student motivation on learning process and performance outcomes among different learners.Item An examination of the integration of traditional core content areas in a kindergarten music classroom : a music specialist’s rationale, understandings, and perceptions(2011-05) Andrews, Stephanie Kuna; Field, Sherry L.; Brown, Anthony L.; Brown, Christopher P.; Costa-Giomi, Eugenia; Salinas, Cynthia S.The purpose of this research study was to examine the instructional strategies, rationale, understandings, and perceptions of an elementary music specialist, Michelle Roberts, regarding the integration of traditional core content areas (TCCAs) in the kindergarten music classroom. This study sought to scrutinize the characteristics and details of Michelle’s teaching through Elliot Eisner’s notions of educational connoisseurship and criticism and through his conceptualization of educational research and practice as art. A number of early childhood educators and researchers have stressed the importance and pedagogical efficacy of using interdisciplinary, holistic instructional approaches with young children. Such approaches have the potential to create space for a humanizing education in the early childhood classroom. This qualitative research study was conducted at a public elementary school in a large, urban district in Texas, between September 18, 2009 and January 26, 2010. The participant was Michelle Roberts, an elementary music specialist with nearly 25 years of teaching experience. Data sources included classroom observations, examination of instructional artifacts, and semi-structured interviews. Following analysis of the data, three conclusions concerning the music specialist’s rationale, understandings, and perceptions regarding the integration of traditional core content areas and kindergarten music instruction were drawn. First, Michelle’s rationale, understandings, and perceptions regarding the integration of the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction were grounded in her wealth of teacher knowledge and skills and in her beliefs regarding teaching. Second, Michelle’s rationale for the integration of the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction was that it allowed her to educate her students in the most fitting manner possible and that it made learning “solid” or “a complete picture” for the students. Third, Michelle’s perceptions and understandings regarding the integration of the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction were grounded in three beliefs: (a) the integration of the TCCAs and music instruction is beneficial for young children; (b) it is important to maintain the integrity of the discipline of music when integrating instruction in the TCCAs and kindergarten music instruction; and (c) music cannot be taught in isolation from other content areas.Item Exploring English as a Second Language teachers' beliefs about motivation(2010-08) Smith, Michael Tolman; Horwitz, Elaine Kolker; Schallert, Diane L.; McKenzie, Gary R.; Svinicki, Marilla; Patall, ErikaEnglish as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ beliefs about motivation are important but underexplored. Because research on human beliefs indicates that existing beliefs are the filters for new information, a better understanding of teacher beliefs about motivation is necessary in order to provide training on effective motivation strategies for ESL teachers. In order to investigate the beliefs and perspectives of ESL teachers on motivation, 11 teachers at a university intensive English program, from a pool of 32, volunteered to participate in a self-reporting, open-ended interview to share their thoughts and beliefs about motivation. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, divided into comments, and grouped into categories. The transcripts and their coding were checked and approved by each of the participating teachers in the study. The teacher comments were organized around 9 categories of beliefs about motivation. Results of the data analysis indicated that ESL teachers have both specific and varied beliefs about the nature of motivation, and those beliefs correlate consistently with their classroom strategies for motivating students. As a result, teacher training that focuses on motivation strategies without understanding teachers underlying beliefs about the nature of motivation may not be successful. The findings also indicated that the 9 common strategies for motivation (shared by 6 or more teachers) were generally represented in practical guides for motivation which were based on both language learning and general constructs. In addition, as a group, these teachers demonstrated a breadth and depth of beliefs about motivation that could be used as a resource for filling any gaps in individual teacher’s knowledge or beliefs about motivation. Furthermore, these teachers identified group dynamics, student-teacher and student-student interactions, as the most important single factor effecting student motivation. Therefore, any theory of language learning motivation must be able to account for or explain classroom social variables and their effects on motivation. Finally, the ESL teachers’ recollections of the origins of their beliefs focused on early life, language student, and language teaching experiences, which hints that any effective teacher training on motivation should be experiential in nature, whether through language learning, classroom observation, or practice teaching.Item The impact of elementary school teachers’ beliefs about classroom management on intervention implementation decisions(2015-12) Terrell, Clarissa Lestee; Stark, Kevin Douglas; Carter, JenniferThere is a gap in the research about teacher beliefs as it pertains to how these beliefs guide teachers’ intervention decisions, particularly decisions about classroom management. The proposed study is interested in understanding and exploring how teacher beliefs impact classroom management implementation decisions. While classroom management interventions are used across grade levels, behavior management is a primary concern during the elementary school years. Therefore, the proposed study will be conducted with elementary school teachers. In order to more keenly examine this teaching experience, the proposed study will use a phenomenological approach to discern whether there are overarching themes in how teachers think about classroom management, plan and implement classroom management interventions, adjust to changes in the classroom environment, and represent their beliefs about classroom management in their classroom activities. This information will be obtained through the use of qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and two lived experience descriptions.Item Science teaching anxiety : the impact of beliefs on teacher preferences of instructional strategies(2014-05) Hodgin, Claire Marie; Barufaldi, James P.The purpose of this descriptive, mixed-method study was to explore a possible relationship between teacher beliefs and their philosophy of teaching. A theoretical framework depicted connections among levels of science anxiety and science teaching self-efficacy, and their influences on elementary teacher instructional preferences for a traditional or inquiry-based model of instruction. A card-sorting methodology was adapted to create an interview protocol that examined teacher instructional practices within the framework of an inquiry continuum. Teacher groups were identified quantitatively with two existing instruments to examine science anxiety and science teaching self-efficacy. Subtests of both the Science State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (STEBI) were administered through an online survey and completed by 86 elementary teachers of science in a large urban school district. From the survey data teachers were grouped by levels of anxiety and self-efficacy in order to further examine their beliefs. Results identified three groups of teachers meriting additional investigation - low anxiety and high self-efficacy, high anxiety and low self-efficacy, and high anxiety and high self-efficacy. From these groups, eight total participants were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol consisting of a science teaching scenario card sort and open-ended questions to classify groups of teachers as primarily learner- or teacher-centered, and preferring a traditional or inquiry-based method of instruction. Based on qualitative coding for levels of inquiry and responses to questions probing teacher beliefs and practices, all of the teachers were classified as preferring a primarily teacher-centered model of instruction, thus upholding the theoretical framework for the high anxiety groups. In contradiction to the expectations described in the theoretical framework, the low anxiety and high self-efficacy group stated one of the strongest preferences for traditional instruction. In conclusion the low anxiety group may have preferred a traditional approach in order to meet campus expectations of instructional strategies that promote passing scores on standardized tests. Implications suggest that explicit instruction is needed on the essential features of inquiry for teachers during the preservice and induction phase of their careers, and additional professional development support for practicing elementary teachers.