Associations of teacher credibility and teacher affinity with learning outcomes in health classrooms

In the present study (N = 633), we examine the role of teacher credibility and teacher affinity in classrooms. We explore the relations among these two characteristics and student gains in knowledge and valuing of learning about HIV and pregnancy prevention across high school classrooms. Results marshaled support for the notion that teacher characteristics are associated with classroom-level gains in learning outcomes. Above and beyond student-level predictors, teacher credibility (aggregated to the classroom level) was positively related to increases in knowledge across classrooms, whereas aggregated teacher affinity was positively related to an increased valuing of learning about HIV and pregnancy prevention across classrooms. Future directions and implications for practice are discussed.     

Exploring teacher popularity: associations with teacher characteristics and student outcomes in primary school

In this study, we investigated conditions and consequences of teacher popularity in primary schools. Teacher popularity is embedded in a theoretical framework that describes relationships between teacher competence, teaching quality, and student outcomes. In the empirical analyses, we used multilevel modeling to distinguish between individual students’ liking of the teacher and a teacher’s popularity as rated by the whole class (N?=?1070 students, 54 teachers). The classroom level composite of the extent to which students liked their teacher was a reliable indicator of teacher popularity. Teacher popularity was associated with teacher self-reports of self-efficacy and teaching enthusiasm and with external observers’ ratings of teaching quality. The grades students received were not related to the popularity ratings. In a longitudinal study, teacher popularity predicted students’ learning gains and interest development over and above the effects of teaching quality. These results suggest that teacher popularity can be a useful and informative indicator in research on students’ academic development and teacher effectiveness.     

Perceived teacher confirmation.

This article reports an initial attempt to operationalize perceived teacher confirmation in behavioral terms and to explore relationships among perceived teacher confirmation, cognitive learning, and affective learning. Results for 2 samples (N=446; N=303) indicate that the final 16‐item version of the Teacher Confirmation Scale (TCS) is valid and reliable. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that teacher confirmation is best represented by a 3‐factor solution: (a) teachers' response to students' questions‐comments, (b) demonstrated interest in students and in their learning, and teaching style. Results also indicate that teacher confirmation plays a significant role in college students' cognitive and affective learning. For Sample 1, confirmation uniquely explained 18% of the variance in cognitive learning and 30% of the variance in affective learning, after controlling for demographic variables and relevance of assignments. For Sample 2, confirmation uniquely explained 17% of the variance in cognitive learning and 31% of the variance in affective learning, after controlling for the same variables. Structural equation modeling revealed strong, significant paths between confirmation and affective learning and between affective and cognitive learning. The study revealed a large, significant, indirect effect of teacher confirmation on cognitive learning, suggesting that affective learning serves as a mediating variable between teacher confirmation and cognitive learning. A multiple groups comparison demonstrated that the structural model was invariant for the 2 samples.     

Positive predictors of teacher effectiveness

Some teachers are dramatically more effective than others, but traditional indicators of competence (e.g., certification) explain minimal variance in performance. The rigors of teaching suggest that positive traits that buffer against adversity might contribute to teacher effectiveness. In this prospective longitudinal study, novice teachers (N = 390) placed in under-resourced public schools completed measures of optimistic explanatory style, grit, and life satisfaction prior to the school year. At the conclusion of the school year, teacher effectiveness was measured in terms of the academic gains of students. All three positive traits individually predicted teacher performance. When entered simultaneously, however, only grit and life satisfaction remained significant predictors. These findings suggest that positive traits should be considered in the selection and training of teachers.     

Successive teacher expectation effects across the early school years

The capacity for teacher expectation effects to interact and compound across a child's schooling offers a largely untested mechanism for magnifying or minimizing effects. This study examined four types of long-term teacher expectation effects: within-year effects of single teachers, cross-year effects of single teachers, mediated effects of single and multiple teachers, and compounded effects of multiple teachers. Participants were 110 students tracked from preschool through Grade 4 on measures of achievement and teacher expectations. Evidence was found for within-year but not direct cross-year effects. However, path models demonstrated enduring indirect effects of teacher expectations on cross-year achievement. Multiple years of teacher expectation effects were additive in predicting student achievement at fourth grade, with similar effects for teachers' over- and underestimates of student ability. The study extends understanding of longer-term teacher expectation effects.     

Group‐based evaluations for pupil‐on‐teacher violence: The impact of teacher intervention strategy

Although extreme violence to teachers is rare, the fact remains that in the UK, 29% of teachers report having been physically assaulted by a pupil (ATL, 2008a ). The ways in which responsibility for such assaults are attributed can have legal, educational and managerial implications. In the current study, teachers (N = 66), pupils (N = 68) and parents (N = 64) from a large secondary school in the UK read an incident report form outlining an incident depicting a pupil physically assaulting a teacher. The incident report was manipulated such that, prior to being assaulted, the teacher had either separated the assailant pupil from another pupil using a physical or non‐physical intervention. Results revealed that participating parents' and teachers' evaluations of the assailant's parents and the teacher differed from those of pupils in several ways. The results are discussed in terms of group‐based responsibility for deviant behaviour and implications for teacher behaviour in response to pupil on teacher violence. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Communal schools and teacher victimization

Despite data showing that teacher victimization is at least as great a problem as student victimization, far less research exists regarding teacher victimization than student victimization and overall school crime, particularly with regard to the application of criminological theory to explain the victimization of teachers. We address this gap by examining the hierarchical relationship between communal school organization and teacher victimization in a nationally representative sample of 37,497 teachers from 7,488 public schools in the United States. Results showed that teacher experienced less victimization in schools that were more communally organized. We discuss these findings and present implications for school-based delinquency prevention.     

The effect of nonverbal teacher approval on student attentive behavior

The effect of contingent nonverbal teacher approval on student attentive behavior was examined in a classroom with 12 retarded children. After baseline data were gathered on contingent verbal and nonverbal teacher approval and student attentive behavior, the teacher was instructed to increase her use of contingent nonverbal approval (smiles and physical contact) and to maintain her baseline level of verbal approval. After a reversal phase, the nonverbal approval phase was reinstated. Nonverbal teacher behaviors increased during the experimental phases, whereas verbal teacher approval (alone or in conjunction with nonverbal behaviors) did not increase. Attentive behavior increased for 11 of 12 students during the phases in which contingent nonverbal teacher approval increased. Correlational data suggested that nonverbal teacher approval accounted for behavior change of the students to a greater extent than did changes in the amount of teacher approval per se or in the teacher's use of verbal approval.     

Format effects in two teacher rating scales of hyperactivity

The object of this study was to investigate the effect of differences in format on the precision of teacher ratings and thus on the reliability and validity of two teacher rating scales of children's hyperactive behavior. Teachers (N=242) rated a sample of children in their classrooms using rating scales assessing similar attributes with different formats. For a sub-sample the rating scales were readministered after 2 weeks. The results indicated that improvement can be made in the precision of teacher ratings that may be reflected in improved reliability and validity.This research was supported by grants from the Spencer Foundation and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH 29495). A somewhat different version of this paper was presented at the annual convention of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, Canada, March 1978. The author thanks Nadine Lambert and Leonard Marascuilo for their assistance in the preparation of this paper.     

The effects of reducing teacher questions and increasing pauses on child talk during morning news

The effects of reducing teacher questions and increasing pauses on student talk during morning news sessions were investigated. The length of student discourse was observed during random 10-min samples of the lesson, together with frequency counts of teacher questions and pauses. Concomitant measures of teacher praise, directives, control statements and student call-outs were also obtained. Within the constraints of a within-subjects reversal design (ABAB), experimentally reducing teacher questions and replacing these with pauses and/or topic-related statements was associated with an increase in child discourse. Teacher praise and directives did not systematically alter across experimental phases but both teacher control statements and child call-outs reduced during the intervention phases. Reducing teacher questions and increasing the use of pauses by the teacher was associated with increases in student discourse without adversely affecting classroom behavior. These results support the hypothesis that teacher questions foil pupil talk in morning news thereby obstructing the pedagogical value of these sessions.     

The length of teacher contacts and students' off-task behavior

This study investigated the relationship between a teacher's contact durations and the off-task behavior of students not in contact with the teacher. Contact durations were defined as the amount of time the teacher spent working individually with each student. Off-task behavior was recorded for six third-graders who comprised a small instructional group in mathematics. After baseline established that contact durations averaged approximately 38 sec, the teacher was instructed to hold contacts for at least 50 sec. During this phase, the students' off-task behavior increased. The teacher was then instructed to hold contacts for only 20 sec. During this phase, the students' off-task behavior decreased.     

An investigation of the influence of student behavior on teacher behavior

The relationship between student behavior change and teacher reactions to the change was investigated. One fifth-grade teacher served as the subject and two students in her class were employed as teacher change agents. In a multiple baseline design, the students' disruptive behavior (the independent variable) was modified without the teacher's knowledge. The teacher's reactions toward the students (the dependent variable) was monitored on several dimensions including: teacher behavior, teacher attitude toward students, and the quality of teacher verbal statements. Results indicated that student behavior change influenced the teacher's behavior. Implications are that students possess potent reinforcing properties for teachers and that students should be trained to be effective students.     

The influence of teacher expectations on student achievement in physical education classes: Pygmalion revisited

The main purpose of this study was to explore the relation between teacher expectations and student achievement in physical education classes, in the light of three complementary hypotheses. Student achievement may confirm teacher expectations because these expectations create self‐fulfilling prophecies, create perceptual biases, or accurately predict, without influencing, student achievement (Jussim, 1989 ). Another purpose was to examine the mediating role played by students' perceived ability in the teacher expectancy process. Study data were obtained from 173 students and 7 teachers. Path analysis revealed that teacher expectations have weak self‐fulfilling effects, strongly predicted student achievement mainly because they are accurate, and have no biasing effects on teacher judgements. Results also show evidence concerning the role of partial mediator of perceived student ability in the confirmation process of teacher expectations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using teacher greetings to increase speed to task engagement

We used a multiple baseline design across participants to determine if teacher greetings would reduce the latency to task engagement. Three participants were identified by their respective teachers as having difficulty initiating task-appropriate engagement at the beginning of class. Latency was measured from teacher greeting until the participant was actively engaged for 5 consecutive seconds. Results showed that teacher greetings were effective at reducing latency to task engagement for all participants.     

Interbehavioral field systems assessment: Examining its utility in preservice teacher education

Behavior analytic evaluation instruments should benefit teacher education programs in assessing: (a) teacher and student interactions in practice teaching settings, and (b) the immediate and long range effects of the teacher training received. Though empirical substantiation remains scarce, such instruments may be designed to foster teacher trainee sensitivity to, and better control of, complex stimulus and response mechanisms which either impede or facilitate learning. This study analyzed one technologically driven Behavior Analysis Strategy and Taxonomy (BEST) and related Temporal Analysis System (TAS) (Hawkins, Sharpe, & Ray, 1994) currently used within one preservice teacher education program. A multiple probe design with experimental and control groups demonstrated the instruments' effects when used as an instructional feedback tool with teachers in training. Findings supported the instruments' use in terms of teacher and student behavior changes demonstrated for the experimental group as compared to a control group not exposed to the instrument. Implications of this technology when applied to teacher education are last described.     

A comparison of parent and teacher reports of selected adaptive behaviors of children

Assessment of children's adaptive behavior has been recommended for full multidimensional and nondiscriminatory evaluations. Additionally, previous research has reported discrepancies between teacher and parent reports on adaptive behavior. The purpose of this study was to compare mother and teacher reports on two scales from the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children of the System of Multicultural and Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA). Black students from second through fourth grades (N = 24; 4 males and 4 females per grade) in an urban, parochial school were selected. The interviewers were two trained female graduate students (one white, one black). Each child's mother and teacher were interviewed in accordance with SOMPA assessment procedures. The results indicated that there was little agreement (.38 to .64) between mother and teacher reports. Additionally, mothers tended to provide higher ratings of adaptive behaviors than did teachers, irrespective of grade level. Implications of these findings for the assessment of children's adaptive behaviors are discussed.     

Organizational expectations of the novice teacher

The study focuses on the teacher as an organization person, that is, a professional working in an organizational setting, and forms part of its administrative and human fabric. The purpose of the article is to describe the novice teachers expectations from teaching as a profession and from the school as a work organization. The novice teachers who participated in trainee programs at five large teacher training colleges in Israel, completed a self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire items expressed teachers expectations of their work at the outset of their professional career. Facet Theory was the methodological approach used for the study. It was found that novice teachers expectations focus on the following areas of interest and activity expectations of professional and social recognition; expectations of responsive conduct on the part of students; of involvement and support from parents, and of collegiality from other staff, parents and the principal; and expectations that teaching and those associated with it will contribute to strengthening the teachers professional sense of self. The findings were also examined based on self-psychology perspectives. The article discusses the implications of these expectations pertaining to teacher training.     

Stability of teacher temperament ratings over 6 and 12 months

Six and 12-month stability of teacher ratings of temperament was studied in four samples. For the two samples retested after a 6-month interval, the same teacher provided the original and retest ratings. For the two samples retested after a 12-month interval, different teachers provided the retest ratings than provided the original ratings. Four indices of stability were investigated for each sample: (a) cross-rank stability, (b) within-person stability (c) absolute score stability, and (d) factorial stability. Factorial stability was demonstrated for all samples. For the other three indices of stability, 6-month stability was moderate to high, and significantly higher than the 12-month stability. The general pattern of results is comparable to temperament rating data from parents, with specific coefficients being somewhat higher.     

Relevance of perceived teacher humor types for instruction and student learning

The use of humor is assumed to be an effective tool for teachers to promote instruction and student learning. However, research on teacher humor is not yet systematically linked to instructional research. To provide a starting point, a model of teacher humor effects is proposed that refers to a multidimensional conception with different types of humor. To test basic assumptions of the model, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 985 secondary school students from 45 classrooms who were surveyed on their perceptions of teacher humor as well as relevant dimensions of instruction and aspects of their own learning. Two-level modelling revealed substantial relations between teacher humor and instructional dimensions and student learning which varied considerably between different types of humor. Whereas humor related to course material showed positive associations, unrelated humor was negatively related with the investigated instructional dimensions. Two-level mediation analyses indicated that the associations between teacher humor and student learning were mediated by instructional dimensions.