In this study, the authors examined the extent to which children's self-regulation upon kindergarten entrance and classroom quality in kindergarten contributed to children's adaptive classroom ...behavior. Children's self-regulation was assessed using a direct assessment upon entrance into kindergarten. Classroom quality was measured on the basis of multiple classroom observations during the kindergarten year. Children's adaptive classroom behavior in kindergarten was assessed through teacher report and classroom observations: Teachers rated children's cognitive and behavioral self-control and work habits during the spring of the kindergarten year; observers rated children's engagement and measured off-task behavior at 2-month intervals from November to May. Hierarchical linear models revealed that children's self-regulation upon school entry in a direct assessment related to teachers' report of behavioral self-control, cognitive self-control, and work habits in the spring of the kindergarten year. Classroom quality, particularly teachers' effective classroom management, was linked to children's greater behavioral and cognitive self-control, children's higher behavioral engagement, and less time spent off-task in the classroom. Classroom quality did not moderate the relation between children's self-regulation upon school entry and children's adaptive classroom behaviors in kindergarten. The discussion considers the implications of classroom management for supporting children's early development of behavioral skills that are important in school settings.
The authors advance an argument that placing observation of actual teaching as a central feature of accountability frameworks, teacher preparation, and basic science could result in substantial ...improvements in instruction and related social processes and a science of the production of teaching and teachers. Teachers' behavioral interactions with students can be (a) assessed observationally using standardized protocols, (b) analyzed systematically with regard to sources of error, (c) validated for predicting student learning, and (d) changed (improved) as a function of specific and aligned supports provided to teachers; exposure to such supports is predictive of greater student learning gains. These methods have considerable promise; along with measurement challenges, some of which pertain to psychometrics, efficiency, and costs, they merit attention, rigorous study, and substantial research investments.
Recognizing that empirical research into classroom dialogue has been conducted for about 40 years, a review is reported of 225 studies published between 1972 and 2011. The studies were identified ...through systematic search of electronic databases and scrutiny of publication reference lists. They focus on classroom dialogue in primary and secondary classrooms, covering the full age range of compulsory schooling. The methods of data collection and analysis used in the studies are described and discussed, with changes and continuities over time highlighted. Study results are then summarized and integrated to present a succinct picture of what is currently known and where future research might profitably be directed. One key message is that much more is known about how classroom dialogue is organized than about whether certain modes of organization are more beneficial than others. Moreover, epistemological and methodological change may be required if the situation is to be remedied.
The paper reports a quasi-experimental study comparing the ＂traditional flipped classroom＂ pedagogical design with the ＂productive failure＂ (Kapur, 2016) pedagogical design in the flipped classroom ...for a 2-week curricular unit on polynomials in a Hong Kong Secondary school. Different from the flipped classroom where students are provided video clips with new concepts and associated procedures to review at home before solving problems in class, the ＂productive failure＂ pedagogical design in the flipped classroom worked the other way around. Supported by mobile technologies, students explored, discussed and solved problems related to the new concepts first in class even though they might come across failures, followed by consolidating the concepts and associated procedures using video clips at home. The pedagogical design is referred to as ＂productive failure-based flipped classroom＂ in this study. The study was carried out in two Grade 7 classes: one with ＂traditional flipped classroom＂ and one with the ＂productive failure-based flipped classroom＂. Findings show that both classes had significant improvement in procedural knowledge. However, regarding conceptual knowledge, students in the ＂productive failure＂ condition performed better than those in traditional flipped classroom. This suggests that the ＂productive failure-based flipped classroom＂ pedagogical design may be better able to improve students' problem solving skills.
Understanding teachers' stress is of critical importance to address the challenges in today's educational climate. Growing numbers of teachers are reporting high levels of occupational stress, and ...high levels of teacher turnover are having a negative impact on education quality. Cultivating Awareness and Resilience in Education (CARE for Teachers) is a mindfulness-based professional development program designed to promote teachers' social and emotional competence and improve the quality of classroom interactions. The efficacy of the program was assessed using a cluster randomized trial design involving 36 urban elementary schools and 224 teachers. The CARE for Teachers program involved 30 hr of in-person training in addition to intersession phone coaching. At both pre- and postintervention, teachers completed self-report measures and assessments of their participating students. Teachers' classrooms were observed and coded using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS). Analyses showed that CARE for Teachers had statistically significant direct positive effects on adaptive emotion regulation, mindfulness, psychological distress, and time urgency. CARE for Teachers also had a statistically significant positive effect on the emotional support domain of the CLASS. The present findings indicate that CARE for Teachers is an effective professional development both for promoting teachers' social and emotional competence and increasing the quality of their classroom interactions.
Improving Classroom Quality Brown, Joshua L; Jones, Stephanie M; LaRusso, Maria D ...
Journal of educational psychology,
02/2010, Volume:
102, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
This study capitalizes on recent advances in the reliable and valid measurement of classroom-level social processes known to influence children's social-emotional and academic development and ...addresses a number of limitations in our current understanding of teacher- and intervention-related impacts on elementary school classroom processes. A cluster randomized controlled trial design was employed to (a) examine whether teacher social-emotional functioning forecasts differences in the quality of 3rd-grade classrooms, (b) test the experimental impact of a school-based social-emotional learning and literacy intervention on the quality of classroom processes controlling for teacher social-emotional functioning, and (c) examine whether intervention impacts on classroom quality are moderated by these teacher-related factors. Results indicated (a) positive effects of teachers' perceived emotional ability on classroom quality; (b) positive effects of the 4Rs Program on overall classroom quality, net of teacher social-emotional functioning indicators; and (c) intervention effects that are robust to differences in these teacher factors. These findings support and extend recent research examining intervention-induced changes in classroom-level social processes fundamental to positive youth development.
Equity in mathematics classroom discourse is a pressing concern, but analyzing issues of equity using observational tools remains a challenge. In this article, the authors propose
equity analytics as ...a quantitative approach to analyzing aspects of equity and inequity in classrooms. They introduce a classroom observation tool that focuses on relatively
low-inference dimensions of classroom discourse, which are cross-tabulated with demographic markers (e.g., gender, race) to identify patterns of more and less equitable
participation within and across lessons.
The transition to elementary school is accompanied by increasing demands for children to regulate their attention and behavior within the classroom setting. Executive control (EC) may be critical for ...meeting these demands; however, few studies have rigorously examined the association between EC and observed classroom behavior. This study examined EC in preschool (age 5 years 3 months) as a predictor of classroom learning engagement behaviors in first grade, using a battery of performance-based EC tasks and live classroom observations in a longitudinal sample of 313 children. Multilevel modeling results indicated that stronger EC predicted more focused engagement and fewer task management and competing responses, controlling for socioeconomic status, child sex, and age at observations. Results suggest that early EC may support subsequent classroom engagement behaviors that are critical for successful transition to elementary school and long-term learning trajectories.
Flipped classrooms have been widely adopted and discussed by school teachers and researchers in the past decade. However, few studies have been conducted to formally evaluate the effectiveness of ...flipped classrooms in terms of improving EFL students' English oral presentation, not to mention investigating factors affecting their flipped learning outcomes. In this study, an online community-based flipped learning approach was proposed for an EFL oral presentation course; moreover, a learning analytics approach was used to analyze factors affecting the students' oral presentation outcomes. An 18-week research design was implemented with the online community-based flipped classroom using Facebook as the platform for facilitating and recording peer-to-peer interactions during the flipped learning process. In addition, the students' learning performance and perceptions were collected in 3 learning stages during the 18 weeks. The experimental results reveal positive effects of the online community-based flipped instruction over the conventional video-based instruction. That is, first, the online community-based flipped instruction using mobile devices can enhance students' English oral performance. Moreover, it was found that the high improvers had a significantly higher frequency of online participation, as well as more interactive behaviors and greater satisfaction with the flipped classroom than the low improvers. These results imply that the online community flipped classroom could not only provide learning materials and out-of-class learning for students, but could also help them become more responsible and autonomous in their learning and communication. These findings could be valuable references for those who intend to conduct effective flipped classrooms with an online community to facilitate students' before-class learning participation and to improve their in-class learning performance.
•A meta-analysis to synthesize the relations between classroom climate and youth development.•Classroom climate had positive associations with social competence and academic achievement.•Classroom ...climate had negative associations with internalizing and externalizing behaviors.•Classroom climate effect on children’s outcomes differed by child and study features.•This study underlines the role of classroom socialization processes in youth development.
Although research has documented the link between classroom climate and children’s learning, evidence about whether and how classroom characteristics are linked to academic and psychological outcomes remains equivocal. This study used a meta-analytic approach to synthesize existing research with the goal of determining (a) the extent to which classroom climate as a multidimensional construct was associated with youth’s academic, behavioral, and socioemotional outcomes from kindergarten to high school and (b) whether the relations between classroom climate and youth’s outcomes differed by dimensions of classroom climate, study design, and child characteristics. Analysis included 61 studies (679 effect sizes and 73,824 participants) published between 2000 and 2016. The results showed that overall classroom climate had small-to-medium positive associations with social competence, motivation and engagement, and academic achievement and small negative associations with socioemotional distress and externalizing behaviors. Moderator analyses revealed that the negative association between classroom climate and socioemotional distress varied by classroom climate dimensions, with socioemotional support being the strongest. The strength of the associations between classroom climate and youth’s outcomes also differed by measurement of classroom climate and study design, though the patterns of the associations were mostly consistent.
PDF
