PSYCHOLOGY OF INSTRUCTION

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PSYCHOLOGY OF INSTRUCTION
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Some questions

• Is there a relationship between what teachers do,
  and what students learn?
• If so, what are the what are the ways we can
  characterise teacher behaviour?
• Will some classes learn more than other classes?
• Is there a scientific basis to teaching? Or is
  it a matter of personal style and philosophy?

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WHAT SHOULD BE OUR PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE TO
RESEARCH FINDINGS ?

• "There are many variables recently uncovered in
  educational research that show as strong or
  stronger a relationship with student achievement
  as variables in medical practice show to
  longevity and general health. But in medicine
  such relationships become imperatives, while in
  education they are treated as threads, the merest
  glimmer of an implication. Our research is much
  less at fault than our attitudes towards
  research."
• Berliner, D. (1984). The half-full glass A
  review of research on teaching. In P. Hosford
  (ed). Using what we know about teaching.
  AlexandriaVA ASCD. (p75)

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MAJOR RESEARCH DESIGNS USED IN TEACHER EFFECTS
RESEARCH (1)

• (a) 1970s The Process-product era This highly
  expensive design works by collecting large
  volumes of classroom data using an interaction
  analysis instrument. Teachers are observed by
  qualified observers, and their actions are
  measured and recorded. Data are collected from a
  large number of classrooms (eg 50 classrooms,
  1000 students), and then compared to gains
  students make on test scores over time (eg 6
  months or more). The design is correlative, huge
  volumes of data are implicated, and statistical
  analyses can become complex.

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MAJOR RESEARCH DESIGNS USED IN TEACHER EFFECTS
RESEARCH (2)

• (b) 1980s on The expert-novice design This is
  considerably cheaper. It works more by case
  studies where individuals are selected as being
  the finest practitioners, and how they behave is
  contrasted to less experienced teachers.
  Generally uses qualitative (rather than
  quantitative) analyses, as small numbers are
  involved. For example, 4 experts might be
  compared to 5 average teachers.

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We need to clarify (1)

• (a) Does effective teaching mean the same as
  "good teaching"?
• Answer No ! These terms have different
  referents.
• (b) Is it really viable to differentiate teachers
  who are more effective from ones that are less
  effective?
• Answer In practice, the process-product
  research identifies effective practices, not
  effective teachers. The unit of statistical
  analysis is the action, not the person. Thus, as
  a concept, the effective teacher is a
  construction in that it does not primarily refer
  to individual people.
• (c) But researchers identify expert teachers, as
  definable individuals, don't they?
• Answer Not as such. Experts as those highly
  experienced individuals who are respected as
  being highly, highly competent individuals by the
  field. (ie they are identified by reputation,
  experience, and proven competency)

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We need to clarify (2)

• (d) Does research tell me how I should teach?
• Answer No ! Research is a form of history
  telling us how certain variables related to other
  variables in certain contexts. The extent to
  which the findings will prove valid elsewhere is
  an open question. Also, no-one can tell you how
  you "should" teach. The assumption under which
  we carry out research is that the findings may
  prove valuable in helping teachers make
  decisions. (eg, medical research helps doctors
  arrive at sensible and balanced decisions).
• (e) Will knowing about this research turn me
  into a more effective teacher?
• Answer knowing about effective practices is
  not the same as actually putting them into
  practice.
• The analogy of the airplane pilot may help here.
  There actually is a good deal of information (ie
  research knowledge) about the characteristics of
  excellent pilots. But simply reading about these
  facts cannot make you into a pilot. But, on the
  other hand, a person who is a reasonable pilot
  can read the research with a view to serious
  reflection and professional enhancement.

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SYNTHESIS OF RESEARCH FINDINGSFIVE
FUNDAMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGHLY
EFFECTIVE CLASSROOMS

• (Yates Yates, Educational Psychology, 1990)
• Management strategies
• Opportunities to learn, and to respond
• An academic emphasis
• Direct instruction and Scaffolding
• Time accumulated in developing skills

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Management

• (a) A positive and proactive style is evident.
  For example, good use of authoritative
  statements, some rules are specified, and the
  expected procedures are numerous and are
  genuinely taught. (Ie the "system" is known to
  all parties).
• (b) Responses consequences are overt and
  predictable. (ie. non-emotional punishments).
• (c) Stimulus controls are established and
  defended. (Often teachers negotiate with the
  class as to the meaning of certain subtle cues,
  body language, etc)
• (d) Students perceive (a) "fairness" within the
  teacher's decisions, (b) autonomy support for
  their efforts.

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Opportunity to learn and respond

• (a) Genuine curriculum coverage. Generous
  time allocations.
• (b) A high level of teacher input, and use of
  resources, books, etc.
• (c) A high level of expected output. (Ie
  opportunities to respond actively and frequently
  over time. Practice is distributed over time
  rather than hurried).

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The Academic Dimension

• (a) Basic literacy and numeracy as part of the
  wider natural world.
• (b) Goals expressed directly in "academic" terms.
  Teacher talks about and enthuses over these
  goals, and abundant use of the "can-do"
  rhetoric is evident.
• (c) Expectation that every child will do well on
  overt indices. (Eg tests and projects)
• (d) Teacher is a definite "academic" model in
  traits such as reading, thinking, love of
  knowledge, inquisitiveness, enjoyment in
  learning, etc

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Direct Instruction and Scaffolding

• (a) Use of the direct instruction teaching cycle
  ("user friendly" principles) to teach both
  content and process. (Ie, how to think).
• (b) Active monitoring of responses allowing
  continuous assessment, and knowledge of when to
  reduce teacher input.
• (c) Strategies allowing for remediation,
  reteaching, or basic individualisation, as just
  "normal" and natural everyday routines.

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Accumulation of time on successful practice (ALT)

• Steps to overcome problem of shallow or fragile
  knowledge.
• Academic learning time presages individual
  achievement gains and self-efficacy (ie
  task-related confidence).

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Psychology of InstructionPart 2

• Recap.
• Over past 25 years, there is a strong data base
  of research into effective teaching.
• Students achieve at greater levels when teacher
  employs instructional skills to get students
  engaged. Teachers use direct instructional cues
  to manage the room and achieve a task focus.
• Effective practices seem to implicate the
  coherent application of high expectations,
  coupled with use of scaffolding, and overt forms
  of assessments (tasks, projects, tests) that
  students are expected to do well.
• The final common path is that students accumulate
  time-on-task at high success levels (ALT).

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Expertise (first slide) How do expert teachers
differ from competent ones?

• Curriculum knowledge
• They know many ways to teach content, and are
  highly goal directed, giving precise corrective
  feedback (ie high standards)
• Management routines
• Large number of routines taught explicitly
• Remarkably constant use of time across days
• Management strategies very tight
• Teacher is typically NOT conscious of what body
  is doing

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Expertise (second slide) How do expert teachers
differ from competent ones?

• Ability to explain
• Clear speech, but with much mental modelling
• Explanations given fast (surprisingly).
• Teacher gauges students comprehension.
• Use of eye gaze patterns
• Information processing
• Attention and memory focussed on details relevant
  to teaching
• Poorer memory for peripheral details
• (we call these schemata effects)

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THE EXECUTIVE THAT RUNS THE CLASSROOM(analogy
from David Berliner's writings)

• Planning
• Communicating goals
• Regulating the activities of the site
• Creating a positive climate
• Educating new members into the group
• Motivating those being supervised
• Evaluating those being supervised
• Relating the work of the site to other units in
  system
• Working with others, team members, fellow
  professionals, and specialist or consultancy
  staff.

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Hey youWhy should you develop your
instructional skills?

• Because your students will learn better,
  especially the slow learners.
• Because self-esteem and self-efficacy hinge on
  successful task engagement which is linked to
  receiving clear instruction at an earlier point.
• Learned helplesssness effects greatest when
  students are expected to know things without
  being given prior data (Carol Dwecks research).
• Social benefits of group learning (cohort
  effects).

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Psychology of lesson structure(based on Dr
Rosenshine)

• Introductory review
• Presentation of new material
• Guided practice
• Corrective feedback
• Independent practice
• Follow-up review

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More specifically, what are some of the known
instructional skills of expert teachers?

• They ask many questions (per volume), but adjust
  question difficulty (up or down) continuously.
  And they use wait times, BOTH before and after
  replies
• They employ devices such as
• the rule-example-rule principles
• Overlap principles
• Repeating key points

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Rule-example-rule

• (a) Rule is introduced and named.
• (b) A concrete example of the principle is
  given, and discussed.
• (c) Rule is restated.
• (d) Another example given, and similarities and
  differences to first one may be cited.
• (e) Rule is restated. Teacher draws attention to
  the critical dimension.
• (f) And so on Also, students may be asked to
  think of additional examples themselves.

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• RULE A Matthew Effect is when those that have
  a skill use it to increase that skill
• EXAMPLE ONE Young children who begin reading,
  then read more, and so become even better
  readers.
• RULE This is called a Matthew Effect in that
  those who had reading skills used them to become
  better readers.
• EXAMPLE TWO Students who knew about batteries
  got far more out of my lesson on electicity.
• RULE It was a MATTHEW EFFECT in that they used
  there knowledge to learn even more.
• EXAMPLE THREE The more sociable students in the
  class got even more friends as the year
  progressed
• RULE It was a Matthew Effect since the sociable
  children already knew how to get friends.

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OVERLAP

• One interesting factor in superb instruction is
  the teachers natural use of overlap within
  sentence construction. Overlap refers to the
  repeated use of phrases or concepts across
  contiguous sentences. Contiguous sentences are
  those very close to each other. Overlapping
  sentences assist a learner through repeating a
  key notion within a sequence of ideas. The mind
  then finds sequences logical and far easier to
  comprehend because the sequences are so well
  structured.

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• One interesting factor in superb instruction is
  the teachers natural use of overlap within
  sentence construction. Overlap refers to the
  repeated use of phrases or concepts across
  contiguous sentences. Contiguous sentences are
  those very close to each other. Overlapping
  sentences assist a learner through repeating a
  key notion within a sequence of ideas. The mind
  then finds sequences logical and far easier to
  comprehend because the sequences are so well
  structured.

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• One interesting factor in superb instruction is
  the teachers natural use of overlap within
  sentence construction. Overlap refers to the
  repeated use of phrases or concepts across
  contiguous sentences. Contiguous sentences are
  those very close to each other. Overlapping
  sentences assist a learner through repeating a
  key notion within a sequence of ideas. The mind
  then finds sequences logical and far easier to
  comprehend because the sequences are so well
  structured.

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• One interesting factor in superb instruction is
  the teachers natural use of overlap within
  sentence construction. Overlap refers to the
  repeated use of phrases or concepts across
  contiguous sentences. Contiguous sentences are
  those very close to each other. Overlapping
  sentences assist a learner through repeating a
  key notion within a sequence of ideas. The mind
  then finds sequences logical and far easier to
  comprehend because the sequences are so well
  structured.

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• One interesting factor in superb instruction is
  the teachers natural use of overlap within
  sentence construction. Overlap refers to the
  repeated use of phrases or concepts across
  contiguous sentences. Contiguous sentences are
  those very close to each other. Overlapping
  sentences assist a learner through repeating a
  key notion within a sequence of ideas. The mind
  then finds sequences logical and far easier to
  comprehend because the sequences are so well
  structured.
• (red overlaps) (green link)

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• THE END