Degree of redundancy between time, importance, and frequency task ratings.

Redundancy among relative-time-spent, importance, and frequency task rating scales was examined. Research and development managers (N?=?117) from 9 organizations completed a task inventory on all 3 scales. For both job-level and individual data, difference scores were small between time and importance task ratings but were much larger between other pairs of scales. Scale intercorrelations were low to moderate for individual data but quite variable among jobs. The striking difference-score findings remained consistent even among jobs that differed considerably in their scale intercorrelations. It is concluded that time and importance ratings may be redundant and that difference scores may be more diagnostic of redundancy than are correlations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotional transmission in the classroom: Exploring the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment.

In this study, the authors examined the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Based on social–cognitive approaches to emotions, they hypothesized (a) that teacher enjoyment and student enjoyment within classrooms are positively linked and (b) that teacher enthusiasm mediates the relationship between teacher and student enjoyment. Self-reported enjoyment of mathematics classes was available from 1,542 students from 71 classrooms at 2 time points (Grades 7 and 8). At Time 2, mathematics teachers’ reports of their enjoyment of teaching were available (N = 71), as well as student ratings of teacher enthusiasm. The findings were in line with theoretical expectations. Multilevel structural equation modeling showed that teacher and student enjoyment were positively related even when the authors adjusted for students’ previous-class levels of mathematics enjoyment, and that the effect of teacher enjoyment on student enjoyment was mediated by teacher enthusiasm. Discussion centers on the practical implications for affective interactions in the classroom. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth on the evaluation of college instructors.

Examined the influence of teacher sex, student sex, and teacher warmth as perceived by students and teachers on teacher evaluation. Male and female instructors in the same department were matched on the level of course taught. 22 pairs of courses evaluated by 838 college students were obtained. Twenty Instructional Improvement Questionnaire items that directly evaluate instructor performance were analyzed using a 3-factor analysis of variance and the .0025 level of significance. No interactions between faculty sex, student sex, and teacher warmth were found. When Ss rated their instructor's interest and warmth, teachers who were warmer and primarily interested in students received higher ratings in teaching effectiveness. When teachers rated themselves on warmth and interest, self-ratings interacted with faculty sex. Generally, female teachers received higher effectiveness ratings than did male teachers when they considered themselves low in warmth or interested in course content. Male teachers who rated themselves high in warmth or primarily interested in students received higher ratings than did male teachers who rated themselves low in warmth or primarily interested in course content, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors related to correspondence between teacher ratings of elementary student depression and student self-ratings.

Fourth through 6th graders (n?=?418) completed the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI; M. Kovacs, 1980). Each teacher (n?=?31) rated 6 students with high, low, or medium CDI scores (n?=?181) using the CDI items (teacher-CDI) and a single global rating. Remaining students received the global rating only. 16 teachers were randomly assigned to receive instruction on childhood depression. Contrary to earlier studies, moderate correspondence was found for both measures. Familiarity was related to correspondence, whereas confidence and student gender were unrelated to correspondence. Instruction improved knowledge, but not correspondence. School-related behaviors yielded the highest correspondence. The teacher-CDI displayed high test–retest reliability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Outcome and attributional disagreements between students and their teachers.

Teachers' and students' outcome interpretations, attributions for the outcome, expectancies of future exam outcome, and perceptions concerning instrumental actions were compared after a math exam. One third of the students disagreed with their teacher about whether the exam outcome was a success or a failure; teachers evaluated the outcomes more positively than did students. When the students and the teachers agreed on the outcome interpretation, their mean attributional ratings did not apparently differ. However, ratings of teacher–student dyads revealed considerable attributional differences. After perceived failure, the dyadic attributional disagreements were related to disagreements concerning the instrumental actions needed for future success. Also, given failure, the more discrepant the dyad members' views of the stability of the attributions were, the more discrepant were their future expectations. Disagreements between students and teachers concerning outcome evaluation, causal perception, and future expectancy are discussed in terms of students' and teachers' biases. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of student ratings to benchmark universities: Multilevel modeling of responses to the Australian Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ).

Recently graduated university students from all Australian Universities rate their overall departmental and university experiences (DUEs), and their responses (N = 44,932, 41 institutions) are used by the government to benchmark departments and universities. We evaluate this DUE strategy of rating overall departments and universities rather than individual teachers, and we juxtapose it with the traditional use of student ratings to evaluate individual teachers (SETs). Multilevel analyses of DUE overall ratings were not able to discriminate well between universities or departments—few universities or departments differed significantly from the grand mean. Although the a priori 5-factor structure for this DUE instrument was reasonably well-defined at the individual student level, none of the 5 factors separately or in combination discriminated well between departments or universities. In contrast to this pattern of results, we review studies showing that SETs do reliably differentiate between teachers and are valid in relation to many criteria of effective teaching. However, casual reviews of these research literatures should not use this support for SETs to justify the use of DUE-type strategies. We conclude that DUE-type ratings should be used with great caution, if at all, and should not be seen as an alternative to SETs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' differential behavior toward higher and lower achieving students and its relation to selected teacher characteristics.

Examined individual differences in the differential behavior of 12 3rd-grade teachers toward higher- and lower-achieving students for consistent patterns and their relation to the perceptual and attitudinal characteristics of teachers and their quality of teaching. Teachers had an average of 14.3 yrs of teaching experience. Interactions between teachers and students were coded by observers who also rated teachers on the quality of their instruction. Measures of teachers' perceptions and attitudes were gathered from questionnaires. Correlations showed that teachers were moderately consistent in their individual patterns of differential behavior. Favored students (higher or lower achievers) received a combination of both rewarding and demanding teacher behavior. Correlations of an index of teachers' overall differential behavior with the teacher questionnaire responses, although not statistically significant, suggested that teachers who showed more concern for lower achieving students tended to have more flexible and accurate perceptions of students. These same teachers were rated significantly lower on their quality of teaching, which suggests that these 2 sets of skills may be difficult to combine. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms in ethnic minority students: Bias or behavioral difference?

Disproportionate placement of African American and Hispanic students into disability and special education categories may result from true behavioral and cognitive differences, bias in assessment and referral, or some combination of the two. Studies of commonly used ADHD rating scales suggest teacher bias may contribute to placement discrepancies. This investigation compared teacher ratings of ADHD symptoms on the Conner's Teacher Rating Scale-Revised Long Version (CTRS-R:L; Conners, 1997) and the ADHD-IV: School Version (DuPaul, Power, Anastopoulous, & Reid, 1998), with objective classroom observations from the Behavioral Observation of Students in Schools code (BOSS; Shapiro, 2003). Participants were first through fourth grade students (N = 172; 120 male) classified as Caucasian (n = 112) or ethnic minority (17 African American, 38 Hispanic, 5 African American and Hispanic). Contrary to hypothesis, results showed teacher ratings of ethnic minority students were more consistent with direct observation data than were ratings of Caucasian students. Findings suggest teacher ratings of ethnic minority students may more accurately reflect true behavioral levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age, sex, and attractiveness as factors in student ratings of teachers: A developmental study.

Black-and-white photographs of teachers, controlled for race, age, sex, and attractiveness, were rated on 7 factors of teacher performance by 150 students in Grades 2, 5, 7, 11, and 13. Across all developmental levels and on all factors, ratings of unattractive teachers tended to be lower. At all developmental levels, older teachers tended to receive lower ratings than younger teachers. Sex of the teacher appeared to be a more influential factor at Grades 11 and 13. Interactions showed that unattractive middle-aged female teachers and unattractive old male teachers frequently received lower ratings. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' attitudes toward change and subsequent improvements in classroom teaching.

The relation between teachers' attitudes toward teaching practices presented in inservice training and the subsequent use of these practices was investigated. Three groups of junior high teachers (N?=?19) attended five workshops on effective teaching and received different between-workshop activities. Pre- to posttraining observations, questionnaires, and interviews were used to assess behavior changes and attitudes. Correlational analyses indicated that teachers' posttraining ratings of the importance of using the practices (philosophical acceptance) was predictive of their use by teachers. Qualitative data analyses revealed that improving teachers differed from nonimproving teachers in their willingness to experiment in their classrooms and in their growth in self-efficacy. Nonimproving teachers tended to defend their natural style of teaching, to attempt few changes, and to have low expectations for themselves and for their students. Staff developers need to attend to philosophical acceptance, self-efficacy, and the importance of the suggested practices during inservice training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and personality characteristics of high school students as predictors of the way they are rated by their teachers: A longitudinal study.

Studied longitudinally, over 6 yrs, the relationship between students' cognitive and personality characteristics, teacher judgments of students, and academic performance. Ss were 142 Caucasian students age 12 yrs, 8 mo originally and 17 yrs, 8 mo when the study was completed. Measures included teacher ratings of student traits, WISC and WAIS subtests, and the Personality Research Form. Results indicate that teacher ratings of students had differential meaning according to the grade level in which they were obtained. 2 possible explanations of the data are given: (a) in making judgments of students, teachers attend to different trait configurations of students depending on the degree of evolution of the teacher-student relationship; and (b) findings may be a function of developmental factors in the students. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality traits and teacher–student behaviors in physical education.

Analyzed the relationship of teacher personality as measured by the 16PF to teacher behaviors in physical education as measured by a physical education teacher assessment instrument. Teacher behavior data were obtained from 18 physical education teachers in 3 junior high schools, 5 middle schools, and 6 elementary schools who volunteered to teach a 10-lesson beginning volleyball unit using their own individual teaching styles. Eight students were randomly selected from each teacher's class (n?=?144). Results indicate the primary personality traits of assertiveness, expediency, questioning, imaginativeness, genuineness, confidence, and experimenting related significantly to many important teacher and student behaviors observed in a typical physical education class. Teachers who scored high on these personality traits tended to exhibit a higher level of knowledge, utilized objectives and testing more effectively, and were more flexible and appropriate in their instruction. They also provided more planned instruction and more positive feedback. Teachers who scored high in assertiveness, questioning, and imaginativeness tended to provide their students with more time on task and a higher quality of practice time. Students of teachers who scored high in independence, assertiveness, questioning, and imaginativeness learned more than did students of teachers who were low in these personality traits. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Primary grade writing instruction: A national survey.

A random sample of primary grade teachers (N = 178; 97% female) from across the United States was surveyed about their classroom instructional practices in writing. Most of the participating teachers (72%) took an eclectic approach to writing instruction, combining elements from the 2 most common methods for teaching writing: process writing and skills instruction. Although 90% of the teachers reported using most of the writing instructional practices that were included in the survey, there was considerable variability between teachers in how often they used specific practices. The study provides support for the following 7 recommendations for reforming primary grade writing instruction: (a) increase amount of time students spend writing; (b) increase time spent writing expository text; (c) provide better balance between time spent writing, learning writing strategies, and teaching writing skills; (d) place more emphasis on fostering students' motivation for writing; (e) develop stronger connections for writing between home and school; (f) make computers a more integral part of the writing program; and (g) improve professional development for writing instruction in teacher education programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The student as Pygmalion: Effect of student expectation on the teacher.

Two experiments examined the possibility that student expectations regarding a teacher's competence can be communicated to the teacher and bring about the expected behavior. In Exp I, 39 female undergraduates acting as students were administered a lesson by a teacher (confederate) who the students expected to be either effective or ineffective. Results show significant differences in student attitudes, performance, and nonverbal behavior according to expectation. In Exp II, confederates acting as students emitted either positive or negative nonverbal behavior toward 40 female undergraduates acting as their teachers. There were significant effects on teachers' attitudes and behavior. Moreover, ratings of the teacher by judges showed teachers were rated as being more adequate under conditions of positive student nonverbal behavior than negative nonverbal behavior. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' and deaf students' perceptions of communication ease and engagement.

Collected ratings of communication ease and of engagement for 95 deaf junior and senior high school students (aged 12–21 yrs) in a large, urban, multiethnic school for the deaf. Ratings were made by the students' English teachers and by the students themselves. High teacher ratings for communication ease and engagement were associated with high academic achievement as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test. High student ratings for communication ease were also associated with academic achievement. The 2 best predictors of academic achievement were student-rated communication ease and teacher-rated engagement. Findings suggest that it is important for teachers to be sensitive to the level of communication comfort of their students because students who enjoy easier communication may be more likely to be engaged, or more actively involved, in classroom learning and to demonstrate higher academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge in mathematics problem solving: Correlational and case analyses.

This study examined the relationship of teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge to teachers' mathematics instruction and to students' mathematics problem solving. First-grade teachers (N?=?20) participated in a 4-week workshop in which they were given access to research-based knowledge on children's mathematics learning. Teachers were observed for 16 days throughout the school year. In May, teachers completed interviews and questionnaires about their knowledge and beliefs; their students completed achievement tests. Correlational analyses showed significant positive relationships between teachers' knowledge of students' knowledge and students' mathematics problem-solving achievement. Teachers with more knowledge of their students questioned students about problem-solving processes and listened to their responses. Teachers with less knowledge of their students explained problem-solving processes to students or observed students' solutions. Case analyses of knowledge and behavior of the most effective teacher and the least effective teacher supported these conclusions and showed important differences in how these teachers thought about and used students' knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparing teacher and peer perceptions of aggression: An ecological approach.

Teacher and peer perceptions of aggression were investigated in a sample of 899 students. Teachers rated their students in Grades 3–8 on an 8-item scale assessing peer-directed aggression. Students completed a questionnaire within classrooms that measured acceptance, rejection, and peer-directed aggression. Both teachers and peers reported higher levels of aggression in boys than in girls. Teacher and peer perceptions of aggressive behavior were more congruent for boys than for girls, but this congruence differed significantly as a function of ethnicity. Significant differences among individual classrooms also existed in both teacher and peer ratings, as well as in the relationships between the 2 measures. Findings of gender, grade level, ethnic, and classroom differences are compared with previous research, and issues relevant to the identification of highly aggressive youth are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-informant agreement for ratings for social skill and problem behavior ratings: An investigation of the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales.

One of the most consistent findings in rating scale research with children and adolescents is the modest agreement among different informants’ ratings. The present study systematically explored patterns of agreement among teachers, parents/caregivers, and students in domains of social skills and problem behaviors using the Social Skills Improvement System—Rating Scales (SSIS–RS; F. M. Gresham & S. N. Elliott, 2008). Two subsamples from the normative sample of the SSIS–RS were used. The first sample of participants consisted of 168 students who had all 3 informants (parent, teacher, and self) complete the SSIS–RS scales, which was necessary to assess agreement across different raters. The second sample consisted of 164 students who had raters in a similar or same role (father–mother, teacher–teacher). The results replicated an extensive literature showing that cross-informant agreements for social skills and problem behaviors are weak to moderate. The current study invoked multitrait–multimethod logic to interpret the correlations among raters derived from different informants and showed that the convergent validity coefficients were consistently stronger than the discriminant validity correlations. Implications for assessment practices and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

To what extent do school and class-specific factors contribute to aggression in schools?

In a representative study conducted in Vienna and Lower Austria, 14-year-old students from one class each in 79 different schools (N = 1594) answered a questionnaire about their experiences at school, the main focus being on aggressive acts that occurred at school. In a parallel investigation, the students' teachers (N = 554) completed a similar questionnaire. The reports on the frequency of aggressive behavior differed widely among the classes. A comparison of classes with different levels of aggressive behavior showed that solidarity within the classroom and the relationship between teachers and students were closely associated with the frequency of aggressive behavior. In classrooms with frequent aggressive acts there was a negative attitude towards outsiders and the students were less inclined to intervene in an unfair fight. Furthermore, they were more critical of discussions with their teachers. Even after social and familial factors were controlled for, the influence of school-specific factors on the frequency of aggressive behavior at school was quite large, explaining about 25% of the variance. The consequences for counseling of schools and for teacher education are discussed.     

Transporting an evidence-based classroom management program for preschoolers with disruptive behavior problems to a school: An analysis of implementation, outcomes, and contextual variables.

The transportability of an evidence-based teacher professional development program, the Incredible Years Classroom Management Program, was evaluated. This study compared the impact of two training methods: self-administered videotape modeling (VM) and self-administered videotape modeling plus consultation (VMC) on teachers' use of classroom management strategies, reductions in disruptive behaviors, acceptability, and contextual barriers of sustaining EBIs in practice settings. Four pairs of teachers (N = 8) were randomly assigned to VM or VMC conditions in a multiple probe design. Students (1-2 per classroom; N = 13) displaying high levels of externalizing problems also participated. Statistically significant between-groups differences in teacher confidence ratings, use of positive instructional practices, and acceptability favored the VMC condition. Positive trends favoring VMC students, including clinically significant increases in social competence, were also found. Although students in both groups exhibited reductions in disruptive behaviors, significant between-groups differences related to disruptive behavior were not observed. Findings related to contextual variables (e.g., time, cost, institutional support, adaptability of the program) have implications for future adoption of this program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)