This study explored the readiness of teachers to learn about learning and teaching supportive modes of ICT use with the lens of the Unified Model of Task-specific Motivation (UMTM). According to... Show moreThis study explored the readiness of teachers to learn about learning and teaching supportive modes of ICT use with the lens of the Unified Model of Task-specific Motivation (UMTM). According to the UMTM readiness for action is driven by feelings of activities and thoughts about the value of consequences of activities, which both can be positive and negative, and which in turn are influenced by aspects of autonomy and competence, by social relatedness, and by subjective norm. The twofold goal of this study was to test the merits of the model in general and for ICT integration in education in particular. A sample of 282 teachers provided answers about different aspects of their motivation to learn about the two types of ICT use. There were some differences between these two types of learning activities, but for both, thoughts about the value of the consequences of the activities were more important than feelings about them. Furthermore, although sense of competence was relatively more important for leaning about learning supportive ICT use than for learning about teaching supportive ICT use, teachers’ sense of autonomy, a variable that is completely ignored in research on ICT integration, was in general far more important for learning about ICT use than sense of competence. Show less
This dissertation focused on teachers’ comprehension of student progress graphs from a progress-monitoring system called Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM). CBM is designed for teachers to... Show moreThis dissertation focused on teachers’ comprehension of student progress graphs from a progress-monitoring system called Curriculum-based Measurement (CBM). CBM is designed for teachers to monitor the progress of students with learning disabilities and to evaluate instructional effectiveness for these students (Deno, 1985, 2003). Within CBM, short measures are administered to students frequently, and scores on those measures are depicted in individual progress graphs. Teachers inspect the graphs to evaluate student progress and effects of instruction. When teachers use CBM to monitor student progress and when they respond to the data by making instructional changes, student achievement improves; however, teachers often do not use the data (Stecker, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2005). One potential reason might be that teachers have difficulty reading and interpreting the graphs. This dissertation focused on teachers’ ability to read and interpret – to comprehend – CBM graphs. We employed think-aloud and eye-tracking methodologies to examine how teachers described and inspected CBM graphs. We also examined approaches for improving teachers’ CBM graph comprehension. Results revealed that teachers experience difficulties with inspecting CBM graphs, and with reading, interpreting, and linking CBM data to instruction, but that teachers’ CBM graph comprehension can be improved via relatively short CBM instructional videos. Show less
Students' and teachers' perceptions of the level to which Assesment for Learning (AfL) is practiced in classrooms are largely incongruent. Teachers perceived more practice of AfL than students.... Show moreStudents' and teachers' perceptions of the level to which Assesment for Learning (AfL) is practiced in classrooms are largely incongruent. Teachers perceived more practice of AfL than students. Congruency in perceptions of AfL predicted higher student intrinsic motivation. In accordance with Self-Determination Theory (Ryan, 2000), the differences in intrinsic motivation were explained by students' lower feelings of competence and autonomy and relatedness towards their teacher. Congruency in AfL perceptions were explained by student Dutch language proficiency and teachers’ efficacious beliefs about their teaching skills. Teachers' positive impact on motivational interpersonal factors was partly offset by their own possible over-efficaciousness, which might have limited the degree to which they reflected on their own teaching. This relationship seems to hold for students regardless of their ethnic background. Teacher-efficacy associated with intrinsic motivation in a dualistic fashion: high teacher efficacy negatively related to congruence, but positively to fulfillment of the needs for competence and relatedness. Even though teachers may be conducive to the maintenance and emergence of feelings of competence in their classrooms, and are perceived as having good relationship with their students, there is also a negative relation between efficacy and the perception of congruencies. Show less
