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USING LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT MEASURES TO GUIDE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
David Henderson, Curtin University Melissa Loh and Kaitlyn Panzich,
Rossmoyne Senior High School
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How students’ perceptions are measured
• Students’ perceptions of their learning
environment are gathered from their responses to items on questionnaires.
• Each item in the questionnaire is allocated to a particular scale which relates to an aspect of the learning environment.
How students respond to questionnaires
• In most learning environment questionnaires, students express agreement or disagreement with each statement on a four-point or five- point Likert scale, using response alternatives ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly
Disagree.
Forms of questionnaires
• Many questionnaires exist in two forms: a form which measures students’ perceptions of their
‘actual’ or experienced classroom environment and a form to measure their perceptions of their
‘preferred’ or ideal classroom environment.
Types of questionnaires
• Questionnaires may be subject-specific, e.g.,
relating to the learning environment in a science classroom or a mathematics classroom, or may be generic in nature, measuring student-teacher interpersonal relationships or the level of
constructivism in the classroom, for example.
Reliability and validity of questionnaires
• Newly-developed questionnaires are used in pilot studies and statistical tests are then
undertaken on the sample data to test whether each scale measures a discrete aspect of the
learning environment and the extent to which items in the same scale measure the same
dimension.
Questionnaires to be considered today
• The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction
(QTI) which measures students’ perceptions of the nature and quality of interpersonal
relationships between students and their teacher and exists in Actual and Preferred forms; there is also a Teacher Actual form. There are 48 items in 8 scales in the questionnaire.
Questionnaires to be considered today (cont.)
• The Classroom Climate Questionnaire (CCQ) which also exists in Actual and Preferred forms and was developed with a particular focus on the facilitation of teacher professional learning.
There are 66 items in 11 scales in the questionnaire.
Where can these two questionnaires can be used?
• Both of the questionnaires can be used in high school classes or in university classes regardless of the subject being taught, as none of the items is specific to any subject area.
• The CCQ focuses on students’ perceptions of the level of constructivism in the class whilst the QTI relates to students’ perceptions of teacher- student interactions.
The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI)
• There is a Student Actual version, which
measures students’ perceptions of their actual or experienced classroom environment, and a
Student Ideal version, which measures students’
perceptions of the learning environment ideally liked or preferred.
• There is also a Teacher Actual version, which measures a teacher’s perceptions of his or her actual classroom environment.
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Examples of
Teacher Behaviour Associated with Positive Student Outcomes
Leadership
:• establish class rules;
• make expectations clear;
• hold students’ attention;
• challenge students;
• use tutorial-style format and encourage participation in what is a safe and non- threatening learning environment.
Examples of Teacher Behaviour (cont.)
Helping/Friendly
:• show a personal interest in each student;
• use humour;
• inspire confidence and trust;
• help students set and meet goals;
• rapport with students results in students’
motivation to engage in authentic learning.
Examples of
Teacher Behaviour (cont.)
Understanding
:• listen with genuine interest and show empathy;
• accept apologies and show confidence in students;
• gain students’ trust and be approachable, frequently acting as counsellor;
• establish and maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust.
Examples of Teacher Behaviour (cont.)
Student Responsibility and Freedom
:• where possible give more opportunity for independent work and freedom of choice;
• students are encouraged to accept responsibility for their own learning.
Examples of Teacher Behaviour (cont.)
Strict
:• exact norms and set rules;
• keep reins tight;
• be inflexible;
• maintain silence.
How data from the QTI can be used
• Constructing a typology of teachers.
Studies in The Netherlands (Wubbels,
Brekelmans & Hermans, 1987) and in Australia (Rickards, den Brok & Fisher, 2005) used data from large-scale studies to classify teachers into distinct groups (typologies).
Teacher Typologies (The Netherlands)
Teacher Typologies (Australia)
How data from the QTI can be used (cont.)
• Identifying exemplary teachers
Using qualitative data from student interviews, Waldrip and Fisher (2003)proposed that
exemplary teachers can be identified through their students’ perceptions on the QTI.
The Classroom Climate Questionnaire (CCQ)
• There is a Student Actual version and a Student Preferred version.
• The CCQ was designed to help teachers improve classroom learning environments through a five-step intervention program:
Assessment; Feedback; Reflection and
discussion; Intervention; and Reassessment.
The five-step intervention process
• Students respond to both actual and preferred versions of the CCQ (pre-test)
• The teacher receives a profile giving class means for each scale on both actual and preferred versions
• The teacher decides on which scale to focus attempts to close the gap between actual and preferred perceptions
• Over a 4-6 week period of time, the teacher employs intervention strategies and keeps a journal recording
observations and thoughts about the progress being made
• Students respond to both actual and preferred versions of the CCQ (post-test) and the profile generated enables the teacher to judge the effects of the intervention strategies employed.
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Measuring teachers’ perceptions of the school climate
• Teachers respond to items in the School Organisational Climate Survey (SOCS)
• The SOCS is based on a previous instrument, the School-level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ)
• The SOCS has nine eight-item scales measuring School
Organisational Climate and three eight-item scales measuring Teacher Attitudes
• There are Principal and Leadership versions of the SOCS
• Reports generated from SOCS data can provide valuable feedback to school administrators and to track changes in
teachers’ perceptions of the school’s organisational climate over time
