Introduction
The debate over teaching techniques and teacher experience has gone on for years. It is very important in the eyes of educators and students as well to determine what makes a good teacher, and how to improve teaching techniques. This study looks at the way in which student's evaluate their teachers on certain behaviors that have been shown to result in better teaching methods. The study also looks at the way in which these evaluations are affected by the amount of experience a teacher has had.
What is effective teaching? How may it be defined? These are the questions that Young & Shaw (1999) set out to determine in their study on effective teaching. They surveyed college students from two separate colleges and asked them to rate the techniques of their past teachers. By doing this, researchers were able to determine what behaviors students consider most helpful in the teaching learning process. The behaviors that scored high focused more on personal attributes than the teacher's ability to instruct. The highest were ability to motivate students, genuine concern for students, effective communication, and genuine respect for the student. Items that also scored well were value of the course to the student and course organization (Young & Shaw, 1999).
Beyond identifying effective behaviors in teaching, this study looks at whether or not teaching experience is associated with effective behaviors, or if these behaviors have nothing to do with experience and time in the classroom. Robert Boice (1991), in his article New Faculty as Teachers, looks at the first two years of a college teacher's experience. In observing new faculty at two different colleges over a two-year period, Boise was able to show that new faculty indeed did differ in teaching techniques from those more experienced. New faculty were shown to have a very slow pattern of developing comfort and student approval. They struggled to move beyond the defensive behaviors, such as over- preparation of lectures, and also struggled to find a good support base to help them improve.
Hypothesis
Hypothesis 1. Teachers who posses more experience score higher on evaluations by students than less experienced teachers.
Hypothesis 2. Experienced teachers' rate significantly higher on effective teaching behaviors than less experienced.
Literature Review
Effective Teaching
What is effective teaching? How may it be defined? How can we measure it? Researchers have been trying to determine what effective teaching is for years, and a great deal of research has gone into determining what techniques and behaviors a teacher must possess to be effective. Most research has revealed that the best place to locate the answer to this question of effective teaching is to ask the students who are being taught. (Young & Shaw 1999) conducted a study that focused on defining teacher effectiveness. They gained their results by asking students to rate their teachers on what that they found to be the most important attributes, or most helpful. The most important attribute that students indicated was the way in which the teacher made the course seem of value to the student. Some other behaviors that ranked near the top were comfortable learning atmosphere, and concern for student, as well as genuine respect for students. The final results of the study indicated that an effective teacher, in the eyes of students, is one who encourages students to think for themselves. Effectiveness is also found in a teacher who is enthusiastic and genuinely cares for the students. Probably the most significant finding in this study is the idea that course value came out on top of teacher effectiveness. Teacher's behaviors about a class have a large effect on how students view the importance to the class.
(Williams, 1997) in her article ("How am I doing"? Problems with student ratings of instructors and courses). Talks about a study that looked at the affects of teacher enthusiasm and it's effects on student's evaluations of the teacher, and the course in general. Her results were somewhat troubling to teachers. The study involved a psychology instructor from the University of Cornell. He had been teaching the course since the seventies. One year his ratings for the fall semester seemed rather low so the chairman of the department recommended he go to a workshop to improve techniques. The workshop was not at all geared to improving academics, but rather to focus on improving enthusiasm, and increasing gestures used in lecturing. He used the same exact format and lectures as he had in teaching the fall course, even going as far as listening to the lectures from the first semester and memorizing them so as to have them the same the second semester. The only thing that was changed was that he put much more enthusiasm into his lectures. The results were astounding; the students not only rated the class as more valuable, but also rated him and his attributes much higher than the previous semester.
Various measures were taken to check for reliability and other factors that could play into the evaluations and still the enthusiasm seemed to pay off. The article was summarized like this, " We recall the great teachers of our lives principally as character for the stories they told, the distinctive ways they kept order, their extraordinary hold on our attention, their gravitates or their mannerisms and expressions- rather than for what they knew or how they taught us, which we are likely to have forgotten. These teachers seemed great as human beings before we knew them as superb scholars or ingenious instructors". The truth is that who teachers are seems to matter just as much as what they teach. Character and personality determine the quality and effectiveness of teaching long before what they know and how they teach ever come into play.
One of the main points that was brought out in the above study is the idea that if teachers take seriously the idea that teaching can be improved then they need to dig deeper into the concepts of what will help to make it better. Obviously enthusiasm seems to make the teacher appear more desirable to students and they seem to feel as if the course is more beneficial to them. The following seems to sum up what teachers need to do to reach their students." We need to search for visible and obvious teaching behaviors that lead students to judge faculty as enthusiastic". Personalities and teaching styles vary from person to person and therefore not all techniques will work remembering what you thought was important in a teacher when you were in school could be a good place to start.
Another question that arises with determining teacher effectiveness is if behavior in the classroom can be used to determine the teacher's use of effective techniques. In her study on Discussion in the classroom, Claudia Nun indicates that there is a connection between what behaviors are being demonstrated by students in the classroom and whether or not the teacher possesses good techniques. Research has indicated that a classroom with a lot of student participation indicates that the teacher is motivating the students to interact and learn. Participation can be aided by calling on students by name This also indicates to the students that they are important enough that the teacher took the time to learn their name.
Using surveys from students, researchers were able to discover that students feel that the following behaviors encouraged participation in classes: calling on students when they volunteer, encouraging them to express their opinions, calling on students by name. Showing signs of approval and interest, as well as encouraging questions and answers from students are other behaviors that students indicated as important by student surveys. The researchers felt that this study indicated the need for teachers to work harder at involving students in the class rather than being so focused on lecturing. Getting the students involved facilitated learning and made the subject matter more appealing to students.
Another approach that has been looked at in the area of effective teaching is to view the teacher as a motivator and performer. Joseph Lowman (1990), in his article Professors as Performers and Motivators, believes he has come up with the ingredients that make up effective teaching. Professors who help students appreciate complex material in a clear and orderly way are more likely to be effective than those who are vague and confusing. A number of studies show ratings of interest and clarity to be major influences on student's ratings of instructors. Lowman combines those techniques here into a single factor interpersonal rapport. Studies have indicated that students prefer instructors who communicate positive rather than negative attitudes to students. Other studies have shown that students also prefer teachers with a democratic rather than an autocratic teaching style. On the whole, this analysis suggests that outstanding college teaching results from a combination of presentation and interpersonal skills. The instructor must act as both performer and motivator.
It is obvious to see from the research conducted that students look at a wide range of things when they evaluate their teachers. First and foremost, students need to feel that what they are learning is worthwhile and meaningful. Secondly, they need to feel as if the teacher really has an interest in them and cares about them, as a person, and then, beyond that, they need to feel as if their ideas and opinions are worth being heard. All of these things that students look for come from the way in which a teacher behaves in front of the classroom and the methods that they use to conduct class, as indicated by Lowman's study.
Experience in teaching:
Now that we have determined many of the behaviors that students feel effective teachers possess, how does the experience level of the teacher effect whether or not they are seen as effective? There is a lot of research out there on the idea that new teachers are entering the classroom with new and exciting ideas and leaving their predecessors in the dust. However this is not always the case. As we have seen, students feel that it is vital for teachers to have rapport with students. This requires relational skills and being comfortable in a classroom. Another thing that is often not mentioned is that the majority of college instruction is done in the lecture format, so new techniques and ideas are not always able to be put to use. Many skills are needed to be an interesting and effective lecturer, and most of those skills are learned and developed over time.
Robert Boice, in his article New Faculty as Teachers, outlines some of the struggles that new teachers face when entering the classroom. This study looked at new teachers on two college campuses over a two-year period. It showed a slow pattern of establishing comfort and student rapport. New teachers have a hard time gaining student approval and cling to defensive strategies in the classroom. They are slow to gain help from other teachers and struggle with over preparation in lecturing and preparation for classroom dialogue.
The teachers Boice focused on came from different circumstances some had never taught at all while others had been away from the classroom for some time and were returning. Many of the teachers communicated a feeling of inadequacy; they felt as if they did not have the knowledge or experience to be effective in the classroom. When asked what they thought would be the hardest task facing them as they entered the classroom, they answered that they felt it would be determining the appropriate level of lecture difficulty for students. They also expressed that they felt nothing short of real classroom experience would help them to determine this.
The most shocking discovery of the study was that even after the first year, many of these teachers still did not feel any more comfortable than they did on the first day of class. Another fact was that a near majority of these faculty had no plans to improve their teaching. These faculty felt that good teaching equals clear, knowledgeable, and possibly inspiring lectures. Upon evaluation, these new teachers did not do so well. Some of them who possessed a good student-oriented style did better than others.
What the study brought out in the final discussion is that new teachers teach defensively to avoid failure and criticism. They are passive about change and improvement. Their teaching revolves around time management and enjoyment; they have not learned to enjoy what they are doing. New faculty establish comfort, efficiency, and student acceptance slowly, if at all without the proper mentoring.
A study done at Lee Junior College by B.D. Walker looked at 1,447 students' ratings of their teachers. The findings indicated that students who felt the class was meaningful rated teachers higher. Teachers with more experience also received higher ratings than those with less experience.
In another study entitled Rating Methods in Research on Teaching, H. Remmer discovered that teachers with less than five years of teaching experience tend to be rated lower than are teachers with more than eight years experience. This is a significant indication that teaching techniques and teachers' comfort level increases over time.
Methodology
Design
This is a descriptive, observational study, observing the behaviors of experienced and inexperienced teachers, and how they are evaluated by students.
Hypothesis 1. Teachers who possess more experience score higher on evaluations by students than those with less experience.
Hypothesis 2. Experienced teachers' rate significantly higher on effective teaching behaviors than less experienced teachers.
Null Hypothesis 1. There is no difference in the results of student evaluations of teachers with more or less experience.
Null Hypothesis 2. There is no difference in rating of teaching behaviors between experienced teachers and those with less experience.
Participants
Participants consist of six teachers chosen from Union College. The teachers were selected based on their class size and number of years of experience in teaching. Department Chairs were contacted first to obtain permission to approach teachers. The teachers were approached by the researcher and asked to participate in the study, at which time a pre prepared letter was given to them, explaining to them that the study is evaluating the behaviors of teachers. At that time, consent was also obtained from them. There were three teachers observed who have more than eight years teaching experience, and three with five or less years of experience. The parameters for deterring the level of experience for teachers were adopted from a previous study done by H. Remmers.
Methodology
The teachers were observed by the researcher in the classroom setting. Four class periods per teacher were observed. The classes were as close in size as possible with a minimum of fifteen students being enrolled in each class. A pre- prepared evaluation sheet was used for each teacher, focusing on teacher student interaction and instances in which the teacher held students in high positive regard. It also looked at things such as teacher's organization and techniques used to make the presentation interesting and meaningful to students. The evaluation sheet was developed by using several different sources and, by looking at previously developed forms.
An evaluation of each teacher was also filled out by each student in the different classes, on the last day of the observations. The student evaluations focused on how the students believe they are perceived by teachers, and whether or not techniques make them feel a part of the classroom environment. The students were also given a brief idea of the study and informed consent was also obtained from each of them.
The results of the student surveys are compiled into the experienced and less experienced and then analyzed using a t- test to see if ratings of the teachers are indeed affected by the teachers level of experience. The researchers observations are also compiled in two groups of experienced and inexperienced. A t- test was used to see if there is a difference in teaching behaviors between experienced and less experienced teachers.
Results:
Table 1
Teacher Evaluations
Observation 5
Group Mean n SDNew: 1.1667 12 .3892
Experienced: 1.6667 12 .4924
Table 2
Results of t tests for observer evaluations
Item DF t sig.(P)*
Observed 1 22.00 .484 .633
Observed 2 20.290 -.596 .558
Observed 3 22.00 .000 1.000
Observed 4 17.763 -1.517 .147
Observed 5 20.88 -2.760 .012
Observed 6 20.290 -.596 .558
Observed 7 21.843 .432 .670
Observed 8
Observed 9 11.000 1.000 .339
Observed 10 22.000 .000 1.000
Observed 11 11.000 -1.000 .339
Observed 12 11.000 -.915 .082
*Equal variances not assured
Table 3
Student Evaluations of Teachers
Questions of Signifigance
Questions Means n SDQuestion 6 4.2330 103 .8988
Question 7 4.7905 105 .4941
Question 12 4.4231 104 .7199
Question 15 4.6154 104 .5162
Table 4