The Roles in the ClassroomFrom the Pupils' Perspective

Matti LattuUniversity of Helsinki, Finland

Department of Teacher Education

matti.lattu@helsinki.fihttp://www.malux.edu.helsinki.fi/people/lattu/atee01/

Outline of the Project

• The main aim was to find out encourage the teachers to use open learning environment (define!) in their classrooms

• what kind of challenges it involves

• what changes can be observed in the classroom

• 11 voluntary primary teachers participated

• researcher meets each teacher twice a month

• academic year 2000-2001

Outline of the Project

• Data

• diaries (observations, discussions)

• pupils’ questionnaire

• interviews (all teachers, 11 pupils)

• Pupils’ questionnaire

• could be administered during one lecture

• quantitative (vs. a huge qualitative data)

• the questions are related to everyday situations

The Structure of the Questionnaire

• Primary and secondary control (Rothbaum, Weisz & Snyder 1982)

• primary control: “bringing the environment into line with their wishes”

• secondary control: “bringing themselves into line with environmental forces”

“The pupils are working in small groups. One of the groups is not working very eagerly. One of the pupils considers whether he/she could make the situation better. The spirit of the group would be better, if the pupil would decide to be more enthusiastic.”

The Structure of the Questionnaire

• The roles of the teacher in the open learning environment (Lattu 1999)

• disseminator of knowledge

• technical advisor

• encourager

• evaluator

• monitor“During the lecture the teacher asks a question which is answered by

the pupil. The teacher must tell whether the answer is right or wrong.”

The Structure of the Questionnaire

• The comparative study of teachers’ recipes (Meri 1998)

• some role-related recipes were included

“One of the teachers of a school is well-known that she/he says hello to all pupils, not only the ones of her/his classroom. The teacher also gives thanks to pupils of they do her/him a favor, for example open a door. The teacher should not be too polite.”

“An surprising event takes place in the classroom. The pupils monitor the teacher’s reactions. The teacher is unsure what to do. The teacher should not reveal that she/he is unsure.”

First Impression

• Numerus

experimental control

pre 231 142

post 236 130

• The distributions were typically skew resulting low correlations

• Not normally distributed: unable to use parametric statistics (MannWhitney was used instead)

K15

K15

54321

Frequency

200

100

0

K41

K41

54321

Frequency

200

100

0

Experimental vs. Control

• Some variables had changed statistically significant (1%)

• Differences were very small

Exp Con

Exp Con

• The changes in the experimental and the control groups were very alike

Exp Con

Exp Con

Changes in the Whole Data

• As the group-related changes were small, it was reasonable to study the data as a whole

• 13 variables (out of 41) were significantly different in the pre and post data

• Pupils were more pessimistic in their sense of control

• Some changes towards more open-learning-orientated teacher

• The changes were evenly distributed between the three themes of statements (control, roles, recipes)

Teacher

• ... chooses the subjects of the pupils’ project work

• ... must master the subject-matter related to the curriculum

• ... should point out even the smallest mistakes that he/she notices

• ... evaluates pupils’ work and controls the homework, pupils’ own evaluation / control is not adequate

• ... should stick out for his authority in every situation

• ... must call pupil as lazy instead of giving positive encouragement

• Classroom discussion means that the teacher asks to know if the pupils have learned the matter

• ... must tell whether the answer given by a pupil is right or wrong

• ... must not react to an unexpected answer, but to repeat the question

Teacher

• … should appear exited if he/she feels that way

• … must not look confident if he/she feels uncertain

• … should be polite towards the pupils

Pupil

• … must adapt to even the unjust orders and regulations

• … should try to answer no matter if he/she is sure about the correctness of the answer

• … is not capable to select, evaluate or control his/her own work

Differences Between the Classes

• MannWhitney matrices (all combinations of classes over all variables)

• Results are hard to interpret

• no single variable in a class is able to explain differences

1

23

4

5

6

78

9

10

11

1

23

4

5

6

78

9

10

11

Two CasesClass A: The Monday Examination

Class B: Planning the Timetable for the Week

IT

Significant differences in only two variables (total 41)

IT

IT IT

IT IT

Discussion

• The pupils’ views of the teacher’s and pupil’s roles were very traditional

• Classroom routines does not seem to have a great effect on the pupils’ views

• The questionnaire needs validation

• Is it sensitive enough? -> Try in extreme conditions

• The consultation with the experimental group teachers did not result any changes in pupils’ views

• The changes in the teacher behavior were minor