Lya Kremer

The effects of organizational factors on student ratings and perceived instruction

The objective of this study is to explore a) which dimension of student ratings and which aspects of perceived instruction are affected by the two organizational factors, enrollment size and academic affiliation, and b) the nature of their effect. Two thousand five hundred students participating in 125 courses evaluated their instructors on Q-1 “Evaluation of Instruction by Students”. The 125 evaluated instructors responded to Q-2 “Perception of own Instruction” indicating the extent to which they employ various teaching planning and strategy attributes (TPS). Major findings suggest that academic affiliation has no effect on student ratings yet affects abstract aspects of perceived instruction. Instructors of the social sciences, unlike those of the humanities, manifest a vocational outlook in their instruction planning. Data indicate that enrollment size has an effect on the dimensions of student ratings and the perceived instruction, referring to concrete aspects of teaching. Students participating in small classes are more critical of instruction than those in larger classes. The nature of its effect on perceived instruction is mainly in terms of practical solutions of teaching methods and strategies and is hardly manifested in the planning phase of instruction. The relevance of these findings to university administrators is also discussed.

Personal Characteristics of Teachers, Situational Variables and Deliberations in the Process of Planning Instruction

Until recently the edueational scene was dominated by studies that investigated relationships among these independent variables, regarded as inputs and teaching behaviours as dependent variables, regarded as outputs. Intervening processes such as planning, decision making, deliberations were not studied. An analogous situation occurred in a vast amount of studies that investigated relationships among variables such as pupil characteristics and background regarded as inputs and achievement, regarded as output. The process of teaching itself remained a black box.

Training of teachers in strategies that develop independent learning skills in their pupils

Summary This study explored various aspects of independent learning and should be considered a multi‐purpose project. In the first place, an attempt was made to identify some salient components of independent learning. We would not claim that independent learning consists of these components only; on the contrary, we assume that there are individual differences in the style and techniques of the independent learner. The justification for training teachers in this strategy is that it tries to develop more favourable pupil attitudes towards learning and thought processes such as fluency, divergency, analysis, synthesis, etc., which are considered important educational goals. Skills in locating and using materials and sources of information are agreed upon as important, but little is done to improve them. The second phase of the study focused on the teacher training strategy. The usual inservice education programmes, in universities or other settings, consist mainly of lectures and discussions. Workshops or ...

Cognitive and Affective Orientations and Teaching Behaviors--A Study of Differentiation.

Abstract:Kremer, L. 1981. Cognitive and Affective Orientations and Teaching Behaviors ‐ A Study of Differentiation. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 25,1‐7. The frame of reference of the present study is teachers’ orientations and their reflection in teaching. On the basis of observations of teaching behaviors, it was hypothesized that teachers can be differentiated by their cognitive or affective orientations that are reflected in the objectives they select, and in the stimuli and questions they present in the classroom. Responses to questionnaires designed for this study and observation of teachers at work indicate that a significant number of teachers can be characterized by either cognitive or affective orientations that are reflected in their work. Some implications for teacher pre‐ and in‐service training are suggested.

Locus of Control, Attitudes toward Education, and Teaching Behaviors

Abstract Kremer, Lya: Locus of Control, Attitudes toward Education, and Teaching Behaviors. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 26, 1‐11. The study is aimed at testing several hypotheses concerning relationships among locus of control, educational attitudes, and teaching behaviors. The rationale was derived from the concepts of locus of control, of traditional and progressive educational attitudes, and the related teaching behaviors. Procedures included the administration of the I‐E Scale and Educational Attitudes Scale to a random sample of elementary school teachers (N =191), and observation of a smaller random sample (N = 14) at work. Findings indicate that external and internal locus of control explain the variance in traditional and progressive attitudes and teaching behaviors. Some implications for pre‐ and in‐service teacher education are put forward.

Towards new teacher education models

∗This paper is based on a report of a Research Project of the Israel Foundation Trustees in the framework of a Ford Foundation Grant carried out in 1977 (Perlberg & Kremer, 1977). Another paper based on this report, entitled ‘Systems Approach and the Renewal of Teacher Education’, focuses more extensively on Competency Based Teacher Education (CBTE) and was submitted for publication in the British Journal of Educational Technology.

Value Education as Perceived by Parents, Teachers and Pupils in Israel.

Abstract The perplexity that characterizes moral education was the motive for undertaking this study. A field selection of terminal and instrumental values served as its frame of reference. Two questions were posed by the investigators: Is there any difference in the degree of importance which parents, teachers and pupils attach to these values? Do different schools rate these values differently? A sample consisting of 531 pupils, 251 parents and 38 teachers, randomly selected from five Israeli high schools, were asked to rate the degree of importance they attach to each value and the degree to which they think each value is cultivated in school. All subjects rated instrumental values higher than terminal values. A striking consensus between parents, teachers and pupils was disclosed. Between school variance was significant for both terminal and instrumental values. The study of approaches to values found in schools may contribute to curriculum development and planning of teacher education programmes.