Susan M. Brookhart

Characteristics of Entering Teacher Candidates

Characteristics of entering teacher candidates, defined as students enrolled in their first education course, have been the focus of 44 studies located for this review. Four major categories of variables have been studied: (a) demographics and high-school background; (b) motivation to teach and career expectations; (c) confidence and optimism or anxiety and concerns about teaching; and (d) perceptions of the roles and responsibilities of teachers. Most of the research employed a survey methodology. This article presents a descriptive synthesis of findings from these studies. The principle of thematic consistency with empirical variability—that is, that the general conclusions of the studies have been similar even though the data have shown differences from study to study—is advanced to organize a discussion of what is known about entering teacher candidates and suggestions for future research in this field.

Understanding Middle Students' Beliefs About Knowledge and Learning Using a Multidimensional Paradigm

Abstract Recent theory (Schommer, 1990) suggests that personal epistemology is multidimensional. The multidimensional epistemology structure with middle school students was tested in this study. Over 1,200 students in Grades 7 and 8 completed an epistemological belief questionnaire. Prior theory, developed with college students, suggested 4 epistemological belief factors: Ability to Learn, Structure of Knowledge, Speed of Learning, and Stability of Knowledge. Confirmatory factor analysis applied to a random half of the sample indicated that a 3-factor model was a good fit to the data. That model was replicated with the second half of the data. Follow-up regression analyses indicated that the more students believed in gradual learning and incremental ability to learn, the higher GPA they earned.

Classroom Assessment, Student Motivation, and Achievement in High School Social Studies Classes

The purpose of this case study was to describe a variety of classroom assessment events in high school social studies classes. This study included data from 12 classroom assessment events in the classes of a teacher-researcher in an urban high school. Four assessments in each course of the teacher-researchers entire teaching load were studied. The courses were world cultures, honors U.S. history, and philosophy. The total number of students was 96; sample sizes for individual assessment analyses ranged from 11 to 39. Results supported the conclusion that even within the same classroom assessment environment, student perceptions of the assigned task and self-efficacy for the task, reported mental effort invested, goal orientations, and learning strategy use differed by assessment. The mean level of these variables differed by type of student. Observed correlations among these variables differed between paper-and-pencil tests and performance assessments. Potential implications for classroom assessment practices are discussed.

Testing a Theory about the Role of Classroom Assessment in Student Motivation and Achievement.

A theoretical framework describing the role of classroom assessment in student effort and achievement expected positive relations among perceived characteristics of the assessment task, perceived self-efficacy to do the task, amount of effort invested in the task, and achievement for each classroom assessment event within a classroom assessment environment. Furthermore, the classroom assessment environment and the particular assessment events themselves were hypothesized to make a difference. A study investigating this theoretical framework was designed, using observation, survey, and interview techniques to collect data from 4 classroom assessment events in each of 2 Grade 3 classrooms. In general, expected relations were found among perceptions of task, self-efficacy, effort, and achievement. An exception was that for some assessments, perceived self-efficacy was not correlated with effort. Interview data suggested that extremely high self-efficacy, coupled with an assessment task that posed no challeng...

The Dynamics of Motivation and Effort for Classroom Assessments in Middle School Science and Social Studies

Motivation and effort patterns associated with achievement on classroom assessments in middle-school science and social studies were studied with a sample of 223 8th graders in different classroom assessment environments. Classroom assessment environments were characterized by student perceptions of the importance and value of assessment tasks, perceived self-efficacy, and mastery goal orientations. It was expected that both classroom assessment environment and the particular assessment would be related to differences in motivation, effort, and their effects on achievement, even after controlling for prior achievement. The classroom assessment environment did make a difference in classroom achievement, with an effect size comparable to the effect for prior achievement. Motivational variables added to the prediction of classroom achievement after controlling for prior achievement and for classroom environment; perceived self-efficacy was the strongest motivational predictor. After controlling for background and motivation, effort variables did not predict additional variance in classroom achievement. Hypothesized differences in the prediction of classroom achievement between tests and performance assessments were not clearly evident.

The Temporal-Interactive Influence of Reading Achievement and Reading Attitude

Although the relationship between attitudes toward reading and reading achievement has been well documented, the causal relationship between these constructs remains unclear.Using longitudinal covariance structure modeling, this study tested the hypothesis that 3 reading-related constructs in the primary grades (2nd-3rd grade) – reading attitude, behavior, and achievement – would predict reading achievement in the 7th grade. Results showed that primary attitude was not correlated with primary achievement yet both had causal paths to 7th-grade achievement, described as a “temporal-interaction” model. The resulting model suggests that while reading attitude and achievement may appear unrelated at the early stages of reading they become more closely linked over time, developing into important causal determinants of reading achievement by early adolescence.

Realities of Teaching in Racially/Ethnically Diverse Schools Feedback from Entry-Level Teachers

This study identified similarities and differences among two groups of entry-level teachers from 10 different teacher-preparation institutions (N = 1,700)—those who began their careers in racially/ethnically diverse schools (25% or more racial minority students) and those who taught in schools with low levels of racial/ethnic diversity (10% or fewer racial minority students). Although the two groups did not differ on most measures, beginning teachers in high diversity schools did report (a) lower levels of job satisfaction, (b) greater difficulties in establishing meaningful relations with students, and (c) higher levels of complexity in the teaching environment.

Characteristics of Male Elementary Teachers in the U.S.A., at Teacher Education Program Entry and Exit.

This article reports on two studies that describe the status of male elementary preservice and inservice teachers. One study looked at entering teacher candidates, describing differences between males entering elementary education and other teacher candidates, at three universities in the U.S.A. (n = 936), with three sets of variables: (1) high school background, (2) self-confidence in teaching, and (3) expectations for teacher education. The second study looked at practicing male elementary school teachers who were recent graduates of teacher education programs at 12 different universities (n = 1098), with three sets of variables: (1) career status, (2) ratings of teacher education program quality, and (3) self-evaluation of teaching knowledge and skills. Male elementary candidates were less academically oriented, more self-confident about teaching, and less optimistic about usefulness of courses than other subgroups of entering teacher candidates. Male elementary teachers had lower job satisfaction and less favorable opinions of their teacher education programs than other subgroups of teachers, but were just as sanguine about their level of teaching skill as were the other groups.

Teacher inquiry into formative assessment practices in remedial reading classrooms

Six remedial reading teachers in a large, rural school district participated in a form of professional development called Teaching as Intentional Learning, based on an inquiry process. Their topic of inquiry was formative assessment. Professional development comprised both direct instruction and inquiry learning in teachers’ own classrooms. This study describes the strategies they experimented with, their professional growth in formative assessment, and effects on students. All six teachers showed important professional growth, as indicated by their own reflections and also by their supervisor’s observations. In First Grade, at‐risk students assigned to these project teachers had increased reading readiness scores on one measure (DIBELS PSF) compared with at‐risk students assigned to non‐project teachers.

The quality and effectiveness of descriptive rubrics

This review synthesizes the findings of studies of the use of rubrics in education settings published from 2005 to 2013. The review included studies only if the rubrics involved met the definition of having coherent sets of criteria and performance level descriptions for those criteria. Compared to the results of a previous review by Jonsson and Svingby (Educational Research Review 2(2): 130–144, 2007), the frequency, scope, and rigor of studies of rubrics have increased in recent years. Rubrics yield information of sufficient quality if certain conditions are met, most notably having clear and focused criteria. Evidence regarding the effects of rubrics on performance is positive overall. Evidence of the effects of rubrics on self-regulation of learning is mixed, though positive associations between rubric use and motivation to learn were identified in some studies.