Understanding teacher learning in secondary education: The relations of teacher activities to changed beliefs about teaching and learning

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Abstract

In this study, relations between learning activities of teachers and changes in their beliefs were examined. Thirty-four teachers in Dutch secondary education were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their beliefs about teaching and learning on two occasions. They were also asked to report on learning activities that they undertook. Teachers who had changed their beliefs in a direction congruent with the aims of recent educational reforms often reported experimentation with colleagues' teaching methods. Teachers who changed their beliefs in a direction that was not congruent with the reform often reported experimentation with alternative methods due to discontent with the effectiveness of current methods.

Introduction

Teacher learning has been given considerable attention in recent research on the practice of teaching and teacher training programs. Little is known, however, about how participation in particular activities promotes changes in beliefs on the part of teachers. Does involvement in different types of activities, for example, result in different types of belief change? The answer to this question can provide a more comprehensive understanding of how teachers learn, and thereby facilitate the design of professional development programs in the future. In addition, determination of just how particular activities undertaken in the workplace relate to specific changes in teachers' beliefs over time and how these relations can best be explained is required for successful educational reform. We therefore examined secondary schoolteachers' learning activities and explored the relation with changes in their beliefs about teaching and learning during a period of one year. Before describing the study in more detail, we will firstly elaborate on the central concepts of this study: teacher learning, beliefs, and learning activities.

In studies of teacher learning, differences exist in what, exactly, is meant by and accounted for as learning. The concepts of acquisition, construction, and participation are often used to characterize teacher learning (Cobb and Bowers, 1999, Cochran-Smith and Lytle, 1999, Hodkinson and Hodkinson, 2005, Putnam and Borko, 2000, Sfard, 1998). Teacher learning construed in terms of the concept of acquisition involves the mastery of new knowledge or skills, or both, by teachers in order to fill any gaps in their knowledge. This perspective on learning is often associated with ‘passive reception of knowledge’ and alterations or changes of knowledge and skills are considered evidence of learning. Teacher learning construed in terms of the concept of construction involves teachers as the “active constructors of knowledge who make sense of the world and learn by interpreting events through their existing knowledge and beliefs” (Putnam & Borko, 1997, p. 1227). Studies of learning based on this perspective often focus on the learning processes rather than on the outcomes of these processes. Often, learning is considered a continuous process without a clear ending point. Most of the literature on the professional development of teachers draws upon such a constructivist approach to learning (Hodkinson & Hodkinson, 2005). Finally, from a participation perspective it is argued that “learning and learning activities should not be considered separate from the context in which they take place” (Sfard, 1998, p. 6). Becoming a member of a certain community, such as a working community, counts as evidence of learning (Lave & Wenger, 1991). Learning is considered as an integral part of the daily work process.

Sfard (1998) argues that the choice of either an acquisition or a participation approach to learning “can have major consequences and that pluralism should lead to better research and a more satisfactory practice” (p. 10). Along these lines, Hodkinson and Hodkinson (2005) argue that a “combination of the construction and participation approach of teacher learning might be helpful in understanding and improving teacher learning” (p. 112).

In the present study, we viewed learning as an ongoing work-related process of engagement in activities that leads to a change in cognition. More specifically, we looked at changes in teacher beliefs. For this conceptualization of learning we used the three perspectives on learning discussed above: acquisition, construction, and participation. Firstly, we considered changes in individual teacher beliefs to correspond to the acquisition perspective in which learning outcomes take a central position. Secondly, by examining activities, we aimed to account for the construction perspective on learning. We focused primarily on individual teacher learning processes by exploring individual learning activities. Thirdly, by describing these activities in a certain context, that is, teachers' working environment, we also aimed to account for the participation perspective. Note that taking merely teachers' working environment into account is only a small part of the participation perspective. In the following sections we elaborate further on the two central concepts of our conceptualization of learning: (changes in) beliefs and learning activities.

Different concepts are employed in the literature on teacher cognition. Authors often speak of teacher knowledge and beliefs (e.g., Calderhead, 1996, Meijer et al., 1999, Pajares, 1992, Tillema, 1998, Van Driel et al., 2007), teacher conceptions (e.g., Boulton-Lewis et al., 2001, Kember, 1997), or teacher perspectives (Pratt, 2002). Beliefs generally refer to suppositions or commitments, and are based on evaluation and judgment (Calderhead, 1996, Pajares, 1992). Teacher conceptions and perspectives are used interchangeably and described as an interrelated set of intentions, beliefs, and actions (Pratt, 2002). In the present study, we were primarily interested in teacher beliefs about teaching and learning.

Teacher beliefs about teaching and learning can be discussed separately (Boulton-Lewis et al., 2001, Kember, 1997, Trigwell and Prosser, 1996). According to Boulton-Lewis et al., however, “teachers hold predominantly congruent beliefs about teaching and student learning” (p. 46). A commonly used distinction in the study of teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning concerns two prototypic ideologies: (1) teacher- or subject-matter-oriented beliefs, and (2) learner-oriented beliefs, i.e., beliefs focussed on supporting student learning. As the term implies, subject-matter-oriented beliefs place a strong emphasis on imparting subject matter and the reproduction of knowledge by students. Teachers are largely held responsible for the regulation of student learning processes. Also, learning is considered to be a primarily individual process. In contrast, student-oriented beliefs about teaching and learning involve teaching students how to learn, and the emphasis is on the construction of knowledge. Students are stimulated to take responsibility for their own learning processes and the regulation of these, and are also stimulated to work and learn together (see, among others, Bolhuis, 2000, Bolhuis and Voeten, 2004, Oolbekkink-Marchand et al., 2006, Waeytens et al., 2002). Subject-matter-oriented beliefs about teaching and learning are sometimes referred to as ‘traditional beliefs’, while student-oriented beliefs are sometimes referred to as ‘progressive beliefs.’ Here, however, we speak of subject-matter- and student-oriented beliefs about teaching and learning, as the words ‘traditional’ and ‘progressive’ imply a value judgment which we prefer to avoid (Denessen, 1999).

In the context of an educational reform, teacher beliefs about teaching and learning must shift in a direction that is coherent with the aims of the reform. Given that one of the aims of a recent educational reform in upper secondary education in the Netherlands is to promote more active and self-regulated student learning, teachers are similarly expected to gradually endorse a more student-oriented approach to teaching and learning. However, teachers can also become more negative towards a student-oriented belief about teaching and learning in the context of such a reform, or even develop a stronger preference for a more subject-matter-oriented belief. In the present study, we were particularly interested in the possible associations between teacher participation in particular activities and concomitant changes in their beliefs about teaching and learning. For this reason, changes in both subject-matter-oriented and student-oriented beliefs about teaching and learning were important.

The results of the previous research, however, show the task of modifying teacher beliefs to be very difficult. Pajares (1992) concludes that “teachers' beliefs generally are not easy to change even when, based on opposing evidence, it is logical or necessary for them to do so” (p. 317). Findings of research on conceptual change suggest that motivational constructs such as goal orientation, values, efficacy beliefs, and control beliefs are mediators in the process of conceptual change (Patrick and Pintrich, 2001, Pintrich et al., 1993). Pintrich et al. also argue that prior knowledge and beliefs play a paradoxical role in conceptual change. They can impede conceptual change when students/learners possess strong alternative frameworks, and they can facilitate learning by providing a framework for understanding and judging the validity of new information. Motivational constructs such as goal orientation, values, efficacy beliefs, and control beliefs are assumed to be mediators in the process of conceptual change. From studies on teacher education programs aimed at changing student teachers' beliefs, and, therefore, conceptual change, it is known that student teachers tend to use new information to confirm and strengthen their current beliefs (Tillema, 1998). It is argued, therefore, that in order to accomplish meaningful learning and reflective enquiry for student teachers it is important to take pre-existing beliefs as a starting point to further extend their knowledge base. Tillema and Knol (1997) propose the use of a four-phased procedure to achieve belief change: (1) recognition and attention to current beliefs, (2) evaluation and investigation, (3) decision to change, and (4) reconstruction and building-up of a revised knowledge structure. Furthermore, they assume that carrying out these steps in interaction with other student teachers can be helpful. In addition, Kember (1997) found “approaches which operated over an extended period and operated within the framework of either a course or a project” (p. 272) to be particularly successful.

In studies of Van Eekelen et al., 2005, Kwakman, 1999, Lohman and Woolf, 2001, teachers were asked to report on activities that—in their opinion—promoted their professional development. In all three studies, a general classification of the relevant teacher activities was presented. When combined, the classification systems revealed the following five general categories of activity: doing, experimentation, reflection, learning from others without interaction, and learning from others in interaction (Bakkenes, Hoekstra, Meirink, & Zwart, 2004). In a recent publication (Meirink, Meijer, & Verloop, 2007), a more detailed classification of the activities of teachers collaborating in teams has been presented. Six teachers were interviewed after several team meetings to explore what they learned from the collaboration with colleagues. It was found that an activity such as experimentation could be further divided into experimentation with an adjusted teaching method adopted from a colleague, experimentation with a teaching method copied directly from a colleague, experimentation with a self-invented teaching method, or experimentation with a teaching method collaboratively developed in a team meeting. The different types of experimentation were found, moreover, to lead to different reported cognitive changes, which led to the conclusion that such fine-grained classification may be critical for the study of teacher learning. In addition, it was concluded that teacher activities that promote reported changes in cognition also occur in particular sequences. For example, experimentation with a new teaching method that resulted in learning was often preceded by acquaintance with the methods of colleagues and succeeded by reflection on the results of the experimentation—either individually or in interaction with colleagues or students, or both.

In order to determine just how participation in particular activities promotes belief changes on the part of teachers, the activities of teachers in the workplace must first be mapped. In the context of the present study, the focus was on the activities of teachers who, in addition to their regular school activities, collaborated with colleagues in teams. While teachers report that they learn considerably from colleagues and, thus, from the exchange of ideas, experiences, teaching methods, and feedback (Butler, Novak Lauscher, Jarvis-Selinger, & Beckingham, 2004), the importance of such everyday collaborative activities for changes in teacher cognition is not completely apparent.

Data on the changes that occurred in secondary schoolteachers' beliefs in the context of an educational reform were gathered for the present study during the school year 2004/2005. The reform was implemented in 1998 and concerned the upper grade levels of secondary education. In these levels students from the age 15–18 years old are taught. One of the central aims of the reform concerned fostering students to learn in a more active and self-regulated manner. This provides a meaningful context to study teacher learning since considerable changes in teachers' beliefs and the behavior of the teachers were required. The teachers could no longer just teach subject matter; they now had to coach the student learning process as well. Additionally, teachers were expected to stimulate students to construct their own knowledge instead of reproducing knowledge, and to work and learn together with other students instead of learning mostly individually. Successful implementation of the educational reform requires teacher acceptance and adherence to the principles of ‘active and self-regulated student learning’ (Oolbekkink-Marchand et al., 2006), and thus some major belief changes on the part of the teachers. The modification of teacher beliefs is assumed to be indispensable for the successful implementation of educational reforms. However, in previous research it is shown that changing beliefs is a difficult task. The question arises how and why the beliefs of some teachers change but not of other teachers. We, therefore, formulated the following research question for this study:

  • How are learning activities that teachers undertake related to changes in their beliefs with respect to the topic ‘active and self-regulated student learning’ during a period of one year?

Understanding the relation between teachers' engagement in learning activities and belief changes can facilitate the implementation of future educational reforms. To answer the research question we examined teachers working in a context of collaboration in interdisciplinary teams during a period of a year, and explored the specific contributions of various daily activities to the occurrence or non-occurrence of particular belief changes in an in-depth qualitative manner.

Section snippets

Participants

School principals in the western part of the Netherlands were enlisted to participate in a study on teacher learning in collaboration. Principals interested in participating in the study were asked to search for teachers in their staff who were willing to collaborate with colleagues on a project aimed at collectively thinking of ways to foster active and self-regulated student learning. Since ‘fostering active and self-regulated learning’ is a cross-curricular topic, teachers were required to

Analysis

For each teacher and for each of the seven scales separately, we examined whether the scores on the second measurement occasion differed significantly (p < .05) from those on the first measurement occasion. Significantly different scores were labelled ‘changes in beliefs congruent with’ or ‘changes in beliefs incongruent with’ the underlying aims and principles of the educational reform in Dutch upper secondary education. Significantly lower scores (closer to 1 on a five-point Likert scale) on

Results

We first present the questionnaire results for the teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning, followed by the results of the analysis of the digital logs. Finally, we present our interpretation to explain the observed relations between changed teacher beliefs about teaching and learning and learning activities.

Conclusions and discussion

The relations between teacher learning activities and the patterns of change in teacher beliefs with respect to the topic ‘active and self-regulated learning’ in upper secondary education were explored. Below, the most important results are first summarized; the implications of the results are then discussed. We conclude with some comments on the data collection methods employed and some suggestions for future research on teacher learning.

The present results show that 16 teachers clearly

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Inge Bakkenes, Annemarieke Hoekstra, and Rosanne Zwart for their collaboration on this project and particularly for their help with the construction of the data collection methods. We would also like to thank Ben Smit for his help on the analyses of the digital logs.

Finally, we would like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their very helpful comments on an earlier version of this article.

This research was funded by The Netherlands Organization for Scientific

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