The effects of diagnostic information on teacher planning and student achievement /
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| Other Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Thesis Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1989.
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | ProQuest, Abstract Link to OAKTrust copy |
| Abstract: | Current research into the complex cognitive processes of teacher planning and decision making has begun to examine the relative worth and importance of diagnostic information or pretests as a tool in teacher planning. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of the availability and use of diagnostic information on teacher lesson plans and student achievement. Twenty-two eighth-grade language arts teachers and their students from six middle schools in a suburban Houston school district were randomly assigned by school to an experimental group or to a control group. Using a common instructional unit on descriptive writing as a base for teacher planning, teachers in the experimental group administered a specially designed diagnostic instrument two weeks prior to the first day of instruction. Teacher lesson plans and audiotape transcriptions of individual teacher interviews conducted at the end of the study were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. Analysis of variance and covariance procedures were used to test for significant differences in number and nature of planning changes and student achievement across treatments. Results of the study indicated that (a) a majority of teachers did not consider student attitudes to be useful diagnostic information for planning, (b) time constraints and doubt of overall usefulness of diagnostic information were reported as major deterrents to using and analyzing pretests, (c) there was no significant difference in the number of planning changes made across treatments, (d) teachers in the experimental group made a significant number of lesson plan changes as a direct result of information obtained from the diagnostic instrument, and (e) although there was no significant difference in student achievement as measured by either the objective posttest or the writing sample across treatments, those students in the experimental group whose teachers analyzed and made planning changes as a result of diagnostic information had significantly higher writing sample scores than those teachers who did not make use of the diagnostic information. |
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| Item Description: | Typescript (photocopy). Vita. "Major subject: Curriculum and instruction." |
| Physical Description: | xiii, 131 leaves ; 29 cm |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references. |