Professional Development in Language Teacher

Tabaran Institute of Higher Education

The 11th TELLSI International Conference: Professional Development in Language Teacher Education

Selected Papers

Editors Khalil Motallebzadeh Hamid Ashraf Zargham Ghabanchi

ISBN 978‐964‐5898‐32‐6 The 11th TELLSI International Conference: Professional Development in Language Teacher Education, Selected Papers / edited by Khalil Motallebzadeh, Hamid Ashraf, Zargham Ghabanchi. Published by Tabaran Publications, Mashhad, Iran © 2014 Tabaran Institute of Higher Education Printed in Iran www.tabaran.ac.ir

Disclaimer The authors of the papers published in this book are responsible for the content and probable language inaccuracies.

Foreword

The 11thTELLSI International Conference was held from October 30 to November 1, 2013 (Aban 8 - 10, 1392) Mashhad, Iran. The conference was hosted by Tabaran Institute of Higher Education with collaboration of Teaching English Language and Literature Society of Iran (TELLSI). The purpose of the conference was to bring Iranian EFL/ESL teachers and researchers together and provide an opportunity for academicians and professionals from all over Iran and the world to share their experiences and research findings. An additional goal of the conference was to issue a collection of scientific articles by researches with cross-disciplinary interests related to the conference theme: Professional Development in Language Teacher Education. The plenary speakers were among the inspiring ELT professionals: Suresh Canagarajah (Pennsylvania State University, USA), Hossein Farhady (Yeditepe University, Turkey and Iran University of Science and Technology), and Jeremy Harmer (New School University and British Council).We planned three plenary, six featured speeches, two symposiums, around 240 oral presentations, and 37 poster presentations in three days. This book consists of 47selected and peer-reviewed papers. The papers provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of theart in the area of professionalism in ELT, such as professional development, self-efficacy, organizational commitment, teacher empowerment, and strategy-training. We hope that you will enjoy reading the papers.

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Tabaran Institute of Higher Education (Mashhad, Iran) for publishing this book.

Khalil Motallebzadeh Hamid Ashraf Zargham Ghabanchi

June 2014

The 11thTELLSI International Conference October 30 – November 1, 2013, Mashhad – Iran, Tabaran Institute of Higher Education

Authors Abdavi, N., Hessamy, Gh

Table of Contents Title Organizational Commitment and SelfEfficacy among University English Instructors

Page 1

Ahmadi, S.D., Marandi, S. S.

Wiki Use in the Classroom and EFL 16 Learners’ Writing Performance

AmirbakzadehKalati, E.

“A Sample Own-produced Module for 33 Iranian High School Students to Bring them back into the English Classroom”

Ashraf, H., Kafi, Z.

EFL Teachers’ Creativity Professional Class Performance

Bagherzadeh, H., Motallebzadeh, Kh., Kafi, Z.

A Good Teacher, From Supervisors’ 75 and Teachers’ Perspective

Beh-Afarin (Parpinchy), S.R., Dequan, A.

The Effect of Clinical Supervision on 92 Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy

Bozorgian,H., Jafarzade, L.

Teachers’ Metacognitive Knowledge 107 and Education Programs in an Inputpoor Environment

Ghanbari, B., Barati, H.

Development and Validation of a 125 Rating Scale for Iranian EFL Writing Assessment

Gharbavi, A. Jafarigohar, M.

Perspective of Iranian English Student 146 Teachers on the Role of Microteaching

HedayatSokachaee, E., Kuhi,D.

An Analysis of Colligation in Applied 157 Linguistics Research Articles: A Crosssectional Comparison

Heshmatifar, Z., Eghtesadi, A. R.

Yardsticks Needed to be an Effective 175 EFL Teacher From Students’ Theory

Viewpoint:

i

A

and 65

Grounded


Hosseinpour, N.

An Action Research on Learning and 188 Teaching Styles Interaction

Iraji, Z., Kuhi, D.

Enhancing Promotion through Generic 201 Features: The Case of Blurbs in Hard versus Soft Science Textbooks

Kafil, D.

Problems in Limiting Effectiveness of 226 Iranian English Language Teachers in Institutes

Kamalian, A., Sayadian, s.

What Do Successful Teachers Do in 235 order to Motivate the Students?

KamyabiGol, A., Aleabbas, F.

A Comparative Study on the 252 Relationship between EFL Language Instructor’s Confidence Level and Learners’ Speaking Development

Kargozari, H., Jami, V.

Professionalism or Perfectionism: A 260 Study toward Impostor Syndrome among Iranian EFL Teachers

Kasaian, S., A., KouhestanNajafi, Investigating Iranian EFL Teachers' 269 M. Contribution to Classroom Discourse across Levels of Proficiency Kavandi, E.

CALL Integration to Foster Teacher 290 Autonomy: ELT Student Teachers’ & Teacher Trainers’ Views

Kharaghani, N.

The ways to Foster Teachers as 301 Reflective Practitioners

Kheirkhah, H., Ghonsooly, B.

Qualitative Study of Iranian English 307 University Entrance Examination in the Light of Positive Washback Strategies

Kuhi, D., Rezaei, sh.

An Analysis of Generic Structures of Acknowledgments in Academic Writing: Native Speakers of EnglishVsNonii

332


Native (Iranian) Marzban, A., Jalili, Z.

The Impact of Teaching Questioning on 353 the Iranian EFL Learners’ ProblemSolving

MehrabiBoshrabadi, A., Biria, R.

Pedagogical Utility of Translation in 366 Foreign Language Teaching

Mohebi, H., Abdolmaleki, M., Bazyar, M.

The Relationship between Teachers’ 385 Familiarity with Principles of Testing and Washback Effect

Motamedi, A., Aghighi, R.

E-assessment is a Requirement not a 397 Need in Postmodernist Digital Age

Namdari, N., Arizavi, S., Mousavi, S. A.

Conflicting Policies Education Issues

Nazari, M., Nikoopour, J.

The Effect of Washback of High School 434 Examinations on Iranian EFL Learners’ Language Learning Beliefs

Pourjamal, H. Marandi, S.S.

Iranian EFL Students' Perception of the 461 Consequential Validity of their Ratings of College Teaching Effectiveness

Rabbani Yekta, R., Khalilian, H.

How can a backward Design Look 479 forward? Designing a Contrastive Rhetoric-Oriented Program

and

Teacher 410

for ESP/EAP Students RahmaniDoqaruni, V.

Role of Experience in L2 Teacher 492 Education: What Do NoviceExperienced Differences Reveal?

Ramezani, F., Bahrami, N.

Intercultural Teaching of English to 500 Muslim Learners (Teacher Training in Islamic Context)

iii


Raouf-moini, M., NikubayanHeidari, A.

The Impact of EFL Teachers’ 519 Perception of Task-Based Instruction on Broader Use of the Method

Rashidi, N., Hadavizadeh, A.

The Induction Probationer in Iranian 538 Secondary Educational System

Rashtchi, M., Abdolmaleki, M.

Form-Focused Versus Meaning- 551 Focused Teacher-Student Interaction Patterns Analysis upon Flander and LizKelley Models

Rohani, Z.

The Effect of Computer-Assisted 570 Pronunciation Training on English Pronunciation Accuracy

Rostamian, M., Jabbari, A.A.

Exploring Iranian EFL Instructors’ 579 Professional Development Activities

Sadeghi, Z.

Teaching World Englishes Through 591 Literature

Sahragard, R., Yazdanpanahi, S.

Engagement Markers in the Classroom 604 Practice of Iranian EFL Teachers

Salami, M., Ashraf, H., Koohkan, Non-native English Teachers’ Recorded 618 A. Audiobooks Affecting Vocabulary Knowledge of EFL Learners Seraj, F., Samavi, E.

Action Research and its Place among 627 Iranian English Teachers

Shahbazi, H.

The Evaluation of Guidance and High 648 School Teachers’ Opinions about InService Teacher Training

Shakarami, A.R., Khajehei, H.

Cognitive Adaptability: the Case of 657 Net-Generation English Learners

Sharifi, N., Moradi, F.

The Impact of Teachers’ Metaphoric 672 Motivation on the Efficiency of EFL Instruction iv


Sheibaniaghdam, A., Motamedi, Shifting to L1: An Effective Strategy 682 A. for Generating Complex Stimulus in L2 Toossi, B.

Teacher Education Training

and

In–service 692

With Special Reference to English Teachers in Mashhad Vahedi, V.S.

Technology- Integrated Pedagogy: 700 Teachers' Perception of Technology Usefulness and Self- efficacy

v


Organizational Commitment and Self-Efficacy among University English Instructors Nasim Abdavi Payame Noor University Email: [email protected] Gholam Reza Hessamy Payame Noor University Email: [email protected]

Abstract The commitment of teachers has always been a focus of concern in teacher education research. Teacher commitment is closely connected to teachers’ work performance, efficacy, and their ability to innovate and to integrate new ideas into their own practice (Firestone, 1996). Three-Component Model of organizational commitment by Meyer and Allen (1991) posits that employees bind with their organization as a result of desire (affective commitment), need (continuance commitment) and obligation (normativecommitment). The purpose of the present investigation was to analyze the relationships, if any, between organizational commitment and teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy among PNU English instructors. It was also attempted to determine if there is a significant relationship between subscalesof organizational commitment and the observed variance in teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy. Data were collected from 96 PNU English instructors from all over Iran through Meyer and Allen`s (1991) Organizational Commitment questionnaire and Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy's (2001) Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). Correlation analysis revealed that there was a significant relationship between teacher organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy. A significant relationship was also found between teacher affective organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy. But there was no significant relationship between teacher continuance and normative organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy among PNU English instructors. In addition, multiple regression analysis indicated that from the subscales of the organizational commitment only the affective organizational commitment accounted for a significant proportion of the variance observed in teacher self-efficacy. Keywords: Organizational Commitment, Self-Efficacy, English Instructors

1.Introduction Education is one of the most important institutional organizations of any nation as it oversees issues on national agenda. Its effective running depends firmly on its coordination in the direction of societal expectation. Successful educational 1


programs lie on the important contributions of effort, involvement and most importantly on the teacher commitment. It has been argued that improvement in teachers` commitment is one of the factors that may positively affect teachers` efficacy. So increasing the commitment of teachers is an important first step in the process of educational reform. Organizational commitment can result in higher teacher efficacy and it can also positively affect teachers` performance which ultimately leads to improvement in students` learning. Organizational commitment has been the subject of a number of educational studies and is considered an important variable in understanding employee behavior and attitudes (Mowday, Porter, and Steers, 1982; Meyer and Allen, 1984; Meyer and Allen, 1986, 1988; Allen & Meyer, 1990). Meyer and Allen (1991) conceptualize organizational commitment in three approaches which they refer to as affective, continuance and normative organizational commitment. They stress that common to these three components of organizational commitment is the view that organizational commitment is a psychological state that (a) characterizes the employee relationship with the organization, and (b) has implications for the decision to continue or discontinue membership in the organization. In order to be effective, teachers need more than content and pedagogy knowledge. Compelling evidence indicates that the beliefs that teachers hold regarding their teaching capabilities have a powerful influence on their teaching effectiveness. However, what may be the most important is how the teachers assess themselves on their ability to affect student academic success. This is typically referred to in the literature as teacher self-efficacy. It is now understood that teachers’ efficacy beliefs have a profound effect on the educational process. Teachers’ sense of efficacy has been linked to many positive teacher behaviors and attitudes, as well as student outcomes and attitudes. These studies have demonstrated the relationships between commitment and several other organizational variables: (a) absenteeism (Steers, 1977; Larson &Fukami, 1984); (b) leadership style (Morris & Sherman 1981); (c) job performance (Mowday, Porter &Dubin, 1974; Steers, 1977); (d) turnover (Kom, Katerberg&Hulin, 1979; Angel & Perry 1981); (e) communication openness (Housel & Warren, 1977); (f) network involvement (Eisenberg, Monge, & Miller, 1983), (g) participation in decision making (Hall, 1977), (h) amount of feedback received on the job; and (i) socialization strategies of new employees (Buchanan, 1974; cited in Varona, 1996).

2


2. Literature review Concept of Commitment Commitment embodies a sense of being bound emotionally or intellectually to some course of action, which may include a person’s relationship with another individual, group, or organization (Huntington, 1986). A review of the literature (Buchanan, 1974; Mowday, Porter & Steers, 1982; Reichers, 1985) showed that there are at least three distinct approaches to defining commitment. First, the exchange (side-bets) approach views commitment as an outcome of transactions between the organization and member. Second, the psychological approach defines commitment as an attitude or an orientation toward the organization which links or attaches the identity of the person to the organization. The three components of this orientation consist of a) identification with the goals and values of the organization, b) high involvement in its work activities, and (c) a strong desire to maintain membership in the organization (Porter, Steers, Mowday, &Boulian, 1974). And third, the attributions approach (Reichers, 1985) defines commitment as a binding of the individual to behavioral acts and it occurs when individuals attribute an attitude of commitment to themselves after engaging in behaviors that are volitional, explicit, and irrevocable. Organizational commitment There are two different approaches to defining Organizational commitment (Steers & Porter, 1983). In the first approach, organizational commitment is referred to as a behavior; the individual is viewed as committed to an organization if he/she is bound by costs (fringe benefits, salary) as a function of age or tenure. Thus an individual becomes committed to an organization because it has become too costly for him/her to leave (Blau&Boal, 1987). In the second approach, organizational commitment is referred to as an attitude. Organizational commitment has also been viewed as an attitude with three components: (a) Belief in and acceptance of organization’s goals and values, (b) Willingness to exert effort on behalf of the organization and (c) Strong desire to maintain organizational membership (Porter et al., 1974; Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979, 1982; Johnston &Snizek, 1991; cited in Aidong, 2004). More recently, Meyer & Allen (1991) described three forms of organizational commitment: commitment as an affective attachment to the organization; commitment as a perceived cost associated with leaving the organization; and commitment as an obligation to remain in the organization. These three forms are termed as affective (i.e., individuals stay in the organization because they want to), continuance (i.e. individuals stay in the organization because they need to), and normative commitment (i.e. individuals stay in the organization because they feel they should), respectively. Three components were found to be related, but distinguishable from each other (Meyer et al., 2001). 3


Teacher Organizational Commitment Most of the research on organizational commitment has been done by industrial organizations and occupational psychologists (Mueller, Wallace & Price, 1992). Very little research on organizational commitment has been conducted within educational settings. Fostering organizational commitment among the academic staff is important because, as mentioned previously, employees that are highly committed stay longer, perform better, miss less work, and engage in organizational citizenship behaviors. Accomplishing educational organization` s goals depends in large part on a better understanding of the sources, nature and development of a teacher’s commitment (Dannetta, 2002). An understanding of teachers’ level of commitment is important because it reflects their personal interpretation of how absorbing and meaningful their work experiences are. It is necessary to mention that the definitions of teacher commitment differ depending on the context in which it is analyzed. Most studies on teacher commitment examine the influence of the school environment on teachers` professional commitment (Hargreaves, 1988; Hoy, Tarter, &Hottkamp, 1991; Rosenholtz, 1989; cited in Chan, 2005). There are some qualitative studies that examine teachers’ sense of commitment (Certo& Fox, 2002; Day, Elliot, &Kington, 2005; Johnson &Birkeland, 2003; cited in Chan, 2005). Self-efficacy Self-efficacy, as defined by Albert Bandura (1986), is “people’s judgment of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action, required to attain designated types of performance” (p.391). Bandura (1986) clarified that self-efficacy “is concerned not with the skills one has but with judgments of what one can do with whatever skills one possesses” (p. 391). Perceived self-efficacy beliefs may impact a person in either a positive, empowering way, or in a negative, demoralizing way. It is the individual’s beliefs about being able to carry out the necessary actions to achieve a desired result that determine the impact (Bandura, 1986). In short, individuals who believe in their ability to perform a specific task will work harder and persist in order to successfully reach the goal than those who do not believe in their ability. Teacher Self-efficacy Guskey (1982) defined teacher efficacy as a teacher’s willingness to take responsibility for student successes and failures. As mentioned before, Albert Bandura was instrumental in developing the concept of self-efficacy. Bandura’s (1986) work has been the basis for defining teacher self-efficacy. In general, teacher self-efficacy is a teacher’s belief that he or she can influence how well students learn; even those students considered to be difficult or appear to lack motivation (Guskey&Passaro, 1994). Though there is some variation in the definitions of 4


teacher self-efficacy, researchers have consistently found a relationship between teachers’ sense of efficacy and the behavior and learning of students (Henson, 2002). Teacher efficacy refers to the “teachers’ perceptions that they have the skills and ability to help students learn, are competent in building effective programs for students, and can effect changes in student learning” (Short, 1998 p. 490). The belief of teachers that their efforts or capability affect outcomes is critical to teacher selfefficacy definitions. Soteacher efficacy is the teacher’s belief in his or her capability to organize and execute courses of action, required to successfully accomplish a specific teaching task in a particular context. Growing literature indicates that organizational commitment is a predictor of such important behavioral outcomes as performance, absenteeism, and turnover (Morris and Sherman, 1981). Researchers claim that organizational commitment to the school is an important concept in the analysis of school life. On this point, researchers such as Cheng (1990), Hoy &Miskel (1991), Owens (1991) and Sergiovanni (1991) shared a common view that teachers' perceptions of the workplace or the quality of workplace will influence the motivation, performance, efficacy, and commitment of teachers work in there. This ultimately will affect the quality of education provided in educational organizations. Apparently, based on the above argument, teacher` s level of organizational commitment may have a determining effect on teacher efficacy. Teacher efficacy is among the most important issues in education sectors. A diverse spectrum of factors may affect teacher efficacy. Much research effort has been put in search of commonly recognized influencing factors. Among these factors teacher organizational commitment is one of the factors that most likely to positively affect teachers` sense of efficacy. Teacher efficacy was discovered to be the strongest predictor of commitment to teaching, in a study performed by Coladarci (1992). Teachers with a high sense of efficacy are more committed to the teaching profession (Coladarci, 1992, p. 328). Organizational commitment can result in higher teacher efficacy and it can also positively affect teachers` performance which ultimately leads to improvement in students` learning. In this study, the relationship between organizational commitment and teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy among PNU English instructors was probed. More specifically, the following research questions were explored: 1) Is there any significant relationship between Organizational Commitment and Teachers` Perception of Self-Efficacy? 2) Is there any significant relationship between Affective Organizational Commitment and Teachers` Perception of Self-Efficacy? 3) Is there any significant relationship between Continuance Organizational Commitment and Teachers` Perception of Self-Efficacy? 4) Is there any significant relationship between Normative Organizational Commitment and Teachers` Perceptions of Self-Efficacy?

5


5) Which of the parameters of Organizational Commitment (Affective, Continuance and Normative) account for most of the observed variance in Teachers` Perceptions of Self-Efficacy? 3. Methodology Ninety six PNU English instructors from all over Iran voluntarily participated in the study. They had from 1 to 15 years of teaching experience at PNU and ranged in age from 25 to 55. Among them 74% held MA and 26% had PhD. 35.4% of instructors held MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), 8.3% in Linguistics, 13.5% in English Literature, and 16.7% in Translation. 14.6% had PhD in TEFL, 4.2% in Linguistics, and 7.3% in English Literature. Among them 14.6% were graduated from PNU and 85.4 % from other universities. 40.6% of the instructors were full-time faculty (employed) and 59.4% were part-time (visiting instructors). With regard to their gender, 66% were male and 34% were female. In this study, two instruments, Teacher Organizational Commitment questionnaire (see Appendix A) and the Teacher Self-Efficacy scale (TSES) (Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) (see Appendix B) were used to collect the relevant data. To measure teachers` perceptions of organizational commitment, the revised Organizational Commitment Scale developed by Meyer and Allen (1991) was used to assess respondents' perceptions of organizational commitment. The revised Organizational Commitment Scale (OCS) is a self-reported instrument, which consists of three six-item scales (Affective Commitment Scale, Normative Commitment Scale, and Continuance Commitment Scale). A five-point Likert scale was used to measure respondents’ perceptions of organizational commitment. In order to measure teachers` perception of their own self-efficacy, due to the shortcomings of other measurement scales, a questionnaire developed by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) is utilized to obtain the required data. Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001) designed a new teacher efficacy scale, based on Bandura’s work and recommendations that feature three dimensions of teacher efficacy: instructional strategies, student engagement, and classroom management. Originally it was called the Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale (OSTES), but now it is called the Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES). The selected scale for the present study was the short version of the TSES (TschannenMoran and Woolfolk Hoy, 2001) adapted by Chacón (2005) to fit the context of ELT (English Language Teaching). 4. Results and discussion The Cronbach Alpha measure indicated that the results of the teacher Organizational Commitment Scales enjoyed a reliability of .49, and the reliability of 6


teacher self-efficacy questionnaire was found to be as high as 0.83. In the entire sample, the mean of teacher organizational commitment was 55.47 and the mean of

Sum of teacher organizational commitment 55.4792

Std. Deviation 8.06810

Sum of teacher self-efficacy

47.1354

6.63423

96

Affective organizational commitment

20.7083

3.95745

96

Continuance organizational commitment

17.1562

4.29523

96

Normative organizational commitment

17.6146

4.06363

96

Mean

Total score 96

teacher self-efficacy was 47.13. Table 1. Descriptive Statistics In order to test the first question concerning the relationship between teacher organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy, Pearson productmoment correlation coefficient was computed to measure the degree of relationship. Table 2. Relationship between TOC and Self-Efficacy Sum of self-efficacy Sum organizational commitment

of

Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

.271 .008 96

Critical value of r

.211

As displayed in Table 2, the r-observed value is .27 with a probability of .008. Since this probability is lower than the .05 significance level assumed by the researcher, it can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy among PNU English instructors. The second research question examined the relationship between affective organizational commitment and teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy. To determine the degree of relationship between the two variables, Pearson correlation was calculated using the data from the teacher self-efficacy questionnaire and six items of the teacher organizational commitment questionnaire (questions 1 to 6). 7


Table 3.Relationship between TAOC and Self-Efficacy Sum of self-efficacy Sum of organizational commitment

affective Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N

.225 .028 96

Critical value of r

.211

As displayed in Table 3 the r-observed value is .22 with a probability of .02. Since this probability is lower than the .05 significance level assumed by the researcher, it can be concluded that there is a significant relationship between affective organizational commitment and teachers` perceptions of self efficacy among PNU English instructors. To investigate the third question of the present study, Pearson productmoment correlation was calculated using the data from teacher self-efficacy questionnaire and six items of teacher organizational commitment questionnaire (questions 13 to 18, dealing with teacher continuance organizational commitment). As displayed in Table 4, the r-observed value is .16 with a probability of .12. Since this probability is greater than the .05 significance level assumed by the researcher, it can be concluded that there is no significant relationship between continuance organizational commitment and teachers` perceptions of self efficacy among PNU English instructors. Table 4.Relationship between TCOC and Self-Efficacy Sum of self-efficacy Sum of continuance Pearson correlation organizational Sig. (2-tailed) commitment N

.160 .120 96

Critical value of r

.211

The fourth research question focused on the relationship between normative organizational commitment and teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy. To obtain this relationship, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was calculated using the data from teacher self-efficacy questionnaire and six items of the teacher organizational commitment questionnaire (questions 7 to 12, dealing with teacher normative organizational commitment). As depicted in Table 5, the r-observed value is .15 with a probability of .14. Since this probability is greater than the .05 significance level assumed by the researcher, it can be concluded that there is no 8


significant relationship between normative organizational commitment and teachers` perceptions of self efficacy among PNU English instructors. Table 5.Relationship between TNOC and Self-Efficacy Sum of self-efficacy Sum of normative Pearson correlation organizational Sig. (2-tailed) commitment N

.150 .146 96

Critical value of r

.211

The fifth research question of the study was put forth in order to determine which of the subscales of teacher organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) accounts for the greater portion of the observed variance in teacher self-efficacy. Table 6 illustrates the results of multiple regression analysis for the fifth question. The results depict the contributions made by affective, continuance and normative organizational commitment in predicting teacher self-efficacy. The values of the partial regression coefficients (column labeled B) reflect the original units in which the variables were measured. Partial regression coefficients were examined to explore the relative importance of the independent variables on the dependent variable. Table 6. Regression Coefficients Unstandardized coefficients Model

(Constant) Affective organizational commitment

B

Std. Error

34.174

4.699

.332

.170

175

.175

Standardized coefficients T ß(Beta)

Sig.

7.273

.000

.198

1.954

.05

.158

.113

1.105

.272

.167

.107

1.049

.297

1 Continuance organizational commitment Normative organizational commitment

9


Regarding the subscales of teacher organizational commitment, the equivalent t-value of the affective organizational commitment (under the column labeled “t”) is significant, because its probability (under the column labeled as Sig.) is equal to the .05 level of significance assumed by the researcher. But the equivalent t-values of the other two subscales of teacher organizational commitment (continuance and normative) are not significant because their probabilities are greater than the .05 levels of significance. These results indicate that only the first subscale of organizational commitment (affective) accounts for a significant proportion of the variance observed in teacher self-efficacy. To sum up the results Table 7 is also presented. As it can be observed in Table 7., the R-value is .28 and its square value, R-Square is .079. If R-square is stated in percentages, then it would indicate the amount of variance in the dependent variable –teacher self-efficacy– that can be predicted by teacher organizational commitment subscales, namely, affective, continuance and normative. The results indicate that all these variables can only predict about 7 percent of the teacher selfefficacy. Table7. Model Summary(a)Predictors: (Constant), Normative, Affective, Continuance Model

R

1

.280

R Adjusted R Square Square .079 .049

Std. Error of the Estimate 6.47102

In brief, from the subsets of teacher organizational commitment, only the affective organizational commitment accounts for a significant proportion of the variance observed in teacher self-efficacy. 4.1. Discussion To investigate the relationship between teacher organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy which were the focus of first four research questions, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was employed. As explained above, a significant relationship was found between teacher organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy among PNU English instructors. A significant relationship was also found between teacher affective organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy. But the researcher could not find a significant relationship between teacher continuance and normative organizational commitment and teacher self-efficacy among PNU English instructors, and it was concluded that there is no significant relationship between continuance and normative organizational commitment and teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy among PNU English instructors. 10


The last question was asked in order to determine which of the subscales of teacher organizational commitment (affective, continuance and normative) accounts for most of the observed variance in teacher self-efficacy. In other words, it was attempted to specify the subscales of organizational commitment that can better predict teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy. In order to answer the fifth question, Multiple Regression was applied to identify the parameters of organizational commitment that significantly relate to teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy. It was specified that from the subsets of teacher organizational commitment, only the affective organizational commitment accounts for a significant proportion of the variance observed in teacher self-efficacy. The findings of present investigation were in line with growing body of literature that there is a relationship between teachers` organizational commitment and their sense of self-efficacy. For example, teacher efficacy was discovered to be the strongest predictor of commitment to teaching, in a study by Coladarci (1992). Teachers with a high sense of efficacy are more committed to the teaching profession (Coladarci, 1992, p. 328). So it can be concluded that organizational commitment can result in higher teacher efficacy and it can also positively affect teachers` performance which ultimately leads to improvement in students` learning. From the overall results in this study, it seems that there is a significant relationship between teachers’ overall organizational commitment and their perceptions of self-efficacy. It appeared more appropriate, as Meyer and Allen suggested, to consider the affective, continuance and normative manifestations as components rather than types of organizational commitment. Each one of the three components was measured and among them only affective organizational commitment recorded a significant relationship with self-efficacy. So the psychological states characterizing the three forms of organizational commitment are not mutually exclusive. According to Meyer and Allen (1991), it is more reasonable to expect that an employee can experience all three forms of commitment to varying degrees. 5. Conclusion In educational organizations where teachers are considered to be the most fundamental stakeholders after students, it is stated that teachers’ commitment has been identified as a key facet of an educational organization's capacity for reform and renewal. Management needs to determine how their educational organization can inspire and nurture teacher commitment. Management needs to persuade their staff into being committed and more loyal to the educational organization. They must try to craft management strategies around the most valuable assets of the schools, i.e., the human resources. It was specified in this study that from the subsets of teacher organizational commitment, affective organizational commitment accounts for a significant 11


proportion of the variance observed in teacher self-efficacy. This finding provided strong evidence that people also work for purposes other than pay. As mentioned before, affective organizational commitment refers to the instructors` emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization. Instructors with a strong affective commitment continue co-operation with the organization because they want to do so. So merely providing financial support cannot contribute to nurturing of efficacious teachers. Of course, nobody denies the importance of financial support in maintaining teachers` commitment, as financial issues are fundamental premises behind continuance commitment which refers to an awareness of the costs associated with leaving the educational organization. Instructors whose primary link to the organization, was based on continuance organizational commitment, remain because they need to do so. It is difficult to claim that external reward sources of educational organizations (salary, position, degree, etc.) are satisfactory for teachers. But an interesting finding of the present study demonstrated the fact that continuance organizational commitment does not make a significant contribution to teachers` perceptions of self-efficacy. Based on the findings of the study we can conclude that teachers` commitment can be determined by higher order social needs, most notably professional self-esteem, interpersonal relations at work, opportunities for career progression, emotional attachment, and the working environment. Therefore internal rewarding is most important in teaching occupation than the other fields. Meyer, Bobocel, and Allen (1991) stated employees who have higher levels of continuance commitment become complacent and do what they have to or work at a level to maintain employment. Thus educational organizations should concentrate on developing affective organizational commitment because of its desired consequences of better performance. As Meyer and Allen (1997) state, “employees with strong affective commitment to the organization work harder at their jobs and perform them better than do those with weak commitment” (p. 28).

References Angle, H. L. & Perry, J. L. (1981).An empirical assessment of organizational communication and organizational effectiveness.Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 1-14. Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy in Changing Societies.New York: Cambridge University Press. Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory.Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Bandura, A. (1982). Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency.American Psychologist, 37, 122-147. 12


Blau, G.J. &Boal, K.B. (1987). Conceptualizing how job involvement and organizational commitment affect turnover and absenteeism. Academy of Management Review, 12(2), 288-300. Buchanan, B., II. (1974). Building organizational commitment: The socialization of managers in work organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 19, 553546. Certo, J. L., & Fox, J. E. (2002).Retaining quality teachers.The High School Journal, Oct/Nov, 57-75. Cheng, Y.C. (1990). An Investigation of Antecedents of Organizational Commitment.Educational Research Journal, 5, 29-42. Coladarci, T. (1992).Teachers’ sense of efficacy and commitment to teaching.The Journal of experimental Education, 60(4), 323-334. Dannetta, V. (2002). What factors influence a teacher’s commitment to student learning?Leadership and Policy in Schools, 1(2), 144-171. Day, C., Elliot, B., &Kington, A. (2005). Reforms, standards, and teacher identity: Challenges of sustaining commitment. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 563-577. Eisenberg, E. M., Monge, P. R. & Miller, K. I. (1983). Involvement in communication networks as a predictor of organizational commitment. Human Communication Research, 10(2), 179-201. Guskey, T. R., &Passaro, P. D. (1994). Teacher efficacy: A study of construct dimensions. American Educational Research Journal, 31, 627-643. Hall, R. H. (1977). Organizations: Structure and process. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Hargreaves, A. (1988). Teaching quality: A sociological analysis. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 20, 211-223. Henson, R. K. (2001). The effects of participation in teacher research on teacher efficacy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 819-836. Housel, T. J. & Warren, E. D. (1977).The reduction of upward communication distortion.Journal of Business Communication, (Summer), 49-55. 13


Hoy, W. K., & Tarter, C. J. (1997). The road to open and healthy schools: A handbook for change. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Hoy, W. K., &Miskel, C.G. (2001). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Huntington, R. (1986). Perceived organizational support.Journal of Applied Psychology,17(3), 131-146. Johnson, S. M., &Birkeland, S.E. (2003).Pursing a "Sense of Success": New teachers explain their career decisions.American Educational Research Journal, 40(3), 581-617. Larson, E., &Fukami, C. (1984).Relationships between worker behavior and commitment to theorganization and union.Proceedings of the Academy of Management, 1984, 222-226. Meyer, J., & Allen, N. (1984).Testing the “side-bet theory” of organizational commitment: Some methodological considerations.Journal of Applied Psychology, 69(3), 372- 278. Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. (1991).A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. HumanResource Management Review, 1(1), 6189. Meyer, J. P., & Allen, N. J. (1997). Commitment in the workplace: Theory, research, and application.ThousandOaks, CA: Sage. Meyer, J., Bobocel, D., & Allen, N. (1991). Development of organizational commitment during the first year of employment: A longitudinal study of pre- and post entry influences. Journal of Management, 17(4), 717-733. Morris, J. H., & Sherman, J. D. (1981).Generalizability of an organizational commitment model.Academy of Management Journal, 24 (3), 512-526. Mowday, R. T., Porter, L. W., & Steers, R. M. (1982). Employee-organization linkages: The psychology of commitment, absenteeism, and turnover.New York: Academic Press. Mowday, R. T., Steers, R. M., & Porter, L. W. (1979). The measure of organizational commitment.Journal of Vocational Behavior, 14(2), 224-247.

14


Mueller, C. W., Wallace, J. E., & Price, J. L. (1992). Employee commitment: Resolving some issues. Work and Occupations, 19, 211-236. Owens, R.G. (1991). Organizational Behavior in Education, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Porter, L. W., Steers, R. M., Mowday, R. T., &Boulian, P. V. (1974). Organizational commitment, job satisfaction and turnover among psychiatric technicians.Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 603-609. Reichers, A. E. (1985). A review and reconceptualization of organizational commitment.Academy of Management Review, 10(3), 465-476. Rosenholtz, S. (1987). Education reform strategies: Will they increase teacher commitment? American Journal of Education, 95, 534-562. Sergiovanni, T.J. (1991). The Principal ship: A Reflective Practice Perspective (2nd ed.). MA: Allyn& Bacon. Steers,

R. M. (1977).Antecedents and outcomes of commitment.Administrative Science Quarterly, 22, 46-56.

organizational

Tschannen-Moran, M. (2000, April).Developing a quantitative means for assessing teacher efficacy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans. Tschannen-Moran, M., Hoy, A. W., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68(2), 202-248. Tuma, N.B. & Grimes, A. J. (1981).A comparison of models of role orientations of professionals in a research-oriented university.Administrative Science Quarterly, 26, 187-206. Tschannen-Moran, M., &Woolfolk Hoy, A. (in press). Teacher efficacy: Capturing an elusive construct. Teaching and Teacher Education.

Authors’ Bio information Gholamreza Hessamy: PhD in TEFL, assistant professor in PNU University. Nasim Abdavi : PhD candidate in TEFL, English language teacher.

15


Wiki Use in the Classroom and EFL Learners’ Writing Performance Seyyed Dariush Ahmadi English Department, Islamic Azad university-Hamadan Branch Email: [email protected] Seyyedeh Susan Marandi English Department, Alzahra University

Abstract Due to the significance of writing for academic improvement and survival, there is an active interest today in new theoretical approaches to the study of written texts as well as approaches to the teaching writing that incorporate current theory and research findings (Brown, 2001). Erben et al. (2009) emphasize that using contemporary technologies afford us thousands of instructionally rich opportunities which might, otherwise, be missed not using such technologies. Wikis are thought to be useful in improving EFL students’ writing ability through the various features they provide for wiki members. Learners can benefit from the shared space to write, discuss, comment, edit, reflect, and evaluate (West and West, 2009) each other’s work for the attainment of the shared outcome of better writing ability. The present endeavor attempted to investigate if the use of wikis would have any effect on EFL learners’ writing performance. The study included two 16-member groups of EFL students attending the Advanced Writing course at JDKU who were randomly selected from a population of 60 EFL students. The wiki group, attending the language lab, acted as the experimental and the other group as the control group. The result of the study revealed that the wiki group outperformed the traditional writing class. Based on the obtained data dealt with in details in the study, it could be understood that the use of wikis would enable writing students to perform better. Keywords: Wiki, Writing, EFL Students, Advanced Writing

1. Introduction Traditionally, writing functioned primarily to support and reinforce patterns of oral language use,grammar, and vocabulary (Alderson & Bachman, 2002). Today, “the ability to write effectively is becoming increasingly important in our global community, and instruction in writing is thus assuming an increasing role in both second-andforeign-language education” (Weigle, 2002, p.1).Writing, in the sense of making language visible, always involves the application of technology of some sort, whethera quill, a pencil, a type writer, the printing press (Lankshear& Snyder, 2000) or the computer. 16


To harness the affordances of new technologies, the classroom design seems to have been influenced by the rapid advances of the information technology as a computer, linked to the internet, may be found in most classes in the future. Technology can provide both collaborative writing opportunities and individualized skill development using computer-based programs (Butler-Pascoe &Wiburg, 2002) that make use of CALL tools like wikis. Being a powerful tool for online work because of their simple flexible nature, wikis offer a quick way for learners to collaborate and share ideas textually while creating a content rich website (Martinez &Jogennethon, 2002). In line with identifying influential contexts in developing the writing ability and promoting effective educational practices for teaching, the current research is an attempt to check the effectiveness of using wikis in promoting the writing ability of EFL learners in Iran. It is also performed in response to the renewed interests in writing because of the influence of new multimedia communications through the use of technologies like wikis. Thus attempt is made to answer the following question: “Does the use of wikis have any effect on EFL learners’ writing performance?” Hence, the following null hypothesis was formulated: “There is no significant difference between the comparison (non-wiki) and experimental (wiki) groups in EFL students’ writing performance.” 2. Literature Review 2.1 Technology and Writing Technology has had a tangible impact on EFL classrooms since the 1990s and writing instruction now makes (or can make) considerable use of computer technologies (Gerrard, 2003). While some teachers have welcomed the new developments enthusiastically, seeing the integration of new technology-based pedagogies as a means of enlivening instruction, improving students’ writing skills, and facilitating collaboration, cooperation, and interaction both within and beyond the classroom, others regard this expansion as another manifestation of the escalating corporatization of education or as a threat to the essentially human interactions on which teaching is based (Hyland, 2003) and believe they are undermining our culture (Keen, 2007). However, anyone who uses a word processor to write, e-mail to converse with friends or colleagues, a software dictionary (installed on a mobile phone) to find a word, or the web to find information will understand the attraction of new technologies. “Computers make research, writing, revising, and collaborating easier” (Gerrard, 2003). Although some might find electronic technology threatening, spoiling, and unnecessary in teaching writing by arguing that composition can be taught well with traditional technologies like a blackboard, pen, and paper electronic 17


technologies are at hand almost everywhere and are widely used by millenials and, thus, “can enrich a course in ways that traditional technologies cannot” (Gerrard, 2003). As mentioned, technology was first experimented in the 1960s by a few teachers (Gerrard, 2003) and its use seemed to be helpful in enriching the traditional classes. Therefore, along with the developments in technologies, teachers and researchers tried to incorporate these new technologies including word-processing and error-identifying programs whereby there was a shift from product-based to process-based composing (Gerrard, 2003). Going online, computers were networked and extended their role in writing instruction using synchronous and asynchronous spaces. Exploiting synchronous writing, students “communicate in real time via discussion software on Local Area Networks (LAN) or internet chat sites with all participants at their computers at the same time” (Hyland, 2003, p.151). Among the many synchronous tools and programs, the following seem to be more prominent and prevalent: grammar and style checkers, Online Writing Labs (OWLS), Hypertext/Hypermedia, Local Area Network (LAN) Conferencing, and internet conferencing resources. Asynchronous writing occurs whereby students, who are using networked computers, communicate in a delayed way (Hyland, 2003). This time-delayed communication includes emails, weblogs, forums and wikis. The major advantage of asynchronous writing is that the non-synchronicity of the communication means that a text can be composed and edited prior to transmission at a more leisurely pace, rather than being co-constructed by participants (Hyland, 2003). This probably means that students would provide more reflective and considered responses and less proficient learners would have greater participation (Hyland, 2003). As the present study focuses on the application of wikis, the other asynchronous writing spaces are not discussed below. 2.2. Challenges in Writing Instruction and Technology Use Practicing writing requires a specific amount of time and attention dedicated to it in language classes; however, this itself has led writing to the periphery of instructional settings (Raimes, 2002). Due to confined classroom timetables, teachers usually prefer to assign few writing assignments throughout the whole term, semester, or course, which do not appear to be sufficient for developing students’ writing skill (Etter&Merhout, 2007). The situation worsens in the case of FL learners who do not have some crucial knowledge of the target language patterns and forms (Reppen, 2002). Besides being time consuming, the writing skill itself is so demanding that some teachers do not feel qualified enough to teach it (Raimes, 2002). Also, learners find the process of organizing their ideasand producing a coherent piece of writing with the quality of persuading the readers a very difficult task (Richards &Renandya, 2002). 18


In other words, it can be claimed that one of the most challenging issues in learners’ writings is the fact that they very often lack coherence (Reinhart, 1980), adequate markers of cohesion (Thompson, 2004), or do not even present a persuading viewpoint (Cockcroft & Cockcroft, 2005)especially those leaning English in settings like classes we have today. Technology can stand as one possible way for doing away with some of the challenges confronting the writing skill. Below come the reasons why there is an increasing attention towards using CALL in today’s classes. It is followed by pointing out the major benefits of using wikis as a tool that could be used to enhance the writing ability of English language learners. 2.3. The Reasons Behind the Increasing Attention Toward CALL Providing opportunities for out-of-class practice, together with the interest of learners in computers as both learning and communication tools can, to some extent, account for the attentions computers have received in personal and educational settings (Donaldson &Haggstrom, 2006). Another reason for the mounting attraction of computers might be because their use helps learners to compensate for the time and space confinements of traditional learning environments (lnan&Lowther, 2007). In addition, the flexible nature of CALL for learning, along with easy access to information and resources, has turned CALL into an appropriate technique for student-centered learning. Citing Warschauer and Healey (1998), Brown (2001, p. 145) classified the merits of the application of computers for education into seven categories: l. Multimodal practice with feedback, 2. Individualization in a large class, 3.Pair and small-group work on projects, either collaboratively or competitively 4. Real-life skill building in computer use, 5. Variety in the resources available and the learning styles used, 6. Exploratory learning with large amounts of language data, 7. The fun factor. 2.4. Wikis as User-friendly Tools A wiki is an online workspace that allows members to collaboratively create a series of web pages, edit and revise their and others’ work, provide feedback, keep track of the changes and publish information online without requiring HTML knowledge, using no more complicated technology, than a web browser. The first wiki was created and developed by Ward Cunningham and was used as a composition system, a discussion medium, and a collaborative tool (Leuf& Cunningham, 2001). Cunningham, claiming that wiki is inherently democratic, 19


believes wiki technology will facilitate the evaluation of knowledge creation and publishing. Wikis may be used for a variety of purposes. A simple wiki may be used as a “scratchpad” for brainstorming on a text or as a place to achieve shared content and link to resources such as a group calendar or external Web sites. More sophisticated wikis with additional technical features can be used in a more dynamic and ambitious fashion, such as in support of a corporate intranet or a massive documentation project like the Wikipedia. As social tools and appearing to benefit from the wisdom of the group, wikis that allow users to hold a stake in the community and develop a reputation ultimately can foster close, productive group work (Ciffolilli, 2003). The advantages of wikis include promoting collaborative writing, providing open-editing, allowing non-liner text structure, encouraging multiple modalities and providing a simple editing environment. As the first advantage, the wiki environments are most widely believed to help acquire collaborative writing skills (Engstrom& Jewett, 2005; Keith, 2006; Lamb & Johnson, 2007). The collaborative context provided by the wikis encourages users to negotiate, collaborate with others, and learn from other people’s work (Keith, 2006). Wikis emphasize on the process of learning while discouraging outcome-oriented learning (Lamb, 2004). Users can change their and others’ work using the open-editing facility. Wikis provide an easy way for completing collaborative projects, extending group work by continuing it asynchronously outside the course, and they also encourage learners to participate in discussions on their own in the online environment (Lamb, 2004; Farabaugh, 2007). The third advantage, non-linear text structure facility, enables associating web pages with non-linear navigation structures which provide easy connection of meaning previously unknown to learners and increase the speed and variety of content development (Ebersbach, Glaser, &Heigl, 2006; Farabaugh, 2007; Keith, 2006). Another advantage of wikis is encouraging multiple modalities. Wikis are able to incorporate graphics, audio, video, and animation that allow learners to express themselves and communicate the meaning that may not be fully expressed in the text format (Jewett,2005; Kress, 2003). And last, but not least, is providing a simple editing environment. Using wikis, the users are required to make little navigation and fewer clicks. The easy editing process enables ordinary users to participate in a collaborative work (Chang, 2004; Raitman et al, 2005). As indulging in all the possibilities provided by the CALL tools could perplex the learners, it was decided to use the open-editing facility along with its simple editing environment in the present study. As explained in the procedure section, a process-based approach (Rankin-Brown, 2006; Clark, 2005), a nonevaluative context (Borich, 2004), and an error-pattern identification technique (Reeves, 1997; Wachholz& Etheridge, 1996) were used in both the experimental and comparison groups in this study. 20


3. Methodology 3.1. Participants The participants in this study were 32 Iranian students majoring in TEFL at Jihad-e-daneshgahi Institute of Higher Education (JDKU), Iran. They were selected from a population of 60 students who were to take part in the Advanced Writing (AW) course which is a part of the requirements of the program to obtain a B.A. degree. They were asked to write an essay.Their essays were scored based on the IELT’S Holistic Writing Rubric. Those who scored one standard deviation above and one standard deviation below the mean were excluded from the study. The remaining 32 students were randomly assigned to the experimental and comparison groups, 16 students in each class. As there were 14males and 18females, they were assigned to the two the groups equally in order to have equal number of males and females in each class. Sixteen (7 males and 9 females) students attended the wiki and 16 (7 males and 9 females) attended the non-wiki class. The age range of the students was between 19 and 29. The researcher took part in the study as the teacher. The students had already passed Grammar and Writing courses as the prerequisite for the Advanced Writing course they were taking, which, if not passed, they would have to repeat the following term. 3.2. Materials The materials used for both comparison and experimental classes were the same with the exception that students in the experimental group worked with their wikis for cooperation on the writing assignments. The book used was Developing Composition Skills by Ruetten (1997). It should be noted that there were other texts and sources introduced to both experimental and comparison groups. The book mentioned was selected because it met the requirements put forth by the syllabus of the course and also the researcher found it suitable for the following reasons: 1. The selected book had a fine language which turned it into an easilyunderstandable source for intermediate students. 2. Developing composition skills included detailed discussions of the parts of a paragraph and an essay as well as exclusive discussion and practice on the characteristics of a written piece (unity, coherence, and cohesion). 3. Sections on how to use punctuations correctly was included in the book. 4. The book used sample paragraphs and essays which students used to discuss topics that were raised in each section. Different types of essays and 21


paragraphs were focused in these discussions so that students had a clear understanding of the points introduced. 3.3. Instrumentation The overarching research goal of the study was to investigate the impact of using wikis on Iranian EFL students’ writing performance. The instruments used included the pre-treatment and post-treatment writing exams. 3.3.1. The Pre-treatment Writing Exam A pre-treatment essay writing test was administered to students in both classes on the first class session as explained in the procedure section below. The results were later used to obtain the gain scores of the students after the administration of the post-treatment writing exam. The topic of the essay was taken from Cambridge IELTS 7 (2009) which was also the source from which the topic of the post-treatment essay was extracted. 3.3.2.Post-treatment Exam Both the experimental and control groups took part in a post-treatment writing exam as their final exam. The writing samples were scored based on IELTS holistic scoring rubric. Perkins (1983) notes that “when one is attempting to assess the overall proficiency level of a given written sample, holistic scoring has the highest validity” (pp. 340-341). 3.4. Procedure The overall goal of the advanced writing course is to enhance EFL learners’ paragraph writing ability. The students are usually expected to be able to write a coherent one-paragraph essay by the end of the term. The book used for both Advanced Writing classes was Developing Composition Skills byRuetten (1997). The first class session in both groups (i.e., wiki and non-wiki classes) started with an introduction to the materials covered for the course. They were briefed on the course requirements and objectives. The students were assigned to groups of two for the cooperative tasks they performed on writing explained below. Students in both classes were asked to write a paragraph which wasused as a source of pre-test. The experimental (wiki) group was asked to attend the language lab, which is equipped with 24 computers, the following session. On the second day of each class, information about different sections of the book, the cooperative tasks they would engage in, the number of essays they would write, and the evaluation procedure (which was based on IELT’S writing rubrics) 22


was provided. The students in the wiki class were asked to do a search on the Net and learn about wikis by the next session. On the third day of the wiki class, the instructor spent some time to verbally introduce wikis to the students and demonstrate the basic functions of a wiki by using the class wiki projected in front of the whole class as an example. The students then logged on to their computers and registered for an account with Wikispaces.com, which is free of charge and user-friendly. The instructor walked around the lab assisting students as needed. He took his time until all groups registered and logged into the wiki. Once every group was logged into the wiki, the teacher drew the students’ attention to the big screen and showed them how the wiki tools worked and could be modified. The instructor continued to answer questions and assist students for a few more minutes to make sure everyone knew about the application of the wikis. Then, in both classes (i.e., wiki and non-wiki), students’ attention was drawn to the appendix section of the book which introduces strategies for getting ideas (i.e., brainstorming, drawing a sketch, free-writing, etc.) and some grammatical points on writing sentences (i.e., clauses, connectors, verb tenses, etc.). They were instructed to refer to appendices for more help while writing and revising their essays. Students in both classes were asked to write a one-paragraph essay for the following session. They were required to cooperate as described below. Learners in the experimental and comparison groups wrote seven out-ofclass essays the topics of which were selected by students with the teacher guiding them in their selection. For example, topics were selected that students were involved with in their daily or academic affairs and they were familiar with. As there were suggestions for the writing activities at the end of each chapter, the suggested topics were also discussed and some of the topics were also chosen based on the suggested topics. Students’ suggestions were also taken into consideration in some cases. The assignments were iterative in nature and involved a preliminary draft and revised versions. After each student wrote his/her essay, his/her peers in the subgroup acted as editors. Advanced Writing students in both the experimental and comparison groups went through the pieces written by their peers in the sub-groups and, following guidelines set for each upcoming lesson, edited their peers’ writing in a way that problems were eliminated. Every student in each group who also acted as an editor, then, rewrote the modified version and handed the first version and the modified one to the original writer. Following this, the original writer of each piece of writing went through the edited version and wrote a final version of his work entitling it “The Final Version of Assignment No. X.” The difference between the wiki groups and the paper-based groups were in the form of providing the edited version. In the case of the wiki classes, all learners were required to post their primary drafts in the wiki by saving that version. The peers in the sub-groups, also, went to the same page where the first draft was saved, 23


made their edits and posted the edited version by saving them. The original writer was required to review the page and save his/her last version or final draft in the wiki. The students were asked to deliver a copy of the last version next session. As wikis are asynchronic tools, the students in the experimental group could make use of the additional time provided by the asynchronicity of the tool in their editing and rendering the final versions. This would make it possible for them to have more time to work on their essays and also refer to sources available on the Net or provided by their peers and other members of the class on the wiki before posting the final version. In the paper-based groups, students in each sub-group were required to have a reviewing-editing session one or two days before the next class session in order to have enough time to go through the revised versions and be able to prepare the last version to be delivered to the instructor the following session. In order to make sure that all students took part in the reviewing-editing session, a particular time and a specific class was determined which was supervised by a colleague. Students’ attendance was also checked and reported to the researcher. The following class session, the students were required to hand in the last version along with the first and the revised versions as well. The fourth, fifth and sixth sessions of the course focused on “introducing the paragraph.” First, a reading was introduced which was read by all the students and they were asked to answer few general questions to check their understanding of the piece. This prepared the class for going through the parts of a paragraph including the topic sentence, support, and the conclusion. Included in the first chapter of the book are the characteristics of a piece of writing including unity, coherence, and cohesion. Along with doing the activities of the lessons, the students were required to write paragraphs for the following sessions engaging in cooperative tasks explained above. Students worked on writing cause and effect (analyzing reasons), comparison and contrast, process, and classification paragraphs for the following eight sessions, each topic was covered in two sessions. Together with writing a paragraph for each session, students were required to do the activities on the topics covered for each class session. At the beginning of each session, questions regarding the activities of each covered chapter were attended to such that students discussed and pointed out their views about the activities of the book which was followed with the instructor’s explanations when needed. As the teacher had spent some time on reading students’ essays online in the wiki and the essays delivered by the paper-based groups (i.e., the versions students wrote) and made notes on different aspects of students’ essays regarding the elements and the characteristics of a paragraph as well as some major grammatical points (e.g., the use of tenses, subject predicate agreement, clauses, etc.), explanations were provided to the whole class following the discussion on activities pointed out above. Questions were answered, if there remained any. 24


In addition, the students were also asked to do identification tasks in which they were required to identify, say, the topic sentence of a few paragraphs before the next class meeting. Needless to say that the characteristics and specifications of each paragraph type were also mentioned and it was attempted to draw students’ attention to differences in types of paragraphs they studied. Session fifteen was dedicated to a recap of the covered paragraph types. During session sixteen, both groups took the post-test exam. 3.5. Design and Data analysis method The design of the study was true experimental. The method of analysis used was independent-samples t-test which was performed after ensuring that the obtained data were normally distributed. In order to make sure if the data were normal, they were exposed to normality check of skewness and kurtosis before actually referring to Levene’s test for equality of variances. 4. Results and Discussion 4.1. Results 4.1.1. Normality of the Data It could be observed from the table below that the writing exam gain scores are distributed normally because kurtosis and skewness are within the acceptable range of +2 and -2 (Tabachnick&Fidell, 2007). Table 1 Descriptive Statistics for the Normality of the Data

Std. N

Minimum

Maximum Mean

Deviation

Skewness

Stati stic GS

32

Valid N

Statist Statistic .00

Statistic 11.50

Statistic 5.5781

Statistic 2.69441

32

(listwise)

25

Kurtosis

Statistic Std. Erroric -.110

.414

-.534

Std. Error .809


4.1.2.Testing the Hypothesis As observed in Table above, the data were distributed normally. Thus, independent samples t-test was used to analyze the data. As observed in table below, Levene’s statistic is not significant which signifies the equality of variances in the experimental and comparison groups. Independent samples t-test for gain scores indicates that there is a significant difference [t(32)=5.212, p=.000] between the experimental and comparison groups and, thus, the null hypothesis was not rejected. It means that the wiki group outperformed the non-wiki group in that the EFL learners in the experimental group showed a better writing performance. Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for the Writing Performance

GS

group

N

Mean

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

1

16

7.4063

1.80941

.45235

2

16

3.7500

2.14476

.53619

26


Table 3 Independent-samples T-test for the Writing Gain Scores

Levene's Test for Equality of Variances

t-test for Equality of Means

95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Sig. (2F

Sig.

t

df

1.485

.232

5.212

30

Mean

tailed) Difference

Std. Error Difference

Lower

Upper

Equal S

variances assumed

.000

3.65625

.70151

2.22357

5.08893

.000

3.65625

.70151

2.22186

5.09064

Equal variances not

5.212 29.173

assumed

4.2. Discussion It has been reported in the literature that the technologies “make existing practices more efficient” (Butler-Pasco &Wiburg, 2003, p.4) and also offer unique opportunities to engage English language learners in functional uses of language by providing them a collaborative learning environment ( as cited in Butler-Pasco &Wiburg, 2003). This study set out with the aim of investigating the effect of using wikis on EFL learners’ writing performance. The results of the study show the positive effect of using wikis on EFL learners’ writing performance. The results obtained seem to be in line with findings by other scholars including Papadima-Sophocleous and Yerou (2013), Martinsen and Miller (2012), Li (2012), Schuetze (2011), Mohammed 27


(2011), Bradley, Lindstrom, and Rystedt (2010), Bromley and Arabsarhangi (2011) as well as Bagheri, Yamini, and Behjat (2013). There are several possible explanations for this result. A possible explanation might be that using wikis facilities the writing process by allowing the users to write whenever they are inspired to (Bradley, Lindstrom, &Rystedt, 2010). Another possible explanation might be that wikis allowed students to easily revise and edit their compositions and therefore helped them avoid the tedious recopying and increase students’ enjoyment of writing, as mentioned by Butler-Pasco and Wiburg (2003) regarding word processors. The third possible explanation might be related to the nature of collaboration on wikis as opposed to the nature of collaboration in a paper composition as stated by Martinsen and Miller (2012). The main finding reported by them is that the use of wiki tended to foster greater collaboration. Bromley (2010) mentioned in the findings that when a wiki is used, students felt a sense of ownership over their work. This feeling of ownership might be another possible explanation for the results obtained in that they might have worked harder on the pieces they wrote. 5. Conclusion However, it should be remembered that technology on its own is not the panacea for foreign language pedagogy (Lin &Huo, 2007) and that CALL is not a methodology, the results obtained from the present study indicated that the use of wikis enhanced EFL learners’ writing performance. The following limitations should be acknowledged regarding the present work.Although the study had a true experimental design, the number of the population from which the sample was selected was not large enough.The slow internet inIran might have been frustrating for the students in the wiki class. The study was limited to the analysis of the writing skill only, do the results might not be applicable for other skills. The participants included only Iranian university students. Thus, generalizations could not be made to students from other nationalities on the basis of the present endeavor. Writing teachers are thus recommended to vary their strategies and techniques of teaching the writing skill using modern technologies like wikis to help ameliorate some of the traditional ways of teaching writing. References Bagheri, M.S., Yamini, M., &Behjat, F. (2013).Blending Technology in EFL Writing Instruction International J. Soc. Sci. & Education, 3(2), 422-434. Borich, G. D. (2004). Effective teaching methods.Fifth Edition. New Jersey 28


Bradley, L., Lindstrom, B., &Rystedt, H. (2010). Rationalities of collaboration for language learning in a wiki. ReCALL 22(2), 247–265. Bromley, L. (2010). Wikis and collaborative learning: Is it an option for elementary school children. Access to knowledge, 2(1). Brown,H.D. (2001). Teaching by principles: an interactive approach to language pedagogy. London: Longman. Butler-Pascoe, M. E., &Wiburg, K. M. (2002).Technology and Teaching English Language Learners. Ciffolilli, A. (2003). Phantom authority, self-selective recruitment and retention of members in virtual communities: the case of Wikipedia. 8(12) Available at:http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue812/ciffolilli/index.html Clark, D. (2005). Explorations into writing anxiety: Helping students overcome their fears and focus on learning. ISSOTLConference. Cockcroft, R., & Cockcroft, S.(2005).Persuading people an introduction to rhetoric (2nd edition).Nottingham:Palgrave. Donaldson, R. P., &Haggstrom, M. A. (2006).Changing Language Education through CALL.NY: Routledge. Ebersbach, A., Glaser, M., &Heigl, R. (2006).Wiki: Web collaboration.New York: Springer. Emig, J. (1971). The composing processes of twelfth graders. Urbana, IL: The national council of teachers of English. Engstrom, M. E., & Jewett, D. (2005).Collaborative learning the wiki way. Tech trends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning, 49(6), 12-16. Erben, T., Ban, R., &Castañeda, M. (2009).Teaching English language learners through technology. NY: Routledge. Etter, S. J.,&Merhout, J. W. (2007).Writingacrossthecurriculumin integrating information and communications technologies into the classroom. NY: Lawrence Erlbaum.

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Farabaugh, R. (2007). The isle is full of noises: Using wiki software to establish a discoursecommunity in a Shakespeare classroom. Language Awareness, 16(1), 41-56. Hyland, K. (2003). Genre-based pedagogies: a social response to process. Journal of Second Language Writing 12(1), 17–29. IELTS 7, (2009).Examination papers from University of Cambridge ESOL examinations: English for speakers of other languages .Cambridge:Cambridge University Press. Jewitt, C. (2005). Multimodality, reading, and writing for the 21st century. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 26(3), 315-331. Keen, A. (2007).The cult of the amateur: How today’s internet is killing our culture. NY: Doubleday/Currency. Ketih, M. (2006).Wikis and student writing.Teacher Librarian, 34(2), 70-72. Kress, G. R. (2003). Literacy in the new Media Age. London:Routledge. Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2007). An information skills workout: Wikis and Collaborativewriting. Teacher Librarian, 34(5), 57-59. Lamb, B. (2004). Wide open spaces: wikis, ready or not. Educause Review, 39(5), 36- 48. Lankshear, C., & Snyder, I. (2000).Teachers and techno-literacy. Australia: Allen &Unwin. Leuf, B., & Cunningham, W. (2001).The Wiki way: Quick collaboration on the Web.Upper Saddle River, Addison Wesley. Li, M. (2012). Politeness strategies in wiki-mediated communication of EFL collaborative writing tasks. The IALLT Journal, 42 (2). Martinez, M., &Jagannathan, Sh. (2002). Social networking, adult learning success and model. In social computing section IV.PP.280-292. Martinsen, R. A., & Miller, A. (2012). Collaboration through wiki and paper compositions in foreign language classes. The IALLT Journal 42 (1), 73.

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Mohammed, M.M.K. (2011).Using wikis to develop writing performance among prospective English as foreign language teachers. Retrieved from the Net at: www.nauss.edu.sa/En/DigitalLibrary/.../2011/articles_2011_1766.pdf Papadima-Sophocleous, S., &Yerou, C. (2013).Using wikis in an English for specific academicpurposes (esap) context. Teaching English with Technology, 13(2), 23-54. Perkins, M. R. (1983). Modal expressions in English.New Jersey: Norwood. Raimes, A. (2002). Ten steps in planning a writing course and training teachers of writing. In J.C. Richards,& W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching an anthology of current practice.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Raitman, R., Augar, N., & Zhou, W. (2005).Employing wikis for online collaboration in the e-learning environment: Case study. Proceedings for the Third international Conference on Information Technology and Applications. Rankin-Brown, M.S. (2006). Addressing Writing Apprehension in Adult English Language Learners. Proceedings of CATESOL State Conference. Retrieved from the Web at :http://www.catesol.org/Rankin‐Brown_1.pdf Reeves, L. L. (1997). Minimizing Apprehension in the Learner Centered Classroom.The English journal, 86, 38-45. Reppen, R. (2002). A genre-based approach to content writing instruction.In J. Richards & W.A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice(pp.21-328).Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Richards, J. C., &Renandya, W. A. (2002). Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ruetten, M.K. (1997). Developing composition skills. London: Heinle& Heinle Publishers. Schuetze, U. (2011).Do wikis affect grammatical aspects of second-language writing? The Iallt Journal, 41 (1). Tabachnick, B. G., &Fidell, L. S. (2007).Using Multivariate Statistics.Boston: Pearson. 31


Thompson, B. (2004). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis: Understanding concepts and applications. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. Wachholz, P. B., & Etheridge, C. P. (1996). Writing self-efficacy beliefs of highand low-apprehensive writers. Journal of Developmental Education, 19(3), 16-24. Warschauer, M., & Healey, D. (1998). Computers and language learning: An overview. Language Teaching, 31, 57-71. Weigle, S. (2002).Assessing writing. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. West, J. A., West, M. L. (2009). Jossey-bass guides to online teaching and learning Using Wikis for Online Collaboration: The power of the read- write web. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Authors’ Bio information Seyyed Dariush Ahmadi is a TEFL major PhD candidate at Islamic Azad UniversityScience and Research Tehran Branch. He is currently a member of the faculty at Islamic Azad University- Hamadan Branch. His interests are CALL, and Writing. He has published at (inter)national journals and also presented at various conferences. Seyyedeh Susan Marandi holds a PhD in TEFL from the University of Tehran and is currently the Head of the International Affairs Department at Alzahra University, where she has established a TEFL PhD program, teaches various undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate classes, and established the first CALL course in Iran. Some of her current interests are language (e-)assessment and CALL.

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“A Sample Own-produced Module for Iranian High School Students to Bring them back into the English Classroom” Ezat Amirbakzadeh Kalati Education Department, University of Bath, U.K Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Abstract This paper presents a sample own-produced module to motivate Iranian high school students to learn English with joy. It first investigates the teaching and learning the English language in high schools in Iran. Subsequently, it discusses the impact of homegrown textbooks, traditional approaches and disciplined classrooms on the students. It explores the situation, teachers and learners to distinguish the current issues in teaching and learning English. Both environment and needs analysis were employed and appropriate data were collected through reviewing related books, articles, documents and learner observation. A coherent block of work for grade three high school students has been designed as a proposal to resolve the current issues. In designing materials, the emphasis is on authentic resources. Moreover, in designing the activities, the emphasis is on using various learning strategies and collaborative learning. Consequently, authentic materials along with collaborative activities will attract the students’ attention. It has been designed specially to train students to use various learning strategies to become good language learners. It contains a detailed teacher’s guide. In fact, relevant studies have to be done to experiment the efficacy of the designed materials. Keywords: Own-Produced Module, High School Students, Current Issues, Authentic Materials, Collaborative Learning

1. Introduction Teaching and learning an additional language dates back to the Roman Empire when Roman families educated their children in Greek (Coyle et al. 2010). In contrast, teaching and learning English started in the 19th century and has changed tremendously due to its globalization through fast communications channels such as the Internet. The English language is used for economic, scientific and political exchanges all over the world (Ben-Canaan and Wu, 2006) with around 85% of organizations using it as their official language for transnational communication (Crystal, 2003). Additionally, Crystal states that 90% of all published academic articles are also written in English. The English language has grown so fast that people are aware of its importance for the future, and its necessity for professional and academic success. In spite of all of this, the Educational System in Iran has paid little attention to this development due to political restraints (Borjian, 2013). 33


Iranian students are taught the English language in high school for six years through traditional approaches and old-fashioned homegrown materials (Dolati and Seliman, 2011). The Education system seems to follow the “banking model” that was coined and critiqued byFreire (2005). In the banking model, teachers deposit information and skills into students (that are considered empty bank accounts) who are taught to pass tests and are required to memorize information (ibid). In fact, banking education does not turn the learners into critical thinkers. Teachers are the absolute authorities over the students, and may act as well-trained robots. Teachers are constrained by the Education System and therefore students are taught strictly. The students sit row upon row, and staring at the back of other students. They have to be silent and cannot say anything without permission. Moreover, they have to obey the teacher (Freire 2005). Recent studies in Iran indicate that students have positive attitudes towards the English language. However, some learners feel anxious about being unable to learn the language or fail so the prevalence of language learning anxiety has been realized in English classroom which may impede their language learning (AtefVahid and FardKashani, 2011). English teachers overuse the Persian language in the English classroom, and high school students claim that it is very boring to be in an English classroom where they learn no English and therefore general lack of intrinsic motivation and interests can be felt in such a classroom (Kalanzadeh et al. 2013). On the other hand, the extrinsic motivation exists owing to passing the exams (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: The impact of home grown textbooks, traditional approach and disciplined classroom on the high school students. EFL practices

Homegrown Textbooks Disciplined Classroom

Traditional Approach

High School Students

Lack of Intrinsic Motivation

Bored with the English teaching Classroom Anxiety

Impact on students It is my wish to support a reform in teaching and learning the English language in Iran. I have to embrace instruction and curriculum that engage and encourage the students, and create a classroom that is responsive to students’ linguistic, social and affective needs (Rodrigues, 1998). I have designed authentic materials that contain colorful pictures, audio and video files, and collaborative activities. Accordingly, students are likely to engage in the process of learning. I 35


have selected the contents in English which the students are familiar with, and have learnt them through their mother tongue, such as biology contents of their biology textbook. I think the study of the familiar contents through the medium of English will help them to enjoy learning. Moreover, it will give them a different experience. I try to change the traditional classroom to a lively, interactive and motivating place (Coyle et al. 2010) and use English as much as possible in order to prevent my students from becoming bored. With this aim in mind, I have designed a sample module for grade three in high school. First, I will describe the pedagogical context for which the material will be designed; this section will involve both environment and needs analysis. Second, I will discuss the pedagogical principles and theory that underpin my materials design. Third, I will present my designed materials and the teacher’s guidelines. Finally, I will conclude by discussing the implementation of the designed materials, including their limitations and implications for EFL learning and teaching. 2. Context With regard to the target context, I need to consider the political, pedagogical and environmental issues in teaching and learning the English language in Iran that lead to boredom, anxiety and lack of motivation in my pedagogical context. In fact, my aim of designing and implementing the materials is to identify and resolve the shortcomings. Therefore, relevant information has been collected through answering to Nation and Macalister’s questions of environmental constraints (2010:16-17). I intended to conduct a pilot study to do need analysis. Unfortunately, it was not permitted due to the Education System restriction and therefore I conducted semi-structured interviews and focused on my experience through my direct observation of the students while teaching in a state high school. Furthermore, I reviewed relevant articles and books. The situation, teachers, learners and their needs are basic components of my materials design. 2.1 Environment Analysis To produce a successful module, environment analysis, needs analysis and pedagogical principles should be taken into account. I have to carry out the environment analysis to ensure the designed materials can be usable (Nation and Macalister, 2010). Reading a newly published book (Borjian, 2013), investigating Education System documents of Iran (Appendix 1), answering to suggested questions provided by Nation and Macalister (2010:16-17), reviewing recent relevant studies from my country, and my teaching experience has informed my environment analysis. First of all, I will discuss the situation constraints such as government policies, group and individual attitudes towards the target language, high school facilities, course time and the classroom capacity. I attach importance to these issues in order to make the teacher and the learner's position clear enough. 36


After that, the teachers have to be considered, that is, how qualified they are and whether they can use the designed materials or they have to be trained. Finally, the learners whose goals, expectations and interests are significant factors will be discussed in detail. I need to be aware of the learners’ age in order to select appropriate topics and activities; their previous knowledge of the target language and their shared language are other important factors (ibid). 2.1.1 The Situation Education System in Iran has changed already and therefore, 5-year primary school, 3-year middle school, 3-year high school, and 1-year pre-university have changed to 6-year primary school and 6-year high school (Appendix 2). Foreign language is a compulsory unit in high school and students can choose the English, the French or the German languages, although students seldom choose the French or the German languages. Iranian students learn English in two different ways; one is private tutoring and the other is public education system. The former has been beneficial since it has been after new approaches, and good instructors. Moreover, up-to-date internationally published textbooks and technology have been used in such an institution (Afrashi, 2010). Nevertheless, the latter has been faced essential issues as a result of having probable weaknesses in determining needs and defining goals, curriculum design and implementation, appropriate methodology, the end product of the curriculum, and evaluation system (Maftoon et al. 2010). In addition, Grammar Translation Method is fairly common as it provides a repertoire of classroom techniques that is easy for teachers to learn and to use. The second method which is employed is Audiolingual that is based on Structuralism and Behaviorism. Furthermore, the Education System demands the employment of these two methods (Dolati and Soliman, 2011). It is believed that learning occurs through memorization and habit formation (Nunan, 2011). Better insight to the situation may be provided by the following information. The revolution in Iran has brought dramatic changes to the English language teaching. Regarding the curriculum and syllabus, the cultural elements of the English language were removed and some aspects such as phonology, morphology and syntax were selected. Furthermore, the proper names such as Mary, Elisabeth and William, pictures such as women with no hijab, and most texts were revised concerning the religious and political aspects. As a result, a new form of English was created (Borjian, 2013). The textbooks contain homegrown indigenized materials in English which have been selected by the Supreme Council of Education according to the Education System policy and published by a state publishing house (ibid). From my retrospective point of view, the textbooks are outdated and topics are uninteresting (Appendix 3). It is stated that a team tries to develop Iranian national curriculum for teaching foreign languages based on Communicative Language Teaching under the supervision of the Ministry of Education (Dahmardeh, 2010). I hope this effort will be successful and I can join them. 37


Nation and Macalister (2010) identify classroom size and facilities as environment constraints that can affect the choice of group work activities. Fortunately, the size of Iranian public high schools is standard and classes are spacious. The blackboards are big enough to be seen and used for pair and group work. However, the seats are not suitable. There is a considerable mismatch between the body dimensions of the students and the seat height and seat width. The seats are uncomfortable and usually too narrow for most girls and low for some boys (Dianat et al. 2013). High schools and schools are gender-specific in general. They are equipped with photocopier machine and audiovisual system. There are usually 24 to 34 students in each classroom. Available time is another environment constraint that is mentioned by Nation and Macalister (2010). It is considered whether there is adequate time for the teachers to cover the course and the students achieve their goals. According to the curriculum and time allocation, the English language classroom takes place two sessions a week and each session lasts for 90 minutes. A year of study is programmed to provide the students with 37-week English course. Accordingly, the time can be sufficient. The evaluation system is based on continuous and final assessments. Students are evaluated by checking the work which students have been doing during the year and the final examinations. The continuous assessment includes homework, answering the teacher’s questions, oral classroom activities such as reading aloud and memorization of dialogues presented in the book, and regular classroom tests. Furthermore, final assessment consists of oral and written examinations. The Oral examination includes reading aloud to assess students’ pronunciation and intonation, and summarizing what has read in one or two sentences to assess their comprehension. In addition, students’ spelling, vocabulary, reading comprehension and grammar are assessed through the written examination. Apparently listening, speaking and writing skills are considered less important than reading skill and grammar (Appendix 1). 2.1.2 Teachers English language teachers in Iran usually graduated in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. In addition, some of the teachers may be Bachelor of Art or Master of Art holders in English Translation or English Literature. The teachers have acceptable knowledge base of methodology, linguistics, testing, and assessment. Nonetheless, it seems there is a large gap between theory and practice, and moving from theory to practice may need professional teacher training programs (Farhady and SajadiHezaveh, 2010). Similarly, perceived language proficiency is an essential issue for non-native English speaking teachers, and it has a profound impact on their teaching and their self-confidence (Eslami and Fatahi, 2008). Teaching English in high school in Iran is based on out-of-date prescribed materials and traditional methods which have an unsatisfactory outcome. Teachers 38


have no legal right to add supplementary materials or design them according to the learner needs. Moreover, the Ministry of Education has jurisdiction over the school system, the curriculum standards, the compilation of textbooks and examination system. However, all the educational policies are decided by the central government (Ghorbani, 2009). Although Iranian English teachers are obliged to employ Grammar Translation and Audio Lingual methods in the classroom, some of them may try to adopt a variety of styles regarding the students’ individual differences and preferences. Recent research shows teachers use eight different types of styles, but they use sensing, judging, and thinking type activities more than intuition, feeling, extroverting, perceiving and introverting type activities. They may create an effective learning environment to satisfy the students (Rahimi and Abdollahi, 2012). 2.1.3 Learners The learners who have great importance for me are all state high school students. Although the target learners are 24 girl students in grade three in a state high school in my city. Their age ranging from 14 to 16, all of whom are native speaker of the Persian language and English is their foreign language. They have a pre-intermediate level of English. The English language is a compulsory unit and they started learning English in grade one in high school through the “banking model” of education that they were passive recipients, and the teacher was the narrator of the content. Moreover, the teacher seldom attempted to stimulate them to be active, curious and creative (Abdullah and Hosseini, 2012). Therefore, they lost the intrinsic motivation and struggled to learn the English language to pass the examinations. Unfortunately, my target learners who are girls do not use a variety of learning strategies. They use metacognitive strategy at most and affective strategies at least, although boys use metacognitive, affective, social and cognitive strategies as they have more communication in the society compared with girls (Abbasian et al. 2012) owing to gender discrimination and religion. Another important issue is their language proficiency. Since they learn English to pass their examinations, their focus is usually on reading comprehension, vocabulary and grammar. They cannot therefore communicate in English. Furthermore, they do not learn how to use the English language outside the classroom. Based on my investigation and observation, the Education System policy, the syllabus, and inappropriate methodology have caused the main issues for the learners (Borjian, 2013). 2.2 Needs Analysis Needs analysis plays a fundamental role in the process of designing materials and putting them into practice in order the learners achieve their goals. Dudley (2011:1) states:”The ‘gap’ between the current and necessary will identify our needs, purposes and objectives.” Accordingly, in teaching and learning situation, 39


needs analysis can be an appropriate tool to find out what the learners know, what they need to know and what they wish to know. Necessities (required knowledge), lacks (present knowledge), and wants (subjective needs) are three types of learner needs which can be discovered and then decide what curriculum and which approach will meet these needs (Nation and Macalister, 2010). There are different ways to conduct a needs analysis. The data which can be collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and questionnaire is a prerequisite for designing effective materials (Long, 2005). I tried to collect data through careful participant observation during the teaching and learning English, semi-structured interviews with my target learners, and careful examination of their previous tests. I decided to administer questionnaires, although it was not available due to the bureaucracy. Therefore, I conducted semi-structured interview. The result shows the learners learning is influenced by anxiety, boredom and lack of motivation. They prefer authentic materials and stress free classroom. They would like to learn how to communicate in the English language and how to write a paragraph. They wish to use technology in their English learning. They also need to use English outside the classroom. In addition, they need to learn English enjoyably. In general, Iranian students study the English language for about six years. By contrast, they are not able to communicate in a real context. In spite of having a positive attitude towards the English language, they do not show any positive attitude towards communicating in English to another Iranian (Rajaee Nia and Abbaspour, 2012), and there is no chance to communicate to a native English speaker inside and outside the classroom. The fact remains that textbooks, teachers, learning environment and learners are interrelated factors that play essential roles in the learners’ success in learning the English language. To sum up this section, I have to mention that Collaborative learning techniques can help my learners cope with some of the issues and allow them to be actively involved in the language learning. Therefore, they feel less isolated, share their learning and use their social and affective strategies (Apple, 2006). Consequently, my designed materials are underpinned by collaborative learning, motivation, and learning strategies which are three main aspects of foreign language acquisition. 3. Pedagogical Principles A large amount of research has been conducted to prove the shortcomings of the Education System policy on teaching and learning English in Iran in general and in high schools in particular (Ansari, 2008). I taught English in a high school and became familiar with the textbooks, methods and students’ pedagogical issues. Regarding the result of the environment and needs analyses, textbook and teaching method are two important factors which have a massive impact on the students learning problems. They cause boredom and lack of intrinsic motivation in the 40


learners, and the learners’ poor speaking and writing skills. My objective is to resolve the pedagogical issues. To achieve my objective, the materials have to be designed based on authenticity and grounded in the theory that focuses on facilitating learning. First I discuss the textbook and the methodology, two main factors that cause the pedagogical issues to investigate the selection of the best materials and the theory. The textbook is a universal key element of English language teaching (Hutchinson and Torres, 1994). Each lesson can be a dynamic interaction between teacher, materials, and learners. This interaction will provide a visible structure within the lesson and across the lessons. In fact, the textbook makes learners and teachers’ lives easier, more secure, enjoyable and fruitful (ibid). Whilst Iranian high school textbooks do not provide this dynamic interaction I tried to make a change and select authentic resources to design a sample module. Making changes are necessary in our lives as they are helpful in stimulating critical and creative thinking (Mehisto et al. 2012). I have used content, which my learners are familiar with and study in their biology classroom in Persian. I have also used technology, which the learners at this age like very much. I intend to display language and content through teaching the designed materials. Moreover, it makes a regular connection between learning and the students’ lives (ibid). As I mentioned earlier, the Grammar Translation Method and the Audiolingual Method have been employed in high schools for a long time. Teaching through these two methods has caused some issues for the learners. In Grammar Translation Method emphasis is on reading rather than communication in the language and in the Audiolingual Method emphasis is on speaking and listening before reading and writing (Richards and Rodgers, 2001). Concerning current teaching and learning situation, reading comprehension, translation, grammar, memorization and drilling are emphasized while speaking and writing skills are ignored. As they have not fulfilled the learners’ objectives, I intend to employ the Eclectic Method to make use of teachable and practicable parts of a variety of methods. Consequently, the theory underpinned my materials designed is eclecticism. Eclectic Method enables me to employ some aspects of Content and Language Integrated Learning, Communicative Language Teaching, Cooperative Language Learning, Task-Based Language Teaching and Suggestopaedia Method in the classroom. Another important issue is lack of learner’s intrinsic motivation. Since motivation is one of the most used concept for explaining the failure or success of a learner, I will consider the improvement of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in my designed materials. Dörnyei (1998) declares that motivation is one of the crucial key factors in second or foreign language learning that provides the main impetus to initiate a language and learn it successfully. Motivation has been regarded as one of the main elements that influence the speed and amount of success of foreign language learners. Motivation makes the learners put in constant effort, have strong 41


hope to achieve their goals and learn the language enjoyably (Gardner, 2001 cited in Oxford, 2011). Motivation, attraction, interaction, and authentic sources play vital roles in my designing materials. In order to capture the learners’ attention and encourage their motivation, I have selected authentic materials (Dornyei and Csizer, 1998). The topic is “Pollination” that will function as the base of my materials. I have chosen this content to help them learn the language through the content they are familiar with, and the focus will be sometimes on the language or the content. “Language is a conduit for communication and for learning which can be described as learning to use language and using language to learn.” (Coyle et al. 2012:54). Dornyei and Csizer (1998) provide Ten Commandments for motivating language learners. In order to encourage the learners’ motivation I will create a pleasant atmosphere in my classroom by having a game-like competition within my lesson. Therefore, I have designed a task in which the classroom will be arranged in 4 groups, each group consists of 6 students who will try to make a poster, using some prepared pictures, definitions and drawing related to their content. Giving positive feedback and appraisal make my learners more motivated. Moreover, I will develop a good relationship with my learners through being an ordinary member of each group in turn, and help them enjoy the activity. The learners can be more motivated in learning the language when I conduct a needs analysis because they will realize that they are important to their teacher (ibid). This type of classroom will be considered as a community which fosters the unity. Collaborative learning can create a student-centered situation in which the learners will feel more relaxed and ready to learn (Yang, 2009). My learners usually feel shy to speak in front of the whole class and therefore I will arrange the class in small groups in order to reduce their anxiety. Moreover, their intrinsic motivation, interpersonal skills and self-esteem will be improved through being engaged in group activities. Collaborative learning plays an essential role in second language acquisition (ibid). In relation to what is said, I will design group works in order my learners become involved in some collaborative activities and learn to use the different learning strategies. In addition to learners’ motivation, learner autonomy has been considered to influence language learning profoundly. Applying student-centered situation and different learning strategies will lead to more autonomy. Autonomous learners can take control over their own learning by using necessary learning strategies in their learning. Moreover, autonomy is a desirable goal of language education (Benson, 2011). In order to train my learners to use different types of learning strategies, different activities have been designed such as pair works and group works activities that improve the learners’ use of social and affective strategies. In addition, learning and remembering vocabulary by visualizing, underlining key words and monitoring will improve their cognitive strategies, and I have made use of them. 42


To conclude this section, I want to emphasize the importance of designing a variety of collaborative activities for the high school students to engage them during the lesson. As high school students have limited attention span and when there are no variables in the classroom activities they will turn off (Linse, 2005) different learning styles such as visual, auditory and kinesthetic have been applied in my designed materials. In order to improve their speaking, I have designed an activity that students interview each other to practice their English language. They also will become engaged in writing a paragraph through an especial technique. Moreover, I have designed an activity for out of the classroom to make learning English more exciting. 4. The Designed Module The selection of the materials is a major decision in teaching a language. It ought to be made consciously through collecting informative data by doing environment and needs analyses. These two essential tools will equip the teacher to collect crucial information in order to design comprehensive materials. Without environment and needs analyses, and rational and deep discussion of pedagogical principle, I could not design the kit. The set of materials is content-based with nature theme. The recurrent theme is “pollination”. It contains of pollination vocabulary and flashcards, the listening “Flower Pollination”, the reading “The Importance of Pollination”, and the writing “Wings of Life”. As I mentioned before, I have selected this topic from their biology textbook. The tasks and activities involve using collaborative activities, affective, social and cognitive strategies which help the learners reduce the anxiety and learn in a more relaxed atmosphere. The type and arrangement of the activities motivate the learners to be active and fresh. They use their learning strategies and they will become more autonomous. The activities involve listening, speaking, reading and writing tasks so their poor skills will be developed.This module will fulfill my learners’ needs. The tasks and activities in this module are arranged in an interrelated way. All of them introduce and develop the same theme, nature and pollination. The use of learning strategies is interconnected. In this coherent block of work, the language that is leaned in one task will be used and improved in the following task and activity. The topic can be reintroduced with more difficult level. The module consists of meaning-focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning and fluency development (Nation and Macalister, 2010). The learners have good chances to learn from listening and speaking, and also learn through speaking and writing. They will learn language items as well. Moreover, their fluency will be developed by using what they have already learned (ibid). They learn the vocabulary (language item) and use it in their listening to understand it. The listening provides them the information they can use in their speaking, and they use the input to write sentences and paragraphs. 43


To stimulate my learners’ motivation and raise their cognitive strategies, I have included a package of flashcards. The package consists of relevant pictures and the definitions which are lexicon chains for the topic “Pollination” and learners need to learn them. The procedure by which these lexicon chains are taught is based on collaborative activity. According to explicit approach, teaching vocabulary through using visual aids help the learners retain the meaning. I have also used music in my materials. Music can facilitate second language acquisition. Similarly, music has the ability to foster positive attitudes and reduce the school and high school’s truancy rate. It also promotes social development and creativity (Hanshumaker, 1980 cited in Weinberger, 1998). In this designed module, I have presented the material in the order they should be taught. The teacher’s aides have been added. The procedure, intended objectives and anticipated problems parts define the teacher’s role, main aim, and shortcomings respectively. “Pollination” Teacher’s aids: 4 packages of flashcards, each includes 11 color pictures (Appendix 4) and their definitions (Appendix 5), “Flower Pollination” clip (Appendix 6), clip script (Appendix 7), a package of jigsaw reading puzzle (Appendix 8) and a 5minute film (Appendix 9). 4.1 Flower Pollination (Listening) 4.1.1 Pollination Vocabulary (Pre-listening activity) Procedure: Students will be divided into 4 groups of 6. The teacher gives a package of pictures and definitions (Appendixes4 & 5) to each group and ask them to match them. Then the teacher checks their group work and ask them if they have questions. Intended outcome: Learners are involved in group activity and therefore they use the social strategy; they try to match the picture with its definition and use their cognitive strategy (Oxford, 1992) to recognize and comprehend which picture belongs to which definitions. 4.1. 2. Pronunciation Procedure: Teacher pronounces each word and chunk and asks the students to repeat chorally and individually. Intended outcome: To practice the key items and help the students improve their pronunciation.

44


4.1.3 Listening activity Procedure: Teacher tells the students that they are going to watch a clip (Appendix 6) that is about flower pollination and ask them to listen and write down the words they have heard in activity 1 and 2. The teacher then gives each student the script of the listening (Appendix 7), ask them to check how many words they have missed recalling and plays the clip again. They can read and listen simultaneously and underline the familiar words. It is an appropriate activity for the learners to improve their listening gradually. Subsequently, the teacher ask the students to listen carefully for the last time without looking at the script. Intended outcome: Teacher makes the student recall the new vocabulary and wants to keep their attention and help them become familiar with the content in English. Anticipated Problems: As the students listening skill is poor, they may have difficulties in the activity and teacher needs to spend a little more time on the listening. 4.1.4 Post-listening activity: The teacher asks the students to say why pollination is important. 4.2 “The Importance of Pollination” (Jigsaw Reading) The reading is a four-paragraph text which is separated into 4 parts (Appendix 8), named paragraph A, paragraph B, paragraph C, and paragraph D and six copies are made of each separated paragraph. Students are grouped into 4, each consists of 6 students with the same name, that is, A, B, C, and D. The teacher gives copies of paragraph A to group A, paragraph B to group B, paragraph C to group C and paragraph D to group D. 4.2.1 Pre-reading activity: Post-listening activity also acts as a pre-reading activity as pollination is the recurrent theme. The teacher asks them to find out how many times the word “pollination” has appeared in the text (Appendix 8). Student scan the text and find. The teacher then asks the students to write down the related words to pollination and guess their parts of speech. The teacher acts as a facilitator and helps the students. Intended outcome: Students review the vocabulary and learn more about parts of speech which they need them for other activities. 4.2.2 Reading activity: Teacher asks the students to read the text in the group, find the main ideas of the paragraph and find the details that support the idea. They should come to an agreement and write the answers on a piece of paper. 45


Teacher regroups the students into six new groups so that each group has a member who has read a paragraph. For instance, Group A has A, B, C, and D. The teacher asks the students to interview each member of the group to elicit information from each other. They ask about the main idea, the important points and the interviewee’s ideas about the paragraph and pollination. Intended outcome: Students read, talk, discuss and work together. They sometimes disagree with each other. In fact, the important part of collaborative learning is conflict resolution. This cooperative learning activity improves students’ motivation, affective, social and cognitive strategies. Students are completely engaged in the learning environment. Jigsaw reading is a valuable activity that introduces speaking to reading lesson, and improves students’ speaking skill through authentic activities. Anticipating problems: Some students may have difficulty with new words that the teacher can help, and students can use their monolingual dictionaries. 4.3 “Poster Presentation” (Speaking) Procedure: Teacher asks the students to make groups of four, use a sheet of paper, the flashcards (Appendix 4), the jigsaw reading package (Appendix 8) and make a poster titled “pollination”. Students can use drawing and writing. Each group gives a presentation in turn. Students use the information they have already received, work in groups, take turn and talk about pollination. Teacher monitors and helps. Intended Income: This game-like competition makes the students energetic because they have to move and do the task. It improves their sociability and they enjoy and learn or learn and enjoy. They use their affective, social and cognitive strategies. It stimulates their imagination and creativity. 4.4 "Wings of Life" (Writing) 4.4.1 Pre-writing activity: Teacher asks the students to watch a five-minute instrumental film carefully and then write a paragraph about the message of the film. Their speaking also plays pre-writing talk role. 4.4.2 Writing: Procedure: The teacher asks the students to start writing. The whole activities have given the student adequate information. After they finish writing, the teacher asks them to edit their writing in pairs and revise it if necessary. All the time the teacher acts as a facilitator. 46


Intended outcome: To use audio and visual aids to stimulate students’ imagination and creativity (Richards and Rodgers, 2001). Accordingly, the student will be encouraged to write and create a piece of writing. 5. Conclusion Having the opportunity to design the materials inspires me to investigate more in this field and try to design a course. Since I intend the implications of the materials in my classroom, I have taken into account the local situation constraint and teachers and learners’ issues. The materials are practicable and teachable and high school student will learn better, enjoy more and be an active participant. However, through putting the materials into practice and evaluating the result, their practicability, teachability and validity can be proved. I have tried to design this module to be applicable. In dealing with my learners’ issues, I have tried to design the materials and activities in order to encourage the learners to use different types of learning strategies to become autonomous. The designed materials have covered different language skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing (Nation and Macalister, 2010). Learning can be effective and enjoyable when the classroom atmosphere causes no learning anxiety, the classroom activities attract the learners and engaged them well. In addition, the materials have to be designed in the way that fosters student motivation, interests, learning and achievement. They can serve as highly effective facilitator of student learning (McCombs and Whisler, 1997). References Abbasian, R., et al. (2012). Language Learning Strategies of Iranian EFL Learners: Are Gender and Educational Level Important, Academic Research International, 3 (2), 354-355. Abdullah, F.S., Hosseini, K. (2012). Discursive Enactment of Power in Iranian High School EFL Classrooms, Journal of Language Studies, 12 (2), 375-376. Afrashi, A. (2012). With the Verve of Words: Learning Foreign Languages in Iran, Tehran Times,11673.Retrieved fromhttp//:www.tehrantimes.com Ansari,

H.(2008). Evaluating Iranian High School fromhttp://13402002.blogfa.com/post-840.aspx

Textbooks,Retrieved

Apple, M.T.(2006). Language Learning Theories and Cooperative Learning Techniques in the EFL Classroom, Doshisha Studies in Language and Culture, 9 (2), 296-297. 47


Atef-Vahid, S., &FardKashani, A.(2011). The Effect of English Learning Anxiety on Iranian High-School Studnts’ English Language Achievement, Broad Research in Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2 (3), 1-16. Ben-Canaan, D., &Wu, L.(2006). The Impact of Globalization and the Internet on English Language Teaching and Learning, 1-15. Retrieved fromhttp://www.academia.edu/188911/The_Impact_of_Globalization_and_t he_Internet_on_English_Language_Teaching_and_Learning Benson, P.(2011).Teaching and Researching Autonomy. Malaysia: CTP-KHL. Borjian, M.(2013).English in Post-Revolutionary Iran From Indigenization to Internationalization. Great Britain: Short Run Press. Coyle, D., et al.(2010).CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Crystal, D.(2003).English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dahmardeh, M.(2010). English Language Teaching in Iran: English Language Teaching in Iran and Communicative Pedagogy, p.1. Retrieved fromhttp://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/2748/ Dianat, I., et al. (2013). Classroom Furniture and Anthropometric Characteristics of Iranian High School Students: Proposed Dimensions Based on Anthropometric Data, Applied Ergonomics, 44 (1), 101-108. Dolati, I.R., &Seliman, S.(2011). An Investigation on Iranian Students' Weaknesses in Spoken English, Journal of Edupres, 1 (9), 94-95. Dörnyei, Z. (1998). Motivation in second and foreign language learning. LanguageTeaching, 31 (3), 117-123. Dornyei, Z., &Csizer, K.(1998). Ten Commandments for Motivating Language Learners: Result of an Empirical Study, Language Teaching Research, 2 (3), 211-213. Dudley, L.(2011). One Approach—Four Steps to Conducting a Needs Assessment. Retrieved fromhttp://managementhelp.org/training/systematic/needsassessment.htm

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Eslami, Z.R., &Fatahi, A.(2008). Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy, English Proficiency, and Instructional Strategies: A Study of Nonnatave EFL Teachers in Iran, TESL-EJ, 11 (4), 1-19. Farhady, H., &SajadiHezaveh, F.(2010). Reflections on Foreign Language Education in Iran, TESL-EJ, 13 (4), 1-9. Freire, P.(2005).Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin. Ghorbani, M.R.(2009). ELT in Iranian High Schools in Iran, Malaysia and Japan: Reflections on how tests influence use of prescribed textbooks. The Journal of Reflections on English Language Teaching, 8 (2), 131–139. Hutchinson, T., &Torres, E.(1994).The Textbook as Agent of Change. New York: Baen Publishing Enterprises. Kalanzadeh, G.A., et al.(2013). The Use of EFL Students’L1 in English Classes, The International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 2 (2), 30-39. Linse, C.T.(2005).Practical English Language Teaching: Young Learners. New York: McGraw-Hill. Long, M.H.(2005).Second Language Needs Analysis.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McCombs, B.L., &Whisler, J.S.(1997).The Learner-Centered Classroom and School: Strategies for Increasing Student Motivation and Achievement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Maftoon, P. et al.(2010). Privatization of English Education in Iran: A Feasibility Study, TESEL-EJ, 13 (4), 1-12. Mehisto, P., et al.(2010).Uncovering CLIL: Content and Language Integrated Learning in Bilingual and Multilingual Education. Oxford: Macmillan Education. Nation, I.S.P., &Macalister, J.(2010).Language Curriculum Design. New York: Routledge. Nunan, D.(2011).Teaching English to Young Learners. USA: Anaheim University Press. Oxford, R. (1992).Language Learning Strategies. Boston, Mass.:Heinle&Heinle.

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Oxford, R.(2011).Teaching and Researching Language Learning Strategies. Harlow: Longman. Rahimi, M., &Asadollahi, F.(2012). Teaching Styles of Iranian EFL Teachers: Do Gender, Age,and Experience Make a Difference?, International Journal of English Linguistics, 2 (2), 157-161. Rajaee Nia, M., &Abbaspour, E.(2012). Language Attitudes of Iranian Junior High School Students Towards the English Language and Its Use in Iranian Context, Iranian EFL Journal, 8 (1), 235-244. Richards, J.C., &Rodgers, T.S.(2001).Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Rodrigues, B. (1998). Critical Issues: Meeting the Diverse Needs of Young Children. Retrieved from: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea400.htm Weinberger, N.M.(1998). The Music in Our Mind, Educational Leadership, 56 (3), 36-40. Yang, Y.(2009). The Relationship between Cooperative Learning and Second Language Acquisition, UWP Seminar Papers, pp. 16-17. Appendixes: Appendix 1: Iran Education System site and document http://www.darsiran.ir http://eng-dept.talif.sch.ir/?page_id=35&menu_id=8&menu_item_id=86 http://eng-dept.talif.sch.ir/

50


Appendix 2: A copy of the official document about recent changes in the Educational System

http://edari-hadadpour.blogfa.com/

51


Appendix 3: Some pictures and pages of Iranian English textbooks

52


53


54


Appendix 4: pictures

55


56


57


58


59


60


]Appendix 5: definitions (Cut into 10)

bee pollination

pollination in process

bee and pollen

bee in flight

pollinator

pollination

pollen

pistil, anther and nectar

butterfly pollination

generation

Appendix 6: Clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ge3EM8AER V0

61


Appendix 7: Clip script

62


Appendix 8: “The Importance of Pollination”Jigsaw Reading

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Appendix 9: "Wings of Life" 5-minute video (Instrumental) http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLWRYGWBMO3FVSDIESFDTWQ GLGCBUMSC-R&NR=1&v=MQiszdkOwuU&feature=endscreen Author’s Bio information Ezat Amirbakzadeh Kalati is an MA TESOL from the University of Bath, United Kingdom. She received her BA TEFL from Islamic Azad University of Mashhad and ranked first. She has been teaching English in different institutions for more than 12 years and is interested in Learning and Technology. 64


EFL Teachers’ Creativity and Professional Class Performance Hamid Ashraf English Department, Torbat-e Heydarieh Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran Email: [email protected]; [email protected] Zeinab Kafi English Department, Tabaran Institute of Higher Education, Iran Email: [email protected]

Abstract The present study aimed at measuring the relationship between EFL teachers’ creativity and the quality of their teaching professional performance. To this end, fifty EFL teachers teaching at twolanguage schools were asked to fill out a creativity test. All these teachers had five to ten years of teaching experience. The standardized creativity test used in this study (Auzmendi, Villa, & Abedi, 1996) consisted of 60 multiple choice questions with 3 choices ranging from low to high creativity. To check whether there was any relation between the teachers’ creativity and their teaching performance, the institutes’ validated observation checklist was used. To maintain the reliability of the study, these teachers’ classes were observed by two different supervisors at the institutes. The results exhibited that having a high creativity rate is a crucial factor but not the only indicator of being a successful professional teacher in class. Based on the supervisors’ ideas, success in teaching performance depended on other factors including teachers' proficiency, the years of teaching experience, age range of the learners and teacher’s level of teaching, but all in all creativity can come in handy for marking a good point in teaching performance. Moreover, it was indicated that almost all those teachers who gained a high score on the creativity test were also more competent in gaining the supervisors’ approval. Keywords: Creativity, English Language Teaching Performance

1. Introduction 1.1. Statement of the Problem As cited in Ashraf & Kafi (2012), creativity in education is not just an opportunity, but a necessity. In education, the term creativity is often used but seldom defined. A lack of definition of this concept might result in erroneous assumptions, leading educational actors (including teachers, students, parents) to identify creativity only with talent, the arts and personal characteristics. Its relationship with EFL is also needed to be considered. 65


In EFL contexts, the problem mostly centers on how to implement creativity in teaching, the basic need for which is to make the teachers aware of how they can be creative in teaching and monitor their teaching performances actively and provide the useful feedbacks afterwards. 1.2. Purpose of the Study In this study, the researchers attempted to carry out research on the relationship between teachers’ creativity and their teaching performances in the community of Iranian EFL teachers. Therefore, this study seeks to answer the following question: 1.2.1. Research Question R.Q. Do teachers who are highly creative perform better in teaching, compared to those who are less creative? 1.2.2. Research Hypothesis Based on the research question, the following null hypothesis is formulated: HO1. Highly creative teachers do not perform better in teaching compared to those who are less creative. 1.3. Limitations of the Study Above all, defining the construct of creativity is not easy since the concept covers a wide range of distinct but related phenomena. Moreover, there were some potential problems administering the creativity test, since the EFL language school teachers who were supposed to participate in this study could fill in the questionnaire when free at times, consequently arranging the time with teachers was sort of problematic. Besides, in order to keep the results reliable and due to the fact that each teacher was supposed to be observed two times by two different supervisors at the institute, posed to some extent unwanted and unintentional effects on the teacher’s performance as well as the learners. 2. Review of Literature 2.1. Creativity While the influence of many cognitive variables such as language aptitude, intelligence and various learning and thinking styles have been researched widely, investigating the impacts of creativity and its relationship with different aspects of teaching and learning has been just recently coming to the focus of scholars' attention. The prominence of communicative methods and task-based language 66


teaching, which employ tasks that require students to use their imagination, made researchers pay more attention to creativity (Albert & Kormos, 2004). Developing critical and creative skills and nurturing citizens with creativity is now becoming worldwide because of the knowledge-based economy today and increasing global concern with 21st century skills (Li, 2010). Some related studies in this area include: 1. Stability and correlates of judged creativity in fifth grade writings. By Wallen (1960). 2. The modification of sentence structure and its relationship to subjective judgments of creativity in writing. By Maloney and Hopkins (1973). 3. Other related studies are also done in Iran which is related to teacher creativity and creativity in writing narratives. Including; The Relationship between Creativity and Narratives and also The Impact of Teachers' Creativity on Learning. 2.1.1. How is Creativity Defined? Defining the concept of creativity is not an easy job; this might be so because this concept covers a wide range of distinct but related phenomena: the creative person, the creative situation, the creative performance or product, the creative process and the creative potential (Brown, 1989; Lubart, 1994). According to more recent models of creativity, creativity is best hypothesized as a complex interplay of several cognitive, personalities, motivational, and social factors. They also state that intellectual abilities are among the most important components of creativity (Lubart, 1994). Sternberg (2002) simply puts it as the ability to produce something effective and novel while Standler (1998) resorts to giving the difference between creativity and intelligence as that between a creative person and an intelligent person. He believes, intelligence is the ability to learn and to think, while a creative person does things that have never been done before. Consequently, we can say that all creative people are intelligent but not all intelligent people are considered as creative. 2.1.2. Creative Learning Collective attempts to arrive at a definition of creative learning have been numerous; one definition was: creative learning develops our capacity for imaginative activity, leading to outcomes which are judged by appropriate observers to be original and of value. Paul and Kathy (1990) distinguished between good learning and creative learning. They defined creative learning as a natural healthy human process that occurs when people are curious and excited. Good learning on the other hand, requires students to follow skills such as recognition, memory and logical reasoning, which are the abilities frequently assessed in tests of intelligence and scholastic 67


aptitude. As Piaget (1973 cited in Ferrari, et al. 2009) had claimed" to understand is to invent". Understanding is a form of meaning creation, just as creativity is. Therefore creativity is an aspect of learning (Craft, 2005), a transversal skill facilitating a specific form of learning which requires understanding, invention, making new connections, seeing things in a different perspective and active participation. 2.1.3. Creative Teaching People use and follow different ways of collecting and organizing information into useful knowledge. Some learn best through interaction with their peers, others accomplish this through lone study and contemplation. Certain individuals, on the other hand, prefer to learn a skill by manipulating concrete objects, watching, listening, or by reading an instruction manual (Cross, 1976). Creativity training became popular in the 1950s with programs such as Obsborn's brainstorming approach to problem solving. Half a century later, in an effort to enhance innovative thinking, creativity training programs of various types have proliferated in educational institution and business environments. Over the last decade many teachers have exercised their professional artistry and sought to teach more creatively and nurture children's creativity (Craft, Cremin, Burnard, & Chappell, 2007). They have been encouraged in their endeavors by numerous government reports and recommendations as well as support materials which have tried to encourage teachers to adopt more creative approaches to the curriculum and to teach for creativity as well as teach creatively (Cremin, 2009). 2.1.3 Teaching Creatively and Teaching for Creativity Creative teaching is of two kinds: first, "teaching creatively", and second "teaching for creativity". By teaching creatively" we mean teachers using imaginative approaches to make learning more interesting, exciting and effective. Teachers can be highly creative in developing materials and approaches that fire children's interests and motivate their learning. This is a necessary part of all good teaching. By "teaching for creativity" we mean forms of teaching that are intended to develop young people's own creative thinking or behavior. A research done by Craft and Jeffery (2008) showed that the relationship between teaching creatively and teaching for creativity is an integral one. The former is inherent in the latter and the former often leads directly to the latter. Teaching for creativity involves teaching creatively. Our purpose here includes the latter one. 2.1.4. Teaching for Creativity: aims

68


Teachers' aim in teaching for creativity according to Craft, et al. (2007); Jeffrey and Craft (2004), and Cheng (2010) include: • To encourage an appropriate attitude towards imaginative activity, a sense of excitement, respect, hope and wonder at the potential for transformative power that is involved, accompanied by a sense of delayed skepticism and distance; • To encourage self expression that is oriented towards a given task; • To assist in developing an awareness of the differing contexts in which ideas may occur and of the roles in intuition, unconscious mental processes and non-directed thought in creative thinking; • To encourage and stimulate learners in periods of free play with ideas conjecture about possibilities, but compliment this with critical evaluation in testing out ideas. According to Jeffrey and Craft (2004) and Woods (1995) teaching for creativity encourages: • Autonomy on both sides: a feeling of ownership and control over the ideas that are being offered. • Authenticity in initiatives and responses, deciding for oneself on the basis of one's own judgment. • Openness to new and unusual ideas, and to a variety of methods and approaches. • Respect for each other and for the ideas that emerge. • Fulfillment: from each a feeling of anticipation, satisfaction, involvement and enjoyment of the creative relationship. 2.1.5. What Hinders Creativity? It is believed that behavior that hinders children's creativeness include insisting that they do things the "right way", asking them to be realistic and to stop imagining, making comparison among them, and discouraging their curiosity (Soh, 1997). A non-evaluative environment is essential as it can help remove "right answer fixation". Children's creativity can be encouraged by exposing them to a wide variety of stimulation, providing them opportunities to acquire information and materials and to combine and arrange them, giving children freedom to ask questions, disagree, experiment, and do things that adults may regard as mistakes, and locating enough time to maintain children's spontaneity (Soh, 2001).

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3. Methodology 3.1. Participants and Setting In this paper a group of 50 EFL teachers of almost the same years of teaching experience, 5 to 10, from two English institutes in Mashhad participated in the study. The participants were female teachers with the average age range of 20 to 40 whose native language was Persian. In order to check the teachers’ performance two supervisors from the supervising board of the same institutes were asked to observe each teacher’s class once and comment on the success of the teaching performance by marking their ideas on a validated evaluation checklist which was provided and applied by the institute. 3.2. Instrumentation The tasks used in this study were a validated creativity test (Auzmendi, Villa, and Abedi, 1996) and an evaluation check list that supervisors’ marked their ideas about the teachers’ performance. The creativity test consisted of 60 multiplechoice questions with 3 choices of a, b, c (from low to high creativity). The time allotted to answering the creativity test was 15 minutes. As for the evaluation checklist, it was a previously validated one used at the institute for checking the teachers’ performance. The questionnaire consisted of six categories, each embracing 5 to 10 teaching skills or sub skills. The categories were as follows: Planning and Preparation, Instruction, Learning Environment, Parent Instructions, Meeting Students’ Needs and Improvement, and Teacher’s Qualities. Each teacher’s class has been observed by two supervisors during one single term in order to keep the results reliable. 3.3.

Data Collection

The data collection started in April 2013 and lasted for a single semester at the institute. The instrument was administered to EFL teachers from two English Institutes in Mashhad which were selected based on accessibility of the researchers. 3.4. Data Analysis and Results The researchers aimed to find whether there was a significant relationship between creativity and teaching performance or not. To this end, correlation was run to check the relation between the scores obtained from the creativity test and the 70


scores obtained from the evaluation checklist that the two supervisors had previously provided about each single teacher. The creativity test was scored out of the total number of 180. Afterwards, based on their obtained scores, they were placed into four different categories ranging from highly creativity (135and above) to not creative (45 and below). Afterwards, based on the group each teacher was placed in, once again they were grouped under three other categories to check out how successful they were in teaching performance: highly successful, successful and not successful! Then Crosstabulation was run to check out the results based on the obtained groups! Finally, the results were discussed in the teaching and learning setting. To answer the research question, that is whether creativity influences teachers' performance in class, Spearman correlation as well as cross-tabulation was used to analyze the obtained data. The results are presented in tables 1 and 2 respectively. Table 1Spearman Correlation Creativity Spearman's Creativity rho

Performance

Correlation Coefficient

1.000

Sig. (2tailed)

.

.618

50

50

N Performance Correlation Coefficient Sig. (2tailed) N

-.072

-.072

1.000

.618

.

50

50

Based on the data, there existed a negative correlation between the variables (-.072) and this highlights the fact that if a teacher possess a high amount of creativity, it doesn’t necessarily mean that she would be a highly successful teacher while performing in class. Afterwards, crosstabulation was used to check how teachers were placed under four categories of creativity and their success in teaching. The results are depicted in table 2.

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Table 2Cross tabulation SumRank2 Highly Successful

Successful

10

36

46

21.7%

78.3%

100.0%

83.3%

94.7%

92.0%

% of Total

20.0%

72.0%

92.0%

Count

2

2

4

50.0%

50.0%

100.0%

16.7%

5.3%

8.0%

4.0%

4.0%

8.0%

Count

12

38

50

% within Sum Rank

24.0%

76.0%

100.0%

% within SumRank2

100.0%

100.0%

100.0%

24.0%

76.0%

100.0%

Sum Rank Highly Count Creative % within Sum Rank % within SumRank2 Creative

% within Sum Rank % within SumRank2 % of Total Total

% of Total

Total

As it is shown in Table 2, there were no teacher who were considered as not less or not creative or being not successful at all. Majority of teachers (46) were highly creative out of which 36 were successful in teaching and merely 10 were highly successful in their class performance! 5. Conclusion and Discussion 5.1. Conclusion The results of the spearman correlation and cross tabulation showed a negative correlation between the variables i.e. creativity and success in teaching. Thus, once again the fact that being highly creative doesn’t necessarily mean highly successful in teaching is highlighted and stressed because most of the teachers who were considered to be highly creative were considered to be successful in teaching not highly successful. Therefore, Creativity can come in handy merely as one of the factors contributing to a highly professional class performance!! Applying the findings of this study and those similar to this one, some consciousness-raising programs can be designed to make teachers more aware of 72


their potential creativity. For creative thinking, teachers should be offered space and opportunity to support their insightful and associative thinking (Chen and Zhou 2010). In such a situation independent creativity will emerge. 5.2. Suggestions for Further Research Based on the findings of this research, some suggestions for further studies are made: First, studies can be done to see how important the supervisors' role could be in enhancing the teachers' creativity. Second, the impact of gender and age could be investigated on learners' creativity. Third, this study was conducted in an institute, so similar studies can be carried out in different situations such as schools or college settings. Fourth, investigating the relationship between teachers' creativity and their attitude towards learning a foreign language could also be attempted. Fifth, further studies could also explore the impact of teachers' hobbies (such as reading books, watching movies, working with the computer, internet and so on) on developing their creativity. References Albert & Kormos, J. (2004), Creativity and Narrative Task Performance: An exploratory study. Language Learning, 54, 27-31. Brown, D. (1989), Creativity: What are we to measure? In J.A. Glover, R. R. Ronning & C.R. Reynolds (Eds.), Handbook of creativity (pp.1-123), New York: Plenum Press. Chen, S., & Zhou, J. (2010), Creative writing strategies of young children: evidence from a study of Chinese emergent writing. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 5, 138-149. Cheng, V.M.Y. (2010), Tension and dilemmas of teachers in creativity reform in a Chinese context. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 5,120-137. Craft, A., & Jeffrey, B. (2008), Creativity and performativity in teaching and learning: tensions, dilemmas, constraints, accommodations and synthesis. British Educational Research Journal, 34, 577-584. Craft, A. (2005), Creativity in schools: Tensions and dilemma, London: Routledge. Oxon. 73


Craft, A., Cremin,T., Burnard, P., & Chappell, K. (2007), Teacher stance in creative learning: A study of progression. Thinking skills and creativity 2, 136-147. Cremin, T. (2009), Creative teachers and creative teaching. In A. Wilson, Creativity in primary education. Exeter: Learning Matters. Cross, P. K. (1976), Improving instruction and reshaping the curriculum, New York: Jossey-Bass. Ferrari, A., Cachia, R., & Punie, Y. (2009), ICT as a driver for creative learning and innovative teaching. Measuring Creativity, 1, 345-367. Li, L. (2010), Introduction to the special issue: Thinking skills and creativity: SE Asian perspectives. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 5, 1-2. Lubart, T. I. (1994), Creativity. In Sternberg, J. R. (Ed.), Thinking and problem solving,San Diego: Academic Press. Maloney, K. B., & Hopkins B. L. (1973), J Appl Behav Anal; 6(3): 425–433. Paul, E. T., & Kathy, G. (1990), Fostering academic creativity in gifted students. Thinking skills and creativity, 3, 45-56. Soh, K. C. (1997), Teaching Creativity in Singapore schools: What needs to be done? Paper presented at the Educational Research Association. Singapore. Soh, K.C. (2001). Blue apples and purple oranges: When children paint like Picasso. Child development center, The Hong Kong Baptist University. Standler, R. B. (1998), Creativity in science and engineering. Language Teaching Research, 2, 65-71. Sternberg, R. J. (2002), The theory of successful intelligence and its implications for language- aptitude testing. In P. Robinson (Ed.), Individual differences and instructed language learning ( pp. 43-54), Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Torrance, E. P. (1966), Torrance tests of creative thinking. Princeton, New Jersey: Personnel Press. Woods, P. (1995), Creative Teachers in Primary Schools, Buckingham: Open University Press. 74


A Good Teacher, From Supervisors’ and Teachers’ Perspective Hamideh Sadat Bagherzadeh English Department, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Torbat-e-Heydarieh Branch, Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Iran Email: [email protected] Khalil Motallebzadeh English Department, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Torbat-e-Heydarieh Branch,

Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Iran Email: [email protected], [email protected] Zeinab Kafi English Department, Islamic Azad University (IAU), Torbat-e-Heydarieh Branch, Torbat-e-Heydarieh, Iran Email: [email protected]

Abstract The current study aims at investigating the concept of a good teacher from supervisors and teachers’ point of view. To this end, two groups of EFL teachers and supervisors from two language schools in Mashhad (Iran) participated in the study. Thirty supervisors as well as 50 teachers were asked to fill up two teacher evaluation questionnaires, one of them was a researcher-made questionnaire modified based on the “Teacher Evaluation Rubrics” by Marshall, (2009) and the other one was another researcher –made questionnaire. The first questionnaire including six specific categories each embracing five Likert scale items and the second questionnaire including twenty six (A to Z) Likert scale items seeking general features of a good teacher. In order to investigate the most frequent checked items as a good teacher’s features and see whether there was any correlation between the supervisors and teachers’ point of view, co-efficient of correlation as well as cross tabulation were utilized. The results revealed that there is a statistically significant correlation between the supervisors and teachers’ point of view regarding the concept of a good teacher. Finally, the notion of a good teacher is discussed in the context of language teaching and learning, considering the fact that the concept of a good teacher is a relative issue, changing from context to context, and despite all these rubrics and questionnaires as some good feature searching aids, none of them can cater all features of a good teacher. Keywords: Good Teacher, Supervisor, EFL, Teacher Evaluation, Teachers’ Features

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1. Introduction 1.1. The Concept of Good Teacher Adequately defining the students’ perceptions about teachers has been at the core of much research and controversy for many years. "The aim of teaching is simple: it is to make student learning possible...To teach is to make an assumption about what and how the student learns; therefore, to teach well implies learning about students' learning" (Ramsden, 1992). Being a good teacher can be the most rewarding and exciting job in the world; however, being a teacher that doesn't work effectively can be stressful, painful, and exhausting which means that regardless of the quality of the teacher, a supportive home environment is essential to excellent learning. One of the current challenges of ELT community is who a good teacher is, and what are the features of a good teacher. To this end, this study aims at investigating who a good teacher is from teachers’ and supervisors’ perspective, and whether or not it is possible to formulate the features of a good teacher in order to prescribe them to every context. Therefore, whoever interested in the concept of good teacher might find this study significant enough to follow. 1.2. Personal Qualities of a Good Teacher Teaching is a career that provides challenges, excitement, personal reward and a chance to encourage and support others to achieve their goals. According to http://education.qld.gov.au, there are many personal qualities and skills that make someone a good teacher. Some of the most important qualities of a good teacher include: being good at explaining things; being a people person and enjoy working with a wide range of people; enthusiasm; having a strong knowledge in particular subject areas; being a good time manager; ability to work in a team as well as using your own initiative; having patience and a good sense of humor; being fair-minded; coping well with change; and enjoying a challenge. Good teachers know that by listening to and working with coworkers, parents, other professionals, and community members they can inspire students and improve their learning. 1.3. Some Characteristics of Great Teachers First, there is no hard and fast list that tells you who is a good teacher or who is not a good teacher. However, there are traits that excellent teachers have in common. These are not the usual qualities such as being a good friend or having a nice personality. These are what researchers from around the world have found when they watched those teachers whose students excelled once they left that teacher's classroom. Of course, not every teacher is going to be a skillful teacher for every 76


child and a child spends only about 8 percent of the year in school, which means that regardless of the quality of teacher, a supportive home environment is essential to excellent learning. According to www.greatschools.org, there is a list of some characteristics of great teachers. • Great teachers set high expectations for all students. • Great teachers have clear, written-out objectives. • Great teachers are prepared and organized. • Great teachers engage students and get them to look at issues in a variety of ways. • Great teachers form strong relationships with their students and show that they care about them as people. • Great teachers are masters of their subject matter. • Great teachers communicate frequently with parents. What makes a great teacher? Teaching is one of the most complicated jobs today. It demands broad knowledge of subject matter, curriculum, standards; enthusiasm, a caring attitude, a love of learning; knowledge of discipline and classroom management techniques, and a desire to make a difference in the lives of young people. With all these qualities required, it is no wonder that it is hard to find great teachers. Therefore, the main concern of the researchers as members of ELT community in this study is also who a good teacher is focusing on teachers’ and supervisors’ perspective. In addition, the researchers are willing to investigate whether or not there is a correlation between teachers and supervisors’ points of views. 1.4. Research Questions The present study will address the following research questions: Q1: Who is a good teacher from teachers’ perspective? Q2: Who is a good teacher from supervisors’ perspective? Q3: Is there any correlation between the teachers’ and supervisors’ perspective? 1.5. Research Hypothesis To come up with reasonable results on the basis of the aforementioned research questions and to avoid any subjectivity, the researchers proposed the following null hypothesis: HO: There is not any significant correlation between the teachers’ and supervisors’ perspective. 77


2. Review of Literature 2.1. The Concept of a Good Teacher Recent research consistently finds that teacher productivity is the most important component of a school’s effect on student learning and that there is considerable heterogeneity in teacher productivity within and across schools (Rockoff 2004; Hanushek et al. 2005; Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain 2005; Kane, Rockoff, and Staiger 2006; Aaronson, Barrow, and Sander 2007). “One of the core principles included in any teacher training or education program is how to make a good teacher” (Motallebzadeh, 2012). Relatively little is known; however, about what makes some teachers more productive than others in promoting student achievement. Generally speaking, it is believed that teachers who obtain grade ones have such a passion for their subject that they are able to get students ‘sitting on the edge of their seats’. From the teaching point of view, lessons should be well planned and organized, and the planning should clearly demonstrate that the lesson will address the needs of individual students e. g. the planning should show the intention to ask more demanding questions and set more difficult tasks for students x, y, and z, and this should be seen happening in the lesson. Therefore, very good teachers will be unafraid to change what they have planned if it is clearly not meeting the original learning objectives. Finally a very good teacher will take risks, do the unexpected, introduce humour rather than take the safe approach, whilst keeping the engagement of the class. 2.1.1. The Reflective Teacher The most distinctive feature of very good teachers is that their practice is the result of careful reflection….they themselves learn lessons each time they teach, evaluating what they do and using these self-critical evaluations to adjust what they do next time (Why Colleges Succeed, Ofsted 2004). There is one quality above all that makes a good teacher, the ability to reflect on what, why and how we do things and to adapt and develop our practice within lifelong learning. Reflection is the key to successful learning for teachers, and for learners. As the LLUK standards make clear Reflection is an underpinning value and is the key to becoming a professional teacher (Moon, 2005).

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The "Four Aces of Effective Teaching" (Walls, 1999) summarize the most common recommendations from the teaching-effectiveness research literature. They are the strongest links between what teachers can do and the learning that students achieve. The Four Aces represent a consolidated way of thinking about the "process" of teaching as it influences the "product" (student learning). They can be considered as catalysts for learning. Student learning is better, faster, and/or more long-lasting when teachers are able to play the Four Aces. The Four Aces of Effective Teaching are summarized as: Outcomes, Clarity, Engagement, and Enthusiasm. Rosenshine and Furst (1973) concluded that the five most important teachereffectiveness variables are (a) Clarity, (b) Variability, (c) Enthusiasm, (d) Taskoriented and/or Business-like Behaviours, and (e) Student Opportunity to Learn Criterion Material. 2.1.2. What makes a good teacher? It is believed that when you start teaching it is useful to have some sort of guidelines or role models of good teachers to provide something to aim at, especially when you are starting your individual learning plans (ILPs). • • • • • • • • •

According to Rosenshine (1971), good teachers show these characteristics: Introducing (structuring) topics clearly Explaining clearly with examples and illustrative materials Systematic and business like organization of the lessons Variety of teaching materials and methods Use of questions especially higher-order questions Use of praise and other reinforcement (verbal and nonverbal) Encouraging learner participation Making use of learners’ ideas, clarifying and developing them further Warmth, rapport, and enthusiasm, mainly shown nonverbally

Supervisors are heavily influenced by personality traits, more so than is warranted by the role personality actually plays in objective productivity. Evidence that evaluators’ subjective assessments are biased in the sense that certain types of workers (e.g., females and older workers) receive lower subjective evaluations for reasons that appear unrelated to their actual productivity (e.g., Varma and Stroh 2001) reinforces this interpretation. According to Motallebzadeh (2012), most teachers rated innovativeness, teaching skill, resourcefulness, classroom management skill, and confidence as the essential qualifications for good teachers; however, teacher trainers considered good command of English, knowledge on teaching methodology, and confidence as the most effective features. 79


A limited literature specifically addresses the relationship between subjective and objective assessments of teachers. Three older studies have examined the relationship between student test scores and principles’ subjective assessments using longitudinal student achievement data to measure student learning growth (Murnane 1975; Armor et al. 1976; and Medley and Coker 1987). The use of panel data provides the opportunity to isolate teacher productivity from other timeinvariant factors such as the unmeasured differences in student and family characteristics. 2.2. What is Good Teaching? There is no clear-cut definition of ‘good’ teaching. What works well for one tutor in one subject with a group of students may be a disaster in another situation. However, there is some agreement on the characteristics of a good teacher (Ramsden, 1992). This process is not about getting everyone to teach in the same way, it is about helping individuals to reflect on and evaluate their own approach to teaching. It is expected that both parties in the observation will benefit from the discussion arising. Ramsden (1992) identified 13 characteristics of good teaching from an individual lecturer’s point of view: • A desire to share your love of the subject • An ability to make the material stimulating and interesting • A facility for engaging with students at their level of understanding • A capacity to explain the material plainly and helpfully • A commitment to making it absolutely clear what has to be understood, at what level and why • Showing concern and respect for students • A commitment to encouraging student independence and experiment • An ability to improvise and adapt to new demands • Using teaching methods and academic tasks that require students to learn actively, responsibly and through cooperative endeavor • Using valid and fair assessment methods • A focus on key concepts and students’ current and future understanding of them, rather than just on covering the ground • Giving high quality feedback on students’ work • A desire to learn from students and others about the effects of your teaching and how it can be improved Mentioning these characteristics is worthy to what the researchers are trying to investigate because it seems that the majority of observers and teachers as well as students believe that it is a good teaching that distinguishes a good teacher from a bad one. Consequently, it is of great benefit if teachers give their teaching style and method a second thought. 80


3. Methodology 3.1. Participants In this paper two groups of English teachers and supervisors in language schools and some English departments of universities in Mashhad, Iran participated in the study and were asked to fill in two questionnaires within 20 minutes. Thirty supervisors including those working in language schools or heads of English departments as well as 50 teachers working in the same settings participated in the study. The participants were both male and female with the average age range of 20 to 40 including teachers and supervisors. 3.2. Instrumentation The instruments used in this study were two teacher evaluation questionnaires, one of them was a researchers-made questionnaire modified based on the “Teacher Evaluation Rubrics” by Marshall, K. (Revised may 16, 2009), and the other one was another researchers-made questionnaire. The first questionnaire included six specific categories each embracing five Likert scale items and the second questionnaire including twenty six (A to Z) Likert scale items seeking general features of a good teacher. The teachers and supervisors were asked to mark their opinions about a good teacher on the questionnaire within 20 minutes. 3.3. Procedure At first, the researchers arranged the date and time with the institutes in order to administer the questionnaires to the available teachers and supervisors. Prior to that, the researchers had a short meeting with the language school’s teachers in order to clarify that their answers to the questionnaire will only be used in a research and won’t have any positive or negative impact on their course of career lives. Next after that, the data collection and analysis were carried out. 3.3.1. Data Collection The data collection started in November 2012 and finished in February 2013. The instruments were administered in two language schools in Mashhad (Iran). Some faculty members of English Departments in some universities were also asked to fill in the questionnaire as supervisors of the study. The language schools and universities have been selected based on the accessibility of the researchers.

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3.3.2. Data Analysis The researchers aimed to find out who a good teacher is from teachers’ and supervisors’ perspective. In addition, they investigated whether or not there was a statistically significant correlation between teachers’ and supervisors’ perspective towards the concept of good teacher. To this end, the mean and the frequency along with the analysis of the diagrams were utilized to see whether or not there was a significant difference in the answers obtained from the participants, teachers and supervisors. To keep the results reliable the researchers tried to administer the questionnaire in academic settings such as English departments or Language institutes. And finally, the results were discussed in the teaching and learning setting. 4. Results and discussion 4.1 Analysis of the Results: Supervisors Regarding the first category included in the questionnaire “Planning and Preparation for Learning” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Knowledge with a total mean of about 3.60. The least dominating feature, chosen by the supervisors, was Assessment the mean for which was 3.03. The next three characteristics chosen by supervisors appeared to be in this order respectively: Differentiation (3.50), Materials (3.43) and Engagement (3.40). The results are shown in table 1. Table 1 Planning and Preparation for Learning (Supervisors) Q1 Q2 Q3 3.60 3.03 3.40

Q4 3.43

Q5 3.50

N

30

30

Mean 30

30

30

Regarding the second category included in the questionnaire “Classroom Management” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Respect with a total mean of about 3.53. The least dominating feature, chosen by the supervisors, was Social-Emotional the mean for which was 3.03. The next three characteristics chosen by supervisors appeared to be in this order respectively: Prevention (3.43), Responsibility (3.47) and Relationship (3.47). The results are shown in table 2.

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Table 2 Classroom Management (Supervisors) Q1 Q2 Mean 3.47 3.53 N 30 30

Q3 3.30 30

Q4 3.47 30

Q5 3.43 30

Regarding the third category included in the questionnaire “Delivery of Instruction” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Effort-Based with a total mean of about 3.57. The least dominating feature, chosen by the supervisors, was Expectation the mean for which was 2.97. The next three characteristics chosen by supervisors appeared to be in this order respectively: Engagement (3.50), Application (3.43) and Clarity (3.40). The results are shown in table 3. Table 3 Delivery of Instruction (Supervisors) Q1 Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Mean

2.97

3.57

3.40

3.50

3.43

N

30

30

30

30

30

Regarding the fourth category included in the questionnaire “Monitoring, Assessment and Follow-up” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Reflection with a total mean of about 3.47. The least dominating feature, chosen by the supervisors, was Interim the mean for which was 3.23. The next three characteristics chosen by supervisors appeared to be in this order respectively: Support (3.43), On the Spot (3.40) and Self-Assessment (3.30). The results are shown in table 4. Table 4 Monitoring, Assessment, and Follow-Up (Supervisors) Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Mean

3.40

3.30

3.23

3.43

3.47

N

30

30

30

30

30

83


Regarding the fifth category included in the questionnaire “Family and Community Outreach” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Respect with a total mean of about 3.47. The least dominating feature chosen by the supervisors was Involvingthe mean for which was 3.07. The next three characteristics, chosen by supervisors, appeared to be in this order respectively: Responsiveness (3.40), Homework (3.27) and Belief (3.20). The results are shown in table 5. Table 5 Family And Community Outreach (Supervisors) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Mean

3.47

3.20

3.07

3.27

N

30

30

30

30

Q5 3.40 30

Regarding the sixth category included in the questionnaire “Professional Responsibilities” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Attendance with a total mean of about 3.60. The least dominating feature, chosen by the supervisors, was Communication the mean for which was 3.40. The next three characteristics chosen by supervisors appeared to be in this order respectively: Self Improvement (3.57), Openness (3.53) and Reliability (3.47). The results are shown in table 6. Table 6 Professional Responsibilities (Supervisors) Q1 Q2 Q3 Mean N

Q4

Q5

3.60

3.47

3.40

3.53

3.57

30

30

30

30

30

Regarding the last category included in the questionnaire “General Features” what supervisors considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Being Respectful with a total mean of about 5.00. The least two dominating features, chosen by the supervisors, were “Being a Man” and “Being a Woman” the mean for which was 2.00. This point clarifies the fact that none of the supervisors considered gender as a distinguishing criterion for the concept of a good teacher in Iran’s academic community. Consequently, a good teacher can be either a man or a 84


woman. Next after respectfulness, having a sense of humor and adding fun to the class, was considered as the second important feature for a good teacher with a total mean of about 4.00. The results are shown in figure 1.

Figure 1 General Features (Supervisors) 4.2 Analysis of the Results: Teachers Regarding the first category included in the questionnaire “Planning and Preparation for Learning” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Knowledge with a total mean of about 3.62. The least dominating feature, chosen by the teachers, was Materials the mean for which was 3.32. The next three characteristics chosen by teachers appeared to be in this order respectively: Engagement (3.56), Assessment (3.45) and Differentiation (3.42). The results are shown in table 7. Table 7 Planning and Preparation for Learning (Teachers) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Mean N

3.62

3.45

3.56

3.32

3.42

50

50

50

50

50

Regarding the second category included in the questionnaire “Classroom Management” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Relationship with a total mean of about 3.62. The least dominating feature, 85


chosen by the teachers, was Prevention the mean for which was 3.30. The next three characteristics chosen by teachers appeared to be in this order respectively: Responsibility (3.48), Social-Emotional (3.46) and Respect (3.44). The results are shown in table 8. Table 8 Classroom Management (Teachers) Q1 Q2 Mean N

3.62

3.44

50

50

Q3

Q4

Q5

3.46

3.48

3.30

50

50

50

Regarding the third category included in the questionnaire “Delivery of Instruction” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Clarity with a total mean of about 3.58. The least dominating feature, chosen by the teachers, was Expectation the mean for which was 3.10. The next three characteristics chosen by teachers appeared to be in this order respectively: Engagement (3.54), Effort-Based (3.48) and Application (3.44). The results are shown in table 9. Table 9 Delivery of Instruction (Teachers) Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q5

Mean

2.97

3.57

3.40

3.50

3.43

N

30

30

30

30

30

Regarding the fourth category included in the questionnaire “Monitoring, Assessment and Follow-up” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Self-Assessment with a total mean of about 3.42. The least dominating feature, chosen by the teachers, was Interim the mean for which was 3.12. The next three characteristics chosen by teachers appeared to be in this order respectively: Reflection (3.30), On the Spot (3.28) and Support (3.16). The results are shown in table 10.

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Table 10 Monitoring, Assessment, and Follow-Up (Teachers) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Q5

Mean

3.28

3.42

3.12

3.16

3.30

N

50

50

50

50

50

Regarding the fifth category included in the questionnaire “Family and Community Outrich” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Respect with a total mean of about 3.30. The least dominating feature, chosen by the teachers, was involvingthe mean for which was 2.96. The next three characteristics, chosen by teachers, appeared to be in this order respectively: Homework (3.24), Responsiveness (3.18) and Belief (3.04). The results are shown in table 11. Table 11 Family and Community Outreach (Teachers) Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Mean N

3.30

3.04

2.96

3.24

3.18

50

50

50

50

50

Regarding the sixth category included in the questionnaire “Professional Responsibilities” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Attendance with a total mean of about 3.62. The least dominating feature, chosen by the teachers, was Communication the mean for which was 3.22. The next three characteristics chosen by teachers appeared to be in this order respectively: Self Improvement (3.52), Openness (3.42) and Reliability (3.36). The results are shown in table 12.

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Table 12 Professional Responsibilities (Teachers) Q1 Q2 Q3 Mean

3.62

3.36

3.22

N

50

50

50

Q4

Q5

3.42

3.52

50

50

Regarding the last category included in the questionnaire “General Features” what teachers considered as the most important characteristic turned out to be Being Creative with a total mean of about 4.00. The least two dominating features, chosen by the teachers, were “Being a Man” and “Being a Woman” the mean for which was about 2.00. This point clarifies the fact that none of the teachers considered gender as a distinguishing criterion for the concept of a good teacher in Iran’s academic community. Consequently, a good teacher can be either a man or a woman. After Creativity, Being Skillful, Being Self-Confident, Being Energetic, and Being up-to-date and High Tech were all considered as the most important features for a good teacher which all had a total mean of above 3.50. The results are shown in figure 2.

Figure 2 General Features (Teachers) 5. Conclusions According to the data analysis and comparing and contrasting the mean and the frequency of the answers, the results revealed that there is a statistically 88


significant correlation between the supervisors and teachers’ point of view regarding the concept of a good teacher. Therefore, the null hypothesis of this study is rejected.As shown in the data analysis, the answers of both teachers and supervisors in the fourth part “Monitoring, Assessment and Follow-up” fifth part “Family and Community Out rich”, and sixth part“Professional Responsibilities” were exactly the same; moreover, the answers to other parts were also very similar with a great correlation and just subtle differences in the order. The answer to the part related to the Teachers’ General Features weren’t in the exact correlation. The data analysis of this part revealed that teachers pay more attention to the general personal features relating to the presenting the knowledge and skills of presentation but supervisors mostly seek management and relationship features. The interesting point was that both teachers and supervisors believed that teaching is not a gender-biased career. The result of this study is also in great harmony with the results of the previous studies and also the students’ perspective about the concept of A Good Teacher. Finally, the notion of a good teacher is discussed in the context of language teaching and learning, considering the fact that the concept of a good teacher is a relative issue, changing from context to context, and despite all these rubrics and questionnaires as some good feature searching aids, none of them can cater all features of a good teacher ;however, this study provided further evidence for some important features of good teachers and its significance on students’ learning in particular and the curriculum in general. Therefore, as an implication of the study in teaching, this is an encouraging result for the stake holders and institution to consider these features in pre service and in service teacher training courses, workshops and also recruitment. References Aaronson, Daniel, Lisa Barrow, and William Sander. 2007. “Teachers and Student Achievement in the Chicago Public High Schools.” Journal of Labor Economics 25(1): 95-135. Armor, David, Patricia Conry-Oseguera, Millicent Cox, Nicelma King, Lorraine McDonnel, Anthony Pascal, Edward Pauly, and Gail Zellman. 1976. Analysis of the School PreferredReading Program in Selected Los Angeles Minority Schools. Report #R-2007-LAUSD. Santa Monica, Calif.: RAND Corporation. Hanushek, Eric A., John F. Kain, Daniel M. O’Brien, and Steven G. Rivkin.2005. “The Market for Teacher Quality.” Working Paper 11154. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Journal of Effective Teaching, Vol. 5, No. 2, 2002 89


Kane, Thomas J., Jonah E. Rockoff, and Douglas O. Staiger. 2006. “What Does Certification Tell Us about Teacher Effectiveness? Evidence from New York City.” Working Paper 12155. Cambridge, Mass.: National Bureau of Economic Research. Medley, Donald M., and Homer Coker. 1987. “The Accuracy of Principals’Judgements of Teacher Performance.” Journal of Educational Research 80(4): 242-47. Moon, J. (1999). Reflection in Learning and Professional Development. London: Kogan Page Moon, J. (2005). Guide for Busy Academics No. 4: Learning Through Reflection. Higher Education Academy. Motallebzadeh, K. “Can We Make Good EFL Teachers? A Reflection on the Current Teacher Training Programs in Iran”, presented at The 1st Conference on Language Learning & Teaching: An Interdisciplinary Approach (LLT-IA), Mashhad, LLT-IA. Khorasan Razavi, 2012. Murnane, Richard J. 1975. The Impact of School Resourses on the Learning of Inner City Children. Cambridge, Mass.: Ballinger Publishing Company. Ramsden, P. (1992). Learning to Teach in Higher Education. London: Routledge Rockoff, John E. 2004. “The Impact of Individual Teachers on Student Achievement: Evidence from Panel Data.” American Economic Review 94(2): 247-52. Rosenshine, B. (1971). Teaching Behaviours and Student Achievements. National Foundation for Educational Research in England & Wales Rosenshine, B., & Furst, N. (1973). Research on teacher performance criteria. In B.O. Smith (Ed.), Research in teacher education: A symposium. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Varma, Arup, and Linda K. Stroh. 2001. “The Impact of Same-Sex LMX Dyads on Performance Evaluations.” Human Resource Management 40(4): 309-20. Walls, R.T. (1999). Psychological foundations of learning. Morgantown, WV: WVU International Center for Disability Information. Educational Leadership Online June 2010 | Volume 67 www.reacheverychild.com. [email protected]. 90


Authors' Bio Information Hamideh Sadat Bagherzadeh is an MA in ELT from English Department of Islamic Azad University, Torbat-e Heydarieh Branch, Iran. She teaches English conversation, FCE, CAE, IELTS, and TOEFL iBT preparation courses at Jahan-eElm Institute of Higher Education. She is interested in Teaching Methodology, Sociolinguistics, Psycholinguistics, Teacher Development, and Technology in Teaching. Khalil Motallebzadeh is associate professor at the Islamic Azad University (IAU) of Torbat-e-Heydarieh and Mashhad Branches, Iran. He is a widely published established researcher in language testing and e-learning. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC) in 2007-2008. He is also an accredited teacher trainer of the British Council since 2008 and is currently Iran representative in Asia TEFL. Zeynab Kafi is an MA in ELT from English Department of Islamic Azad University, Torbat-e Heydarieh Branch. She teaches English conversation in Zabansara Language Institute and Tabaran Institute of Higher Education. She is interested in Teaching Methodology, Sociolinguistics, and Psycholinguistics.

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The Effect of Clinical Supervision on Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Seyed Reza Beh-Afarin (Parpinchy) Islamic Azad University, North Branch Email: [email protected] Amir Abbas Dehghan Banadaki Islamic Azad University, North Branch

Abstract The annals of teacher education field are replete with insightful comprehensive studies suggesting that supervision in general and clinical supervision in particular due to its constructivist nature and sociocultural perspective results in development of skills in language teachers. The present study aims to discover whether teachers’sense of efficacy improves as a result of clinical supervisory practices before and after a clinical supervision program consisting of three observations, preand post-observation conferences. Of the 98 teachers volunteered, 50 were chosen to participate in the study. Quantitative data using the Ohio Teacher Efficacy Questionnaire were collected before and after the clinical supervision program. Comparisons revealed that clinical supervision has a statistically meaningful effect on the teachers’ sense of efficacy. Keywords: Supervision, Clinical Supervision, Teacher Efficacy.

1.

Introduction

Enhancing the quality of teaching and teacher learning both in terms of theory and practice has long been the ultimate ambition of many a teacher developer and trainer. Performance supervision with its original roots in industry (Hoy &Woolfolk, 1989) has proved effective in terms of helping workers developing new skills and marinating the quality intended by the policy makers in businesses and industries. In language teaching arena, similarly, supervisory practices and interventions through an evaluation-feedback process have undeniably shown positive results of practical value (Smith& Andrews, 1998). The reasons for conducting such research into supervision and Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy are legion. First of all, in my ten years of experience as a teacher trainer and developer I have found a great many so-called “experienced teachers” whose expertise did not live up to standards and during their career lives they did not seem to have developed professionally as they should have and their teacher trainers or supervisors have not been able to help develop sense of efficacy and develop as language teachers. Secondly, the resistance the teachers show naturally to trainingbased programs intrigued me to find a teacher development plan through which I can have the teachers more engaged in the process of developing and improving their 92


teaching skills. I found clinical supervision with its roots in constructivism in terms of learning theory and sociocultural perspective, as the key being able to demystify this puzzle in the Iranian ELT context. Teachers may show less resistance since the sociocultural perspective hinges upon social activities and materials or semiotic artifacts more culturally relevant to the learners’ context and mediate relationships ultimately leading to higher-level thinking (Johnson, 2009). 2.

Literature Review

2.1. Supervision Supervision can be defined as a process taken place in schools in order to improve educational practice in general and teaching quality in particular (Farhat, 2010). Supervisor is someone who oversees the performance and work of another (Oliva& Pawlas, 1998). Observation can be initiated either by teachers themselves or by the school as part of schools’ teacher development program for their teaching fraternity, or fresh and newly recruited teaching staff during their induction period (Wajnryb, 1992). The people holding supervisory roles in the field of teacher education and development may range from generalists performing on national levels as superintendents to school training specialists as directors of different departments, head teachers and subject coordinators (Oliva& Pawlas, 1998). Other observers may include trainee teachers, teacher trainers, teacher developers and trainee trainers (Wajnryb, 1992). In the Iranian language teaching context language school principals are mostly engaged with time-consuming and sensitive administrative tasks. Therefore, the supervisory activities to ensure teaching quality and instruction are delegated to middle managers or subject coordinators. Achieving higher standards in schools both in terms of learning among students and teaching among teaching staff are attributed to educational leadership (Alger, 2005), which is why we can see huge investment being made in educating and developing headmasters, middle –level supervisors as subject coordinators and department directors and heads (Harris &Muijs, 2005). Of the tasks that supervisors have, few would dispute that “the improvement classroom circumstances that enhance learning” is the most crucial and tremendously effective one (Oliva&Pawlas, 1998). This can provide the teachers with great opportunities for learning and development of long lasting effective skills (Barnett, 2004). To that end consultation needs to be provided (Alger, 2005) and teacher supervisors should collect detailed information about teachers’ performance and progress. Here is where we can see the significance and relevance of direct observation since it allows the supervisors or teacher developers to detect the areas needing improvement or support (Braun, 2005). Carefully scheduled classroom observations can pave the way for more precise teacher evaluation and professional development (Alger, 2005). 93


For the supervisory practices and tasks to bear favorable educational results; growth and development of teachers we need to have an accurate mechanism through which teachers can be evaluated effectively and seriously (Cranston, 2004). To provide constructive feedback of practical value to the teacher, evaluations must be made based on selective classroom observations and clear-cut criteria (Reed&Bergemann, 2005). Such evaluation-feedback process will result in improvement in teachers’ performance in class (Smith and Andrews, 1998) and will eventually lead to transformation of their teaching practices (Clickman; Gordon& Ross- Gordon, 2004). It can be inferred that when teachers know well what criteria they need to meet they are more likely to improve their performance and grow professionally. The teacher may confer with the teachers concerning their teaching practices and behavior and bring to their attention their strong points and weak spots and draw out a framework within which this development and improvement can take place. This procedure should include clear and direct objectives on which the teacher has to work to be able to improve his performance. 2.2. Models of Supervision Goldsberry (1998) described three models of supervision, two of which are very much like those of Wallace’s models of professional education (Wallace, 1991). His models are nominal supervision, the prescriptive model, and reflective supervision. Nominal Supervision In nominal supervision, as the name suggests, the whole supervisory practice is ceremonial and a teacher trainer or developer or even may be an administrative officer observes the class to deliver this strong message that a teacher is being controlled and supervised to both the teacher and students. Before I came across this term, nominal supervision, I called it “scarecrow observation” since the supervisor is just there to exert his or her power and remind constantly the teacher of his or her authority. In the Iranian teaching and learning context we have an awful lot of these supervisions in which the teacher and supervisor do not interact much and the very purpose and aim of the intervention is vague and equivocal. 2.3. Prescriptive Model In the prescriptive model, however, the teacher trainer or developer observes a class and just like a doctor or officer will prescribe some solutions disregarding the underlying principles that the teacher has or the realities of the class, students and so on. In this model of supervision knowledge is dejectedly supposed to be transferred from the supervisor to the teacher. The teacher’s beliefs, facts and realities about class and students are neglected and teacher is like a follower needs to follow in the supervisor’s footsteps in order to meet the expectations and standards. This model is very much like the applied science model of professional education drawn up by 94


Wallace (Wallace, 1991). This model of teacher education and supervision predicated on theoretical frameworks and research findings is believed to inform language teaching (Bailey, 2006). 2.4. Reflective supervision Reflective supervision is the regular collaborative reflection between a teacher and a supervisor that builds on the supervisee’s use of teacher’s thoughts, feelings, and values in teaching. The Supervisor and the teacher meet regularly normally after observations to discuss challenges in teaching and learning in a class. The case and direction of discussion are chosen by the teacher, who is guided by the supervisor to examine her or his feelings or thoughts about the case and use this awareness to better serve the students. The relationship between supervisor and teacher in reflective supervision models the desired relationships between provider and client in a therapeutic/helping relationship. 2.5. Creative Supervision DeBono’s idea that “any particular way of looking at things is only one from among many other possible ways” (1970:63) serves as the basis of creative supervision. The models of supervision which have been presented thus far limit our way of looking at supervision. The creative model allows freedom to become creative not only in the use of the models presented, but also in other behaviors we may care to generate and test in our supervisory efforts. There are at least three ways the creative model can be used. 2.6. Clinical and Administrative Supervision The clinical supervision cycle, also described as an in-service supervisory approach (Jones, 1995) is a cyclic framework that encompasses all the aforementioned supervisory practices; formative teacher evaluation and observation, discussion and feedback, and planning for improvement. The Clinical Supervision Cycle is a well-thought-out and purposeful intervention into the instructional process aimed at enhancing teaching performance and quality. Much is hoped for clinical supervision since it is expected to improve classroom performance and develop teaching staff professionally (Farhat, 2010). Supervision that aims at responsibilities outside the domains of curriculum and instruction (Oliva& Pawlas,1998) and is concerned with summative evaluation of teachers to ascertain whether or not they have been able to meet the organizational expectations and standards (Glickman at al., 2004) is considered administrative. Administrative supervision is not conducive to teacher performance improvement and students’ achievement unless it is accompanies by a supervision style known as instructional supervision which focuses both on learning and teaching. Instructional 95


supervision is cited to subsume clinical supervision and include consultative, collaborative and developmental practices (Farhat, 2010). 2.7. Clinical Supervision Cycles There is a great variety of clinical supervision models which share many a characteristic embedded in them. They are all cyclic, systematic and teacher-centered in terms of approach to professional development and growth. All the models encourage a sense of voluntary urge for reflection on experience and growth. The extent to which the teacher is able to implement new understandings as a result of reflection on practice indicates his level of success in improving performance as a result of undergoing the supervisory cycle. Clinical Supervision originates from the works of some education experts and pioneers in teacher education field at Harvard University: Morris Cogan and Robert Goldhammer (Garman, 1990). Their grown breaking approach to supervision was later led to the emergence of clinical supervisory practices welcomed by many teacher developers and trainers. The basic stages of clinical supervision are “establishing relationship with the teacher, observing classroom teaching, analyzing classroom scenarios, and holding the conference with the teacher (Garman, 1990). All these stages occur in a cyclical way. 2.8. Teacher Efficacy Teacher efficacy is a simple concept with a myriad of remarkable implications. A teacher’s efficacy belief is a judgment of his or her capabilities to bring about desired outcomes of student engagement and learning, even among those students who may be difficult or unmotivated (Armor, Conroy-Oseguera, Cox, King, McDonnell, Pascal, Pauly, &Zellman, ,1976; Bandura, 1977). This judgment has powerful effects and practical implications. Achievement (Armor et al., 1976; Ashton & Webb, 1986; Moore &Esselman, 1992; Ross, 1998), motivation (Midgley,Feldlaufer, & Eccles, 1989), and students’ own sense of efficacy (Anderson, Greene, &Loewen,1988) have been described as the fruits of teachers’ sense of efficacy. A higher sense of efficacy, which equates greater levels of planning and organization (Allinder, 1994), contributes substantially to teachers’ both teaching behavior and effort. Teachers enjoying a strong sense of efficacy are better risk takers and more welcoming to new ideas and novel methods to accommodate the needs and expectations of their students (Berman, McLaughlin, Bass, Pauly, &Zellman, 1977; Guskey, 1988; Stein & Wang,1988).

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2.9. Research Question The original aim of this study was to explore whether or not teachers’ efficacy will improve as a result of clinical supervisory practices. To accomplish the purposes of this study, the following research question was proposed: Does clinical supervision have an effect on teachers' sense of efficacy? 3.

Methodology

Participants The target population of this study was 50 language school teachers regardless of their age and sex. The Participants were 33 females and 17 males ranging from 26 years old to 37 years old. Just 23% of the teachers participated in this study had some kind of education somewhat related to language teaching and learning at university, the rest had some kind of pre-service and in-service training at the language school they were working or other language schools they had previously worked. None of them had less than three years of experience since the language school in which the study was conducted specializes in English for Specific Purposes and English for Academic Purposes which perforce require experience and expertise. The rational for this comes from this belief that researcher believes a certain degree of expertise and teaching knowledge is required for the teachers to undergo such complicated supervisory practices. Moreover, the observed classes were at varying levels ranging from elementary to advance. The participants’ mother tongue was Farsi except for one lady whose native language was Armenian. 3.1. Instrument The data gathering instrument used by the researcher in this study was Ohio State Teacher Efficacy Scale developed by Megan Tschannen-Moran, College of William and Mary, Anita Woolfolk Hoy, the Ohio State University. This 24-item questionnaire on a 9-point likert scale measures the teachers’ sense of efficacy both before and after the clinical supervision. Teachers could score items on a 9-point scale, from ‘Nothing’ to ‘A Great Deal’. Both the construct validity and reliability of the Teachers’ Sense of Teacher efficacy Scale were computed and proved by Tschannen-Moran, & Woolfolk, (2001). They also conducted a factor analysis to determine how your participants respond to the questions. They consistently found three moderately correlated factors: Efficacy in Student Engagement, Efficacy in Instructional Practices, and Efficacy in Classroom Management, but at times the make-up of the scales varies slightly. With pre-service teachers it was recommended that the full 24-item scale (or 12-item short form) be used, because the factor structure often is less distinct for these respondents. However, in this study the long version was adopted for better and more reliable results. 97


3.2. Procedure At first, the researcher announced the commencement of the clinical supervision programme and teacher volunteers signed up for the programme. Due to the humanistic and constructivist nature of clinical supervision no one was forced to join the programme. Following that, more than 98 teachers showed interest and volunteered. Of those showed interest 50 teachers were chosen for the clinical supervision programme. In a workshop, the participants were briefed about different stages, pre-observation and observation and post observation phases. A group was created on Edmodo software to manage the teachers and observations. In the workshop, teachers filled in the teacher efficacy questionnaire so that their efficacy before the plan was measured. Three observations were done for each teacher and pre- and port- conferences were held and for further assistance and facilitation related ELT articles and books were uploaded on Edmodo software. Teachers were asked to share their ideas and feelings about the whole process of clinical supervision on Edmodo. After the last observation, again teachers’ sense of efficacy was measured. Finally, all the raw data, gathered through this procedure, were analyzed using the SPSS software in order to find appropriate answers to the proposed research question. 3.3. Data Analysis and Design This study used a quasi-experimental design to identify the effect of clinical supervision on teacher’s sense of efficacy. The quantitative data were analyzed using T-test and ANOVA after ensuring the data were normally distributed. This provided rich data regarding the changes in the teachers’ sense of efficacy. 4. Results and Discussion 4.1. Descriptive Statistics At the onset of the study, the participants were given the questionnaire to be checked for the extent of their sense of efficacy. The descriptive statistics for the questionnaire are presented in Table 4.1

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Table 4.1. Descriptive statistics for two questionnaires before the treatment SOEpre N

Valid

50

Missing

0 152.66 15.869 .023 .337

Mean Std. Deviation Skewness Std. Error of Skewness

In Table 4.1, the participants' mean score, standard deviation are given.The skewedness is also within the acceptable range, (between -2 to +2). Also, Figure 4.1, and 4.2 show the graphic representation of the sets of data within the histogram while the normal curve is also shown. The participants' sense of efficacy show more or less a normal curve. Figure 4.1.The histogram for teachers' SOE before the treatment

4.2. Analysis of the research question Since the participants of the study were EFL teachers, they have already some sense of efficacy before the treatment. The purpose of the study was to find out whether there was statistically a significant difference in their sense of efficacy after 99


they had received a period of clinical supervision or not. The descriptive statistics of the questionnaires; namely, EFL teachers' sense of efficacy are shown in Table 4.2. Table 4.2:Paired Samples Statistics Mean N Pair 1

SOEpre

152.66

50

Std. Deviation

Std. Error Mean

15.869

2.244

SOEpost 167.54 50 14.646 2.071 Since the correlation between the two questionnaires is significant (Table 4.3), the requirement for using a paired t-test has been achieved. Table 4.3: Paired Samples Correlations for EFL teachers' SOE N Pair 1

SOEpre&SOEpost

Correlation

50

.948

Sig. .000

According to the results of the paired samples test, the difference between the EFL teachers' sense of efficacy before and after the treatment; that is, clinical supervision, is statistically significant. Therefore, the first null hypothesis as stated "Clinical supervision has no effect on EFL teachers' sense of efficacy" is rejected. Table 4.4:Paired Samples Test for EFL teachers' SOE Paired Differences

Mean

95% Confidence Interval of the Std. Difference Std. Error Deviation Mean Lower Upper

Pair SOEpre – -1.488E1 5.065 1 SOEpost

T

.716 -16.320 -13.440 -20.772

Sig. (2df tailed) 49 .000

5. Conclusion The present study attempted to detect the impact of clinical supervision on EFL teachers' sense of efficacy. The clinical supervision proved to have a strong impact on the teachers’ sense o efficacy. This finding is in line with Vinson’s (1995) 100


study conclusion that teachers’ sense of efficacy was enhanced after a clinical supervisionprogramme. The teachers’ feelings about the whole supervisory practices and the programme they went through were overall highly positive. The teachers posted very positive comments on Edmodo about the level of engagement they had in the process. They also referred to this fact that this process helped them nurture new teaching skills and techniques. Many praised the whole program since they believed it gave them freedom to express their feelings and opinions regarding the different stages of the clinical supervision. The ELT articles and books uploaded on Edmodo also appealed to many of the participants believing that the materials had fostered their theoretical background and foundation. College courses and one-shot training workshops are often criticized for not being able to develop the intended teaching practices due to gap between practice and theory (Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., and Suk Yoon, K. 2001). This kind of supervision can be a good model through which teachers can develop a higher sense of efficacy leading to more engagement in their professional development and motivation. Finally, the teachers were mostly satisfied with the clinical supervisory process and no one expressed any form of dissatisfaction or anxiety which is normally expected in other types of supervisory practices. References Alger, G. (2005).Literacy Teachers’ Interactions with Instructional Leaders: Students reap the benefits. CurrentIssues in Education (On-Line) 8, 1-24. Available at http:// cie.ed.asu/volume8/number 13/. Allinder,R. M. (1994).The relationship between efficacy and the instructional practices of special education teachers and consultants.Teacher Education and Special Education, 17 (1), 86–95. Anderson, R., Greene, M., &Loewen, P. (1988).Relationships among teachers’ and students’ thinking skills, sense of efficacy, and student achievement. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 34 (2), 148–165. Armor, D., Conroy-Oseguera, P., Cox, M., King, N., McDonnell, L., Pascal, A., Pauly, E., &Zellman, G. (1976).Analysis of the school preferred reading programs in selected Los Angeles minority schools. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. 130 243). Ashton, P. T., & Webb, R. B. (1986).Making a difference: Teachers’ sense of efficacy and student achievement.New York: Longman.

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Bailey, K. M.(2009).language teacher supervision. In A. Burns & J.C. Richards (Eds.), Second Language Teacher Education (269-276). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change.Psychological Review, 84(2), 191- 215. Barnette, D. (2004). School Leadership Preparation Programme: Are they preparing tomorrow’s leaders? Education 125 (1), 121-129. Berman, P., McLaughlin, M., Bass, G., Pauly, E., &Zellman, G. (1977). Federal programs supporting educational change. Vol. VII: Factors affecting implementation and continuation (ReportNo.R-1589/7-HEW).Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation (ERIC Document Reproduction ServiceNo. 140432). Braun, H. L. (2005). Using Students Progress to Evaluate Teachers: A Primer on Value Added Models.Prinston, NJ: Educational Testing Service. Cranston, J. (2004). Two sides of professional: Professional accountability and professional learning community. Education Graduate Symposium.University of Manitoba. De Bono, E. (1970).Lateral thinking: creativity step by step. New York: Harper and Row Publishers. Farhat, A. (2005), The Impact of Clinical Supervision On Language Teachers’ Performance In Classroom’s Management Skills. Paper Presented at the first conference on ELT in the Islamic World, Tehran. Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., and Suk Yoon, K. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers.American Educational Research 38, 915-945. Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P. & Ross- Gordon, J. M. (2004).Supervision and Educational Leadership: A Developmental Approach. (6th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Goldsberry, L. (1998). Three functional methods of supervision.Action in teacher education, 10 (1), 1– 10.

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Harris,

A., &Mujis, D. (2005).Improving Schools through Teacher Leadership.Berkshire, England: Open University Press, McGraw-Hill Education.

Hoy, W. K. & Woolfolk, A. E. (1989). Supervising student teachers.In A. E. woolfolk (Ed.), Research perspective on the graduate preparation of teachers (108 – 131). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: prentice Hall. Johnson, K. M. (2009). Teacher language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective. New York : Routledge. Midgley, C., Feldlaufer, H., & Eccles, J. (1989). Change in teacher eﬃcacy and student self-and task-related beliefs in mathematics during the transition to junior high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81 (2), 247–258. Moore, W., &Esselman, M. (1992).Teacher efficacy, power, school climate and achievement: A desegregating district’s experience. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco. Oliva, P. F. &Pawlas, G. E. (1998).Supervision for Today’s Schools.New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons Inc. Reed, J. A. and Bergemann, V. E. (2005). A Guide to Observation, Participation, and Reflection in the Classroom (5 th ed.) Boston: McGraw-Hill. Ross, J. A. (1998). Antecedents and consequences of teacher efficacy.In J. Brophy, Advances in research on teaching, 7, 49-74. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press. Smith, W. F., & Andrews, R. L. (1989).Instructional Leadership: How Principals Make a Difference. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Press. Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Hoy, W. K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research, 68 (2), 202-248. Vinson, B.M. (1995). A comparison of sense of efficacy before and after cloinical supervision for pre-student-teaching novices in an elementary methods programme. Paper presented at annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Biloxi, MS. Wajnryb, R. (1992). Classroom Observation Tasks: A Resource Book for Language Teachers and Trainers. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. 103


Wallace, M. J. (1991). Training Foreign Language Teachers: A Reflective Approach. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Appendix Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy(long form)

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Authors’ Bio information Seyed Reza Beh-Afarin (Parpinchy) Born in Tehran in 1968, Seyed Reza Beh-Afarin (Parpinchy) holds a Ph.D. in TEFL. He is currently the head of English Translation Department at Islamic Azad University, North Tehran, where he lectures diverse subjects in B.A. and M.A. programs of English Translation and TEFL and advises M.A. candidates on their theses. Besides, Dr. Beh-Afarin has been actively teaching as a guest lecturer in different Azad and state universities. His research areas of interest include EFL teacher education, materials development, translation studies, psycholinguistics and multilingualism, which he has passionately pursued over the past 16 years. In addition to academic exertion, Dr. Beh-Afarin is a certified translator to the Judiciary, head translator and interpreter to the Central Bank of Iran, and a simultaneous interpreter to the Center for Middle-East Strategic Studies at Iran’s State Department. Amir Abbas Dehghan Having accomplished my BA at AllamehTabatabaie University I, as an advocate of Applied Science Model of Teacher Education,first cut my teeth on teacher training in Safir Language Academy. My MA programme at Islamic Azad University in 2010 gave rise to my conversion to Reflective Model and Constructivism. 105


Teachers’ Metacognitive Knowledge and Education Programs in an Input-poor Environment Hossein Bozorgian English Department, University of Mazandaran Email: [email protected] Leila Jafarzade English Department, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research, Amol

Abstract Metacognitive knowledge increases teachers’ teaching awareness and enhances teaching and learning outcomes. This study investigated whether high school teachers were aware of metacognitive knowledge and also probed the extent to which teachers were interested in using metacognitive knowledge in their teacher training programs. Examining research questions, the researchers, first invited 40 male and female high school English language teachers (5-25 year experience) with an age range from 25 to 50 from the north of Iran to participate in the Teachers’ Metacognition Scale (TMS) questionnaire. Second, 15 teachers were randomly selected and invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to investigate in depth whether they were interested in using metacognitive knowledge in teaching or they ever used it in their frequent teacher training programs. The findings of this study were twofold. First, the finding indicated that teachers had poor metacognitive knowledge in the input-poor environment according to the result of the questionnaire. Second, the finding from semi-structured interview analysis also showed that there was not enough teacher education programs provided for teachers in the frequent teacher training programs. The contribution of this study to the education policy makers is to take the importance of metacognitive knowledge into account and provides adequate space in the high school education syllabi. Keywords: Metacognitive Knowledge, Teacher Education Program, Input-Poor Environment

1.

Introduction

Teaching and learning English as a foreign language is challenging in an input-poor environment. English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers can manage this challenge if they have access to adequate knowledge of teaching and learning process. However, the inadequate knowledge of EFL teachers at high schools in Iran contributes to the failure in language teaching programs. In an EFL situation, 106


teachers require to receive substantial amount of training focusing on the knowledge of teaching and how they facilitate their teaching outcome. This is because students in twenty-first centuries require more than content knowledge regardless of learning contexts. This obvious requirement can be met through learning how to learn, as learning is an active process and demands student and teacher reflections. 2. Review of literature To truly make student and teacher reflections to the primary concern, some alterations must take place in the classroom approach and activities. Comparing the traditional teacher-training model conducting for Iranian high school teachers with that of modern model of teachers’ educational program proposed by Richard (1989) has shown profound changes in the concepts of both teaching and the teacher reflection. The reason is that the concept is based on teachers’ reflection awareness and tried to introduce the diversity of the educational environments. Teachers’ thought and reflection are the main component of teaching and learning. Zeichner and Liston (1996) maintainedthat reflective teaching activity is not just thinking about teaching but rather it includes investigating the assumptions and values which teacher brings to the classroom and experimenting the institutional and cultural contexts in which the teaching occurs. Aligned with the student and teacher reflection, metacognition plays a crucial role on successful teaching and learning as it takes the process of learning rather than the product of it (see Bozorgian, 2014; Vandergrift &Goh, 2012). However, inadequate research focuses on the teachers’ metacognitive knowledge in improving the teaching outcomes globally and in Iran, in particular. Although metacognition is theoretically supported in practice, many teachers lack sufficient knowledge about metacognition (Veenman, van Hout-Wolters&Afflerbach, 2006). In fact, metacognitive knowledge helps teachers be aware of the sequential stages taken to present the classroom materials during the teaching. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to focus on, first whether high school teacher in Iran use any metacognitive knowledge in their frequent teacher training courses, and second, the extent which teachers have the knowledge of metacognition. 2.1. Teacher Education Program Teacher education program has now been substantially considered as it has a long history. Around two century, teachers are not allowed to teach without passing courses focusing on the objectives of a school in a teacher education program. Davis (1986) explained the objective of such a normal school as “They [normal school teachers] taught how to teach; they taught when to open the windows in a classroom when to close them; … they taught ways of teaching children with talent for drawing how to draw; they taught how a school could be formed and trained where there was 107


no instrument but each pipe … they taught how to make hangings, somewhat resembling batik, by drawing in wax crayon on unbleached cotton, and pressing it with a hot iron" (p. 79). Teaching methodology is one of the multiple objectives of teacher education program, which demands thorough reflection, and involves teaching teachers how to behave in the classrooms. Some scholars, such as Goodlad (1999) and Palmer (1985) truly concerned about the content of teacher education program, these methods of teacher education program face a lot of criticism. The supporter of teacher education programs in colleges, Goodlad believed, "Teachers and teacher educators do not know enough about how to teach, and they do not know enough about how to understand and influence the conditions around them" (1990, p. 108). Regarding deficiency and unpredictable conditions of teacher education program, Palmer argued, "Training programs that were established tended to disappear after a few years. Then, as now, public universities were not certain how to deal with teacher education or if they wanted it. The low status of teacher education in state universities was established early, and it has persisted" (1985, p. 52). Thus, a continuing supporting in-service teacher education program should be designed to assist teachers in improving the quality of education at schools. In-service teacher education programs should be a response to teachers’ need and offers opportunities for them to reflect upon their own competencies, which lead to quality education and the development of their teaching knowledge. Thus inservice teacher education program should be consistent and ongoing and involves collaborative and active learning. The mentor in this program should provide support and guide for teachers to reflect upon their activities. It is better to have these programs throughout the school year instead of single time in a year. In this way teachers will have more opportunities to reflect upon their own teaching procedure and learners’ learning process and share it with a mentor or colleagues to gain new ideas in effective teaching and learning. As Jones (1990) indicated effective teaching in every situation of in-service programs are necessary for qualifying teachers. The findings of research proved that qualified teachers have great influence on students’ achievement, in other words, “...the effects of well-prepared teachers on student achievement can be stronger than the influences of student background factors, such as poverty, language background, and minority status” (Darling-Hammond, 1999, p. 39). The mentor in teaching education program can strengthen teachers’ knowledge of teaching through providing the notion of metacognition emphasizing the process of teaching and learning. 2.2. Metacognition The term metacognition first introduced by Flavell in the 1970s and defined, “one’s knowledge concerning one’s own cognitive processes and products or anything related to them (...) [and] refers, among other things, to the active monitoring and consequent regulation and orchestration of these processes (...), 108


usually in the service of some concrete goal or objective” (Flavell, 1976, p. 232). Flavell also explained the usage of metacognition in everyday life as “I am engaging in metacognition if I notice that I am having more trouble learning A than B; if it strikes me that I should double-check C before accepting it as a fact; (...) if I become aware that I am not sure what the experimenter really wants me to do; if I sense I had better make a note of D because I may forget it; if I think to ask someone about E to see if I have it right (Flavell, 1976, p. 232). Nelson (1999) also defined metacognition as “the scientific study of an individual’s cognitions about his or her own cognitions” (p. 625). Metacognition included three sorts of knowledge: Declarative, Procedural, and Conditional knowledge. Declarative knowledge refers to one’s explicit knowledge of his learning process and the factors and elements, which affect this learning process. Procedural knowledge is the knowledge of how to use the elements and factors to facilitate learning process. Conditional knowledge refers to usage of the declarative and procedural knowledge in an appropriate time and condition. Metacognition involves three essential components as well. The first one is planning which comprises the strategy selection and accurate use of resources in performing a task affectively. The second one is monitoring which is defined as being aware and checks the comprehension and performance during doing a task. Finally evaluation refers to checking, assessing and evaluating of what has been learnt. Teachers might recognize the importance of using metacognition in teaching and learning process but might not know how to use them effectively in their teaching, as Prytula claimed, “One cannot teach what one does not know” (2012). To enhance teachers’ pedagogical understandings of metacognition, teachers must gain declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge. Declarative knowledge is a teachers’ knowledge of what they should teach. Procedural knowledge is knowledge of how a teacher teaches something. Conditional knowledge is the understanding of teaching metacognitive strategies dependent on the particular situations, which required the use of particular strategies. In order to enhance pedagogical understanding of metacognition in pre-service and novice teacher education program, teacher mentors should focus on the three factors and how they relate in the application of metacognition. Researches indicated that teachers’ knowledge of metacognition has great impact on pedagogical understanding of metacognition. Teachers who have detailed and deep understanding of metacognition believe that using metacognitive strategies in teaching helps students acquire understanding of metacognition and improve their learning awareness (Wilson & Bai, 2010). Since metacognitive learners have strong sources of strategies in action, they are able to learn what he wants to learn rapidly. To teach metacognition in the classroom, teacher needs to be equipped with the knowledge and understanding pedagogical understanding of metacognition. Wilson and Bai (2010) stated that pedagogical understanding of metacognition refers to “teachers’ understanding of what is necessary for the teaching of metacognition. Pedagogical understandings in general 109


refer to the teaching strategies and/or instructional techniques implemented in particular situations to achieve a teaching goal”. Metacognition is an important concept and a critical strategy to teach in the classroom. In order to apply metacognition in the classroom, teachers need to receive training in the teacher education program so that they could learn how to use the metacognitive strategies and model them for the students the classroom. In other words, the ability to self-regulate learning is essential for teachers’ professional growth during their entire career as well as for their ability to promote these processes among students (Kramarski&Michalsky, 2009). Using metacognition in EFL teacher education program supports teachers’ awareness of what they are teaching and helps learners’ awareness to control their learning, which leads to quality education at school. Therefore, this study seeks responses for the following research questions. Research questions: 1. Do high school English language teachers have metacognitive knowledge? 2. Is metacognition included in the content of in-service teacher training program? 3. Methodology 3.1. Participants Participants were selected randomly among high school English language teachers from the north of Iran. The second author provided adequate explanations about the purpose of the study for the participants and metacognition was briefly defined to them. The participants were 40 male and female high school English language teachers with an age range from 25 to 50 and they had 5 to 25 years of experience in teaching English. Of the 40 participants, there were 13 participants declined the participation and the rest of 27 participants were invited to participate in this study voluntarily. Participants were 77.8 % female and 22.2% were male English language teachers. The participants educational degrees were 3.7% AD, 63.0% BA, 29.6% MA, and 3.7% PhD. Pseudonyms were used for all the participants before analyzing the data.

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Table 1. Participant demographics Gender

Male

%

Age

Degree

Years of experienc e

25-29

AD*

0-5

30-39

BA

22.2 11-20

MA Female

77.8

40-50

20 -25 PHD

Total * Associate degree

27

3.2. Instruments To respond to the research questions focusing the teachers’ knowledge of metacognition and whether metacognition is considered in the frequent teacher education programs, the following two instruments below were used to measure the two research questions.

3.3. Questionnaire The validated questionnaire, Teachers’ Metacognition Scale (TMS) with 20 Likert- Scale questions (Wilson & Bai, 2010) was used to respond to the first research question focusing on the high school teachers’ metacognitive knowledge (see Appendix). The original 4-point Likert scale range changed to 1(strongly agree) to 4 (strongly disagree). Moreover, all questions were translated into Persian and the translation was reviewed and revised by a few experts in Persian language for the appropriateness and accuracy of the language content. The multiple variables in 111


TMS questionnaire tried to investigate the amount of teachers’ four basic and essential knowledge of metacognition (Pedagogical, conditional, declarative, and procedural knowledge). The first five items investigated teachers’ pedagogical understanding of metacognition which was teachers’ ability in helping students to integrate their declarative and procedural knowledge in problem solving activities. Items 6-9 investigated the teachers’ conditional knowledge, which was the recognition of appropriate condition for a certain strategy usage. Items 10-13 studied declarative knowledge of teachers, which consisted of explicit definition of metacognitive strategies to students. The last seven items collected information regarding teachers’ procedural knowledge, which involves trying metacognitive strategies in action by students. Teachers were provided the explanations of the questionnaire, its goal, the way of answering questions, and its importance in the research results in detail during their breaks at schools. They were asked to answer the questions in a week. In addition, teachers were asked not to respond to a question, which may look vague. After a week or two, the completed questionnaires were collected. At this stage, 13 of the teachers returned the questionnaires without responding and stated that they were not clear about the metacognition and the questionnaire. 3.4. Interview In order to respond to the second research question centering on the place of metacognition in the high school English language teachers’ frequent teacher education program, 15 of the teachers randomly were invited to participate in the semi-structured interview questions. Interview included 5 open-ended questions focused on how they were trained to teach English language before they were allowed to teach at school, what the training materials and contents were like, the trainers’ expertise, and receiving any metacognitive strategies to increase their language awareness. The semi-structure interview questions covered the kind of teacher education programs conducted for Iranian high school English language teachers and whether or not this program met the metacognitive needs of high school English language teachers. Before conducting the interview, a detailed interview guide was prepared and recording instrument was checked and a notebook was presented for the note-taking. In order to create a relax atmosphere, the goal and process of interview were explained in detail for the teachers in advance. As soon as teachers felt ready, the recording process began. The teachers participated in the interview were appreciated at the end of interview for their contributions. 4. Data analysis 4.1. Research question one

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In order to respond to the first research question focusing on the high school teachers’ metacognitive knowledge, the researchers used TMS questionnaire to measure the participants’ knowledge of metacognition and the response was negative. The data collected were analyzed through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. To investigate teachers’ pedagogical understanding of metacognition, the number of responses to the questions was used to measure of participants’ pedagogical understanding of metacognition. We hypothesized that Teachers lack and suffer metacognitive knowledge.In order to examine the hypothesis, the responses were compared using one sample t-test.The primary analysis indicated that teachers have metacognition knowledge in general. However it can be claimed that this amount of metacognitive knowledge is tacit because when teachers were asked to explain the reasons of selecting some of the responses, which were not reasonable and stated that their long years of teaching experience brought their metacognitive knowledge up.

Table 2. Descriptive Statistics 1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

3

4

4

1

3

2

4

4

3

4

ean

.13

.13

.21

.33

.26

.09

.25

.67

.87

.63

d.

815

900

658

730

915

868

897

.007

694

875

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

4

4

4

4

3

4

4

3

3

3

ean

.71

.71

.04

.83

.57

.96

.96

.87

.00

.83

d.

550

751

624

637

590

751

859

920

798

887

The primary analysis shown in Table 2 indicated that the most frequent questions favored the most by the participants were 8 (M = 2.67, SD = 1.007), 10 (M = 2.63, SD = .87) and the least favored question was 15 (M = 1.57, SD = .590). The multiple variables (TMS) questionnaire tries to investigate the amount of teachers’ four basic and essential knowledge of metacognition shown in Table 3. The calculated assumed mean for each item of the 4 scales Likert questionnaire is 2.50 and the total computed mean of metacognitive knowledge in TMS from the perspective of the respondents is 2.08. After comparing the amount of two means the obtained t value = 5.85, P = .00, suggesting that there is a significant difference between participants’ responses to the metacognitive knowledge evaluation 113


questions. However, the lower amount of obtained M = 2.08 from that of AS = 2.50 support the hypothesis that teachers have lower metacognitive knowledge. The computed mean of pedagogical knowledge (items 1-5) from the perspective of the respondents is 2.19. After comparing the amount of two means, the obtained t value = 2.95, P = .00, indicating that there is a significant difference between participants’ responses to the pedagogical knowledge evaluation questions. That is, the lower amount of obtained M = 2.19 from that of AS = 2.50 support the hypothesis that teachers have lower pedagogical knowledge. Item 6-9 investigated the teachers’ conditional knowledge, which is the recognition of appropriate condition for a certain strategy use. The computed mean of conditional knowledge from the perspective of the respondents is 2.22. After comparing the amount of two means the obtained t value = 2.74, P = .00 and p value indicating that there is a significant difference between participants’ responses to the conditional knowledge evaluation questions. In other words, the lower amount of obtained M = 2.22 from that of AS = 2.50 support the hypothesis that teachers have lower conditional knowledge. Table 3. Single sample T-test for TMS questionnaire Metacognitive Knowledge

Mean Difference

Df

Assumed Mean (AS)

Mean

SD

N

P Value

T Value

Pedagogy

.30

24

2.50

2.19

.48

25