No description available.

The concept of teaching effectiveness is challenging for researchers to define. Hypothesized as a multidimensional construct, it encompasses content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, personality characteristics of the teacher, and classroom dynamics. No single dimension, trait, or behavior, however, fully captures what it means to be an effective teacher. Measures, such as peer observation, self-report surveys, and student evaluations, assess teacher effectiveness in higher education. Student evaluations of teachers (SETs) assess multiple areas, including: course content, objectives, organization, and the nature, difficulty, and value of a course; teacher preparation, enthusiasm, and subject knowledge; teacher goals for structuring classroom activities and engaging students in academic pursuits (Cashin, 1995; Feldman, 1996; Marsh, 1984; Midgley, 1998). SETs can be seen as expressions of students’ perceptions about an instructor, a course, and a class, but what influences those perceptions? One concept, classroom community, hypothesizes that students’ sense of community is influenced by the quality of interaction with their instructors, fellow students, and course content. Investigations of classroom community associate higher sense of community with more positive academic outcomes. Teachers’ goals for structuring class activities and engaging students is another concept hypothesized to influence students’ perceptions. Teachers’ goal orientation towards their own teaching is also a factor that appears to influence academic outcomes. Using goal orientation theory, Kucsera, Roberts, Walls, Walker & Svinicki (2009) identified three orientations that influence how teachers approach teaching. To date little research has explored how teacher goal orientation might influence students’ perceptions. This study examined whether there is a relationship between teachers’ goal orientation towards their teaching, students’ perceptions of teacher goals for classroom structure and student engagement, sense of community, and student ratings of teacher effectiveness. Undergraduate business communications faculty completed a survey about their goals for their own teaching while their students took a survey about their sense of community in the classroom, their perceptions of their teachers’ goals for engaging them in academic work and an end-of-semester course instructor survey. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze the data. Results generally indicated that students’ perceptions are associated with SETs outcomes while teachers’ goal orientations are not. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:46:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2293.pdf: 443321 bytes, checksum: 6552e24437d5b9c98ebe9a739ed3e796 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-02-17 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The study evaluates the motivation of students from elementary school on the basis of the achievement goals adopted and the classroom goal structure from the students perceptions and teachers descriptions of educational practices. The participants were 106 students from seventh and eighth grade (brazilian educational system), a Spanish Language, an Arts and a Health and Life Quality teachers. The students personal goals were evaluated by the Scale of Evaluation of the Motivation to Learning. The educational practices were described from the Scale of the Classroom Goal Structure filled by the students and from the answers provided by the teachers in an interview. The percentages of the students from the classes 1, 2, 3 and 4, who adopted adaptive patterns of achievement goal were, respectively, 19,2%, 36,0%, 29,4% e 20,0%; the percentages of students who adopted non-adaptive patterns were 46,2%, 44,0%, 52,9% e 45,0%. The students from Class 1 agreed partially that the tasks given by the teachers were motivating and the evaluation by the domain; students from other classes partially disagreed. The teachers described the use of diversified activities and the evaluation based on different procedures. It is concluded that the educational practices, even if they present some positive aspects, do not have the basic characteristics of the practices associated with the promotion of motivation to learn. It is discussed the contributions of the Achievement Goal Theory for the understanding of the motivation at school. / O estudo avalia a motivação de alunos do Ensino Fundamental com base nas metas de realização adotadas e a estrutura de metas de sala de aula a partir das percepções dos alunos e de descrições dos professores sobre as práticas educativas. Os participantes foram 106 alunos de 7ª e 8ª séries e três professores de Espanhol, Artes e Saúde e Qualidade de Vida. As metas pessoais dos alunos foram avaliadas pela Escala de Avaliação da Motivação para Aprendizagem. As práticas educativas foram descritas a partir da Escala de Estrutura de Meta de Sala de Aula preenchida pelos alunos e das respostas fornecidas pelos professores em uma entrevista. As percentagens de alunos das turmas 1, 2, 3 e 4 que adotaram padrões adaptativos de metas de realização foram respectivamente 19,2%, 36%, 29,4% e 20%; as percentagens de alunos que adotaram padrões não adaptativos foram 46,2%, 44%, 52,9% e 45%. Os alunos da Turma 1 concordaram parcialmente que as tarefas dadas pelos professores eram motivantes e a avaliação pelo domínio; os alunos das demais turmas discordaram parcialmente. Os professores descreveram uso de atividades diversificadas e avaliação baseada em diferentes procedimentos. Conclui-se que as práticas educativas ainda que apresentem alguns aspectos positivos, não contemplam as características básicas das práticas associadas à promoção da motivação para aprender. Discutem-se as contribuições da Teoria de Metas de Realização para entendimento da motivação na escola.