The purpose of this study was to investigate if there are correlations among an instructor's approach to teaching, student evaluation of instruction outcomes, and the amount of formal coursework in education a teacher has completed. Three research questions provided the focus for the study: (1) to determine if there is a correlation between the number of formal educational courses taken by athletic training educational program (ATEP) faculty and their approach to teaching; (2) to determine if there is a correlation between the amount of formal educational courses taken by ATEP faculty and their students' evaluations of instruction; and (3) to determine if there is a relationship between faculty's approach to teaching and students' evaluations of instruction. The population for the study was certified athletic trainers working as full-time faculty in ATEPs in the State of Florida. Data were generated using all eligible faculty from 10 of the 13 universities in Florida that offer Athletic Training Educational Programs. The study included faculty who teach in large and small ATEPs. Faculty from public and private, large and small universities were also represented. The faculty completed questionnaires that included demographic information, the Approaches to Teaching Inventory (ATI-R) and the Students' Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ) questionnaire. Based on the research findings, there is clear evidence that there is a lack of uniformity among ATEP faculty in the area of formal exposure to pedagogy and curriculum. 17.6% (n = 3) of respondents earned a bachelor's degree in physical education and 18.8% (n = 3) of respondents earned a master's degree in education, health education, or physical education. Of the 77.8% (n = 14) of respondents who completed or were in progress with a doctoral degree, 42.9% (n = 6) degrees were related to education. Faculty reported completing a mean of 9.25 courses related to education (SD = 7.39). The number of educational courses taken ranged from 0 to 25 courses. The study demonstrates that there is a correlation of large effect size between the amount of formal educational coursework and the SEEQ subscale value of "Assignments/Readings." In addition, the "Assignments/Readings" and "Learning/Academic Value" subscale scores on the SEEQ were significantly higher when instructors had completed more than 10 educational courses. The study found moderate and large correlations and medium and large effect sizes between the scores of 7 of the 8 remaining SEEQ subscales and the number of education courses taken by faculty. In addition, there was a moderate correlation and medium effect size between the total score of the SEEQ and the number of education courses taken by faculty. Though statistically non-significant, each of these correlations were positive and may demonstrate a need for the study to be replicated using greater statistical power.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ucf.edu/oai:stars.library.ucf.edu:etd-4889 |
| Date | 01 January 2009 |
| Creators | Schellhase, Kristen |
| Publisher | STARS |
| Source Sets | University of Central Florida |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Electronic Theses and Dissertations |
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