The Effect of The Teacher
The Effect of The Teacher
The Effect of The Teacher
Teachers must recognize the diversity and complexity in the classroom, be it the ethnicity,
gender, culture, language abilities and interests. Getting students to work and learn in class is
largely influenced in all these areas. Classroom diversity exists not only among students and
their peers but may be also exacerbated by language and cultural differences between teachers
and students.
Since 2003, many foreign professional teachers, particularly from the Philippines, came to New
York City to teach with little knowledge of American school settings. Filipino teachers have
distinct styles and expressions of teaching. They expect that: education is interactive and
spontaneous; teachers and students work together in the teaching-learning process; students
learn through participation and interaction; homework is only part of the process; teaching is an
active process; students are not passive learners; factual information is readily available;
problem solving, creativity and critical thinking are more important; teachers should facilitate and
model problem solving; students learn by being actively engaged in the process; and teachers
need to be questioned and challenged. However, many Filipino teachers encountered many
difficulties in teaching in NYC public schools. Some of these problems may be attributed to:
students' behavior such as attention deficiency, hyperactivity disorder, and disrespect among
others; and language barriers such as accent and poor understanding of languages other than
English (e.g. Spanish).
As has been said, what happens in the classroom depends on the teacher's ability to maintain
students' interests. Thus, teachers play a vital role in effecting classroom changes.
As stressed in the Educator's Diary published in 1995, "teaching takes place only when learning
does." Considering one's teaching style and how it affects students' motivation greatly concerns
the researchers. Although we might think of other factors, however, emphasis has been geared
towards the effect of teacher's teaching style and student motivation.
Hypothesis:
If teacher's teaching style would fit in a class and is used consistently, then students are
motivated to learn.
Furthermore, researchers have begun to identify some aspects of the teaching situation that
help enhance students' motivation. Research made by Lucas (1990), Weinert and Kluwe (1987)
show that several styles could be employed by the teachers to encourage students to become
self motivated independent learners. As identified, teachers must give frequent positive
feedback that supports students' beliefs that they can do well; ensure opportunities for students'
success by assigning tasks that are either too easy nor too difficult; help students find personal
meaning and value in the material; and help students feel that they are valued members of a
learning community. According to Brock (1976), Cashin (1979) and Lucas (1990), it is
necessary for teachers to work from students' strengths and interests by finding out why
students are in your class and what are their expectations. Therefore it is important to take into
consideration students' needs and interests so as to focus instruction that is applicable to
different groups of students with different levels.
High 2 5 7
Low 8 5 13
Total 10 10 20
Respondents
Table 2 showed that out of the 20 students respondents, 80% of students were of Hispanic
origin; 10% of respondents were White (not of Hispanic origin); and 10% were Black (not of
Hispanic origin); while 0% were of American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander ethnicity. The
results also showed that among the Hispanic, 40% came from the low and 40% came from the
high group. There were only 10% White respondents from both groups. There were 10%
respondents who were Black from both groups.
High 0 8 1 1 0
Low 0 8 1 1 0
Total 0 16 2 2 0
Respondents by Ethnicity
Table 3 showed that 15% of the respondents had grades between 96-100 in Science, 0%
between 91-95, while 15% scored between 86-90, the same as the range between 81-85.
However, on the low group 25% of the respondents had grades between 71-75, 5% each had a
range between 66-70 and 61-65; while 15% of the respondents did not have Science last year.
Table 3: Grades in Science
Grades
Group 100-96 95-91 90-86 85-81 80-76 75-71 70-66 65-61 Below 60 No Science last
High 3 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
Low 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 1 0 3
Total 3 0 3 3 1 5 1 1 0 3
Grades
Table 4 revealed that for students' motivation-attitude, more than half of the respondents agreed
that they are always excited to attend classes this school year. 75% of the students believed
that Science is fun and interesting. Similarly, 80% of the respondents agreed that Science is
important for them and 60% said that they love Science.
For student motivation-participation, it showed that more than half of the respondents affirm that
they are always prepared in their Science classes. 75% of the students participated in Science
activities; 50% did their Science assignments consistently.
For student motivation-homework, it could be noted that 60% of the students completed their
homework on time and 50% found homework useful and important. 85% of the students said
that they got enough support to do homework at home and 90% said that the teachers checked
their homework.
For student motivation-grades, 65% got good grades in Science. 65% of the respondents said
that they study their lessons before a test or a quiz. More than half of the respondents disagreed
that the terms or words used in the test were difficult to understand. Less than half of the
respondents agreed tests measure their understanding of Science concepts and knowledge,
while 80% thought that grading is fair. On the other hand, the data under teaching style as noted
on table 4 showed that 65% of the students strongly agreed that they have a good relationship
with their Science teacher and no one disagreed. 75% noted that their Science teachers used
materials that were easy to understand. 60% said that their teachers presented the lessons in
many ways. More than half of the students said that they understood the way their Science
teachers explained the lesson while 25% were not sure of their answer. 75% said that they got
feedback from their Science teacher.
B. PARTICIPATION
C.HOMEWORK
E. TEACHING STYLE
Data