Teachers’ Cognitive Processing of Complex School-Based Scenarios: Differences Across Experience Levels

Teachers are confronted with and must process challenging situations every day. Yet the development trajectory of their processing ability is unknown. Our two-part mixed method studies use a think-aloud methodology to understand how teachers cognitive process difficult school-based and non-school-based scenarios. Studies 1 and 2 examine the differences between expert, beginning, and pre-service teachers without and with pre-existing response options, respectively. Results from qualitative (but not quantitative) analyses indicate group differences in strategy, scope, content, and reasoning. Furthermore, we find that teaching is a domain-specific expertise. We discuss how this information can inform teacher education and professional development programs

Using video-based situational judgment tests for teacher selection: : A quasi-experiment exploring the relations between test format, subgroup differences, and applicant reactions

The question whether video-based situational judgment test (SJT) formats provide benefits over ‘traditional’ text-based SJTs has not yet been addressed in research on teacher selection. Focusing on three SJT conditions - two video-based conditions (with and without text), and a text-based condition - we investigated mean differences in applicant reactions and SJT scores, subgroup differences (ethnicity and gender), and relations between SJT scores and applicant reactions. Using a quasi-experimental design, 290 prospective teachers (56.6 % female) were randomly assigned to one of the three SJT conditions. SJT scores did not significantly differ between conditions, but both video-based formats were perceived as more engaging than the text-based format. Results from a multigroup path model indicated that there were gender effects for the text-based condition (females outperforming males), but not for the two video-based conditions. However, ethnicity bias (members from majority groups outperforming members from minority groups) occurred in all conditions. Differentiated patterns of relations were found between applicant reactions and SJT performance, with test anxiety significantly predicting SJT performance in the video with text condition and engagement significantly predicting SJT performance in the video without text condition. Implications for future research and teacher selection practice are discussed

A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Teacher Personality on Teacher Effectiveness and Burnout

The question of what makes a good teacher has been asked by practitioners, policymakers, and researchers for decades. However, there is no guiding framework about which qualities are important for teachers. Thus, it is necessary to examine these qualities using a recognized framework and to summarize the previous literature on this topic. We conducted a meta- analysis on the 25 studies (total N = 6294) reporting the relationships between teacher Big Five personality domains (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability) and two teacher job-related outcomes (i.e., teacher effectiveness and burnout). Furthermore, the influence of three moderators was assessed, namely, the type of teacher effectiveness measure (i.e., evaluations of teaching, student performance self-efficacy, class- room observation, and academic achievement), source of personality report (i.e., self-report vs other-report), and the instructed educational level (i.e., elementary, secondary, and tertiary). Overall, teacher Big Five domains (except for agreeableness) were positively associated with teacher effectiveness, especially for evaluations of teaching. Furthermore, teacher emotional stability, extraversion, and conscientiousness were negatively associated with burnout. Other- reports of teacher personality were more strongly associated with outcomes than self-reports. There were no differences in the strength of the associations between the educational levels. The need for using common descriptors in teacher research as well as practical implications of the findings for teacher personality measurement is discussed

Developing a Proof-of-Concept Selection Test for Entry into Primary Teacher Education Programs

The purpose of this article is to report on the development of a proof-of-concept situational judgment test (SJT) to assist in the selection of candidates for primary teacher education (ITE) programs. Nine development steps involving practising teachers, teacher educators, and applicants to ITE programs were carried out to establish target attributes and to develop content for the test. The results from administering the test to 124 primary ITE candidates showed a near-normal distribution, high levels of reliability, and significant positive correlations with a range of concurrently administered interview scores. We conclude with a description of the necessary next steps needed to implement evidence-supported teacher education selection processes in a range of international settings

Geographic Variation in Organ Availability Is Responsible for Disparities in Liver Transplantation between Hispanics and Caucasians

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73308/1/j.1600-6143.2009.02744.x.pd

How Should Stressors Be Examined in Teachers? Answering Questions about Dimensionality, Generalizability and Predictive Effects Using the Multicontext Stressors Scale

Using the Multicontext Stressors Scale (MSS), this study investigates which factorial structure should be used to measure teacher stressors, and the extent to which this factorial structure of MSS remains invariant across gender. Subsequently, grounded in self-determination theory, the present study also examines the extent to which stressors may differentially predict teachers' psychological functioning. Participants were 584 (Mage = 45.04; SD = 8.97) secondary school teachers. Goodness-of-fit indices and estimated parameters of the models, together with latent correlations between stressors, offered support for the six-factor structure, whereas the opposite was true for the one-factor structure of the MSS. Results also supported gender invariance of the MSS. Predictive findings showed that student misbehavior, lack of shared decision-making, and workload stressors are negatively related to basic psychological needs. Likewise, results noted the important role of basic psychological needs to reach optimal teachers' psychological functioning. The results are discussed, arguing the importance of assessing and analyzing teacher stressors using a multifactorial and invariant scale. From a more practical approach, it seems important for school leaders to be especially vigilant about all stressors. Nonetheless, if they desire to prevent detrimental psychological functioning in teachers, special attention should be placed on stressors related to student misbehavior, lack of shared decision-making, and workload