The development and reliability testing of a procedure to observe and record teacher motivation of pupil on-task behavior

Glascow, Conrad Burton (1981) The development and reliability testing of a procedure to observe and record teacher motivation of pupil on-task behavior. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was the development and reliability testing of a classroom observation coding scale. -- The observation scale focused simultaneously on the on- or off-task activity of the student and on the motivational aspect of teacher behavior. The various categories of student and teacher behavior were presented along with an outline of the training program developed for the preparation of classroom observers. -- Two dimensions of the reliability problem were addressed in this study. First, eleven observers were trained in the use of the observation instrument, with the trainees given varying amounts of training time. Training was carried out using a video-tape package prepared for use with the instrument. The degree of agreement for each observer with the coding scheme for the instrument was determined using a video-taped criterion test containing samples of pupil-teacher behaviors. -- The second aspect of the reliability study addressed the reliability of observations made using the coding scale. This involved an examination of the generalizability of the behavior categories used to actual classrooms. The two most highly trained observers were employed in live observations of nine different classrooms on several occasions for each classroom. An analysis of variance of the data furnished by these observations produced generalizability coefficients for each of the categories of the observation scale. -- The study concluded that the behavior categorizations employed permitted an acceptable level of criterion agreement. Generally, the pupil-focus categories produced higher agreement levels than did the teacher-focus categories. However, the data indicated that additional observer training might overcome any deficiencies in coding skills on either aspect of the instrument. -- The coefficients of generalizability provided by the classroom observation data indicated that the categories of the scale are generalizable across teachers. Observations recorded using the observation instrument would therefore appear to be reliable.

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