Activation
Presentation
Discussions
SES and Computer Experiences
This is an Educational Psychology course, but the following makes a good example of how beliefs may influence teacher behavior.
A recent study focused on math achievement has reported that teachers of low SES students engage students with different computer tasks than teachers working with mostly middle and upper SES students. The teachers working with low SES students make heavier use of drill activities and the teachers working with high SES students are more likely to use simulations and active learning projects. Students focused on drill scored lower on the NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress) math test.
The researchers concluded that teachers working in low income schools were poorly prepared to use technology and poorly supported in using technology in classrooms (which may have been true). They then argued that this poor preparation limited how teachers could apply the technology and the consequences of the less powerful applications was poor test performance. The point was that better training and support would be a way of producing better student performance (based on the chain of causation described).
This is what researchers call a correlational study. All of the relationships reported (preparation and classroom application, classroom application and performance) exist, but such relationships can be interpreted in different ways.
Here is a different interpretation that has as a foundation observations made in other research studies. Low SES students tend to perform more poorly in math. Teachers make the assumption that this is the case because of a history of academic difficulties that have resulted in a poor general knowledge. The way to address a poor general knowledge is to focus on "the basics." The basics can best be developed through drill. If you follow this logic, you will not that it makes use of the exact same relationships, but explains them in a very different way.
Here is the point and the question. The second explanation hinges on "teacher beliefs." The beliefs relate to assumptions about how learning occurs (it is best thought of a gradual accumulation in which new ideas build on more basic ones). Beliefs may determine the instructional approach to be taken. Would there be a set of beliefs that might propose that the computer be used in a very different way (projects and simulations)? How would you describe such beliefs about why students do well or poorly?
Link to Discussion Tool