MED858: Classroom Environment Instruments

REFLECTIONS READING: "Classroom Interaction Patterns, Teacher and Student Characteristics and Students' Learning Outcomes in Physics" by Iroha Kalu (University of Calabar, Nigeria) and A.N. Ali (University of Nigeria, Nsukka).

It is amazing just how many Classroom Environment Instruments there are.
Within a page, specifically Page 26 or 32 in 5.1 Science Learning Environments: Assessments, Effects and Determinants, Table 1 gives an overview of 9 classroom environment instruments, namely LEI, CES, ICEQ, MCI, CUCEI, QTI, SLEI, CLES and WIHIC.

Thinking that these are already so many Classroom Environment Instruments , I got to know 7 MORE instruments in the research paper "Classroom Interaction Patterns, Teacher and Student Characteristics and Students' Learning Outcomes in Physics" by Iroha Kalu (University of Calabar, Nigeria) and A.N. Ali (University of Nigeria, Nsukka). This research study was designed to study the links among teacher variables, student variables, classroom interaction patterns and students' learning outcomes in physics. Essentially, these are different aspects or components of Classroom Learning Environment. So the 7 instruments of used, in my opinion, are Classroom Environment Instruments. I tried to check if each of these 7 instruments addresses any of Moos's 3 basic dimensions of human environments. I still do not fully understand what are Relationship Dimensions, Personal Developement Dimensions and System Maintenance and System Change Dimensions, so I have much difficulty trying to fit them into the 3 dimensions of human environment.

The 7 instruments used for data collection are:

1. PTQ (Physics Teachers Questionnaire) measures teachers' attitudes towards teaching of physics.

2. SPAS (Students' Physics Attitude Scale) measures students' attitude towards physics.

3. SAMS measures Students' Achievement Motivation (Scale).

4. STUBAQ (Students' Background Questionnaire) measures students' SES (Socio Economic Status).

5. TEMA (Test of Mental Ability) is a non-language, standarized IQ test.

6. PAT is a 30 item MCQ Physics Achievement Test.

7. SIC (Science Interaction Categories) is used to code and analyze the interaction patterns during physic lessons and this consists of 9 categories of teacher behaviours and 7 categories of students behaviours.

I appreciate that lots of work and "blood and sweat" has to be put in to write a research article. But the amount of work done in the research inself is tremendous. To use 7 instruments in data collection is months of hard, backbreaking work. Furthermore, the SIC instrument is not just a paper and pen exercise but it requires classroom observations and coding teacher and student behaviours. To do a comprehensive study of classroom environments is truely not an easy project and it is unlikely to be accomplished alone. It would surely need the involvement of some other team members or fellow researchers.