Opportunity to Learn, Teaching Quality, and Student Outcomes: Understanding Their Relationship Across Eight Countries

• In Event: Measuring Teaching Practices and Teaching Quality: Conceptualizations and Findings From an International Study

Abstract

Objectives: We provide a rich description of “Opportunities to learn (OTL)”, i.e. the amount and kind of mathematical content presented to secondary students within one unit of mathematics instruction, namely quadratic equations. (1) OTL indices for coverage of algebraic procedures, quadratic functions, applications, and mathematical reasoning unveil country-specific patterns in how this topic is framed. (2) Factors shaping the richness of OTL will be identified. (3) Relationships between OTL and teaching quality (classroom management, social-emotional support, instructional demand) are studied in cross-sectional and pre-post approaches. (4) We show how OTL and teaching quality complement each other in predicting student outcomes.
Theoretical Framework: Early research on teaching (Gage, Shulman, Shavelson, Burstein) has covered the content taught at large. Research later focused on how the content was implemented – in general terms (Pianta & Hamre, 2009) or in a specific subject ( Hill et al., 2008). More recently, OTL has been studied again (Schmidt & Maier, 2009; Scheerens, 2017), yet unrelated to teaching quality. We hypothesize that (1) even within a limited topic such as quadratic equations, systems and classrooms differ in OTL provided. The level of OTL is positively related to (2)previous achievement, and (3) students’ perception of teaching quality. (4) OTL provided, in addition to teaching quality, should predict student achievement and interest at the end of the unit. Further, OTL and teaching quality should strengthen each other’s effects.
Methods and Data sources: We present correlational and regression analyses, including HLM models, using student, video, and artefact data from the TALIS-Video Study.
Main Results: (1) The Asian systems in our sample are teaching pure algebra, while “Western” systems are mixing it with graphical material (functions). (2) General level of OTL measured in the Pre-Questionnaire predicts higher levels of content to be present in the focal unit, while pretest achievement level predicts OTL for algebraic procedures (“core OTL”) and reasoning (“deep OTL”). (3) Core and deep OTL indices are positively related to higher levels of instructional demand as assessed by video observation and student perceptions. (4) For student questionnaire data and for video/teaching material data, core and deep OTL indices in addition to teaching quality (instructional demand and social-emotional support) predict post-achievement and interest, respectively. In some countries, there is a positive interaction between OTL and teaching quality.
Significance of the work: Content-related issues have been neglected over the last years. We show that research on teaching can profit from taking details (kind of, amount, depth) of OTL into account in addition to, and in interaction with teaching quality. Professional practice may profit from efforts to improve both teaching quality (mainly, through professional development) and OTL (through curriculum reform).

Authors

• Eckhard J. Klieme, DIPF|Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education

• Courtney A. Bell, University of Wisconsin/ WCER

• Katherine Furgol Castellano, Educational Testing Service

• Jonathan Schweig, The RAND Corporation