Assessing Changes in Teacher Reflections Using Sentiment-Based Textual Analysis

• In Event: Understanding and Supporting the Motivation of K–12 Teachers and Postsecondary Instructors

Abstract

In the field of teaching and professional learning, reflection represents an important mechanism for growth. A growing body of literature has emphasized the importance of using classroom video to prompt teacher reflection. However, to date, few studies have investigated the role of emotion in teachers’ reflections. The current study applies a sentence-level sentiment-based textual analysis to a sample of teachers’ reflections to assess differences in emotional dimensions. We find that differences in emotion exist among groups of teachers, but many of the reflections were similar in terms of emotionality. Additionally, while some differences were statistically significant, the average magnitude of the differences were small. The results highlight the potential contribution of quantitative sentiment-based textual analysis to teacher learning.

Authors

• Wendy Chan, University of Pennsylvania

• Xinhe Liu, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Lindsay Dusard, University of Pennsylvania

• Chen Li, University of Pennsylvania

• Mingjun Yang, University of Pennsylvania

• Grace Louise Barry, University of Pennsylvania

• Abby Reisman, University of Pennsylvania

• Timothy Patterson, Temple University

• Joseph Eisman, Purdue University

• Avi Kaplan, Temple University