Prosser M, Trigwell K
La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.
Br J Educ Psychol. 1997 Mar;67 ( Pt 1):25-35. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8279.1997.tb01224.x.
Previous research has established substantial relations between students' approaches to study in higher education and their perceptions of the learning environment. More recently, there has been a growing body of research into teachers' approaches to teaching and conceptions of teaching. There has, however, been little research into their perceptions of the teaching context.
This study aimed to develop an inventory of university teachers' perceptions of their teaching environment (PTE) and how those perceptions related to their approaches to teaching.
The interview sample comprised 13 teachers of first year university physics and chemistry courses in two Australian universities, and the survey sample comprised 46 teachers from several Australian universities.
In the qualitative study teachers were interviewed about the things they thought affected their teaching. The interviews were content analysed, and an inventory was produced. In the quantitative study, the results of the administration of the Approaches to Teaching Inventory and the PTE were analysed by correlational, factor and cluster analyses.
This exploratory study found systematic relations between the perceptions and approaches. The relations observed suggest that the adoption of a conceptual change and student focused approach to teaching is associated with perceptions that the teacher has control over what is taught and how it is taught, as well as perceptions that the department values teaching and that class size is not too large.
The paper concludes by arguing that if we are to improve the quality of teaching and learning in higher education we will need to take account of the perceptions teachers have of their teaching context.
先前的研究已证实高等教育中学生的学习方法与他们对学习环境的认知之间存在着密切关系。最近，关于教师教学方法和教学观念的研究日益增多。然而，对于他们对教学环境的认知却鲜有研究。
本研究旨在编制一份关于大学教师对其教学环境的认知（PTE）的清单，以及这些认知与他们的教学方法之间的关系。
访谈样本包括澳大利亚两所大学的13名大学一年级物理和化学课程教师，调查样本包括来自澳大利亚几所大学的46名教师。
在定性研究中，对教师进行访谈，询问他们认为影响其教学的因素。对访谈内容进行分析，并编制一份清单。在定量研究中，通过相关分析、因素分析和聚类分析对教学方法清单和PTE的管理结果进行分析。
这项探索性研究发现了这些认知与教学方法之间的系统关系。观察到的关系表明，采用概念转变和以学生为中心的教学方法与教师对所教内容及其教学方式有控制权的认知相关，同时也与认为系里重视教学且班级规模不过大的认知相关。
本文最后指出，如果我们要提高高等教育的教学质量，就需要考虑教师对其教学环境的认知。
