This study investigates the characteristics of an effective university professor based on the evaluations made by students in different majors at a state university in Iran. Two-hundred forty BA, MA, and Ph.D. students’ evaluations of their teachers were selected via purposive sampling. The evaluations were then content analyzed to determine which characteristics build the profile of an effective teacher in the students’ eyes. The results confirmed the findings of many previous studies that a good university professor needs to possess certain essential qualities. However, the profile of an effective university professor, at least the importance of the qualities that make up this profile, was rather different. More specifically, the most important criterion for evaluating the teachers was their assessment policies and practices. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the characteristics of an effective professor are dynamic and open to contextual, cultural and temporal influences. In light of the results of this study, it is recommended that higher education institutions put in place programs that educate teachers about a more learner-centered pedagogy to maximize not only their own teaching efficacy but also their students’ motivation and learning.
Dynamic assessment (DA), premised on Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory (SCT), constitutes a valuable venue for language teachers to promote the dialectical praxis and awareness of language assessment and teaching in the EFL context. In spite of the surge of interest in the importance of DA in assessing the dynamically emergent abilities, little has been written down regarding EFL teachers' attitudes toward DA. The current study attempted to fill that void by unearthing Iranian EFL teachers' beliefs about DA and also to determine if there is a statistically significant difference between university and language institute teachers' attitudes with regard to DA. To this end, forty Iranian EFL teachers in the two contexts (i.e., universities and language institutes) were selected through purposive and snowball sampling procedures. Adopting an exploratory design, the researchers collected the data through an Email interview. The results of the Chi-square tests indicated that there is no significant difference in the attitudes of university and language institute teachers toward DA, and both groups held a positive attitude toward it. In addition, the content analysis of the data resulted in the emergence of three major themes namely, teachers' classroom assessment practices, EFL teacher's attitudes toward DA, and impediments to applying DA principles in EFL classes. The findings of this study cater for implications for teachers to voice their concerns about the edifice of language testing and assessment in Iran.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.