Relating Classroom Teaching to Student Learning: A Critical Analysis of Why Research Has Failed to Bridge the Theory-Practice Gap

Nuthall, Graham

doi:10.17763/haer.74.3.e08k1276713824u5

Cited by 164 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This process helps teachers to learn and is in line with well-known principles that support professional growth among teachers and are cited in the extant literature: teachers are engaged in activities related to classroom practice and such activities are aimed at improving student learning of particular content (Cohen and Ball 1999;Nuthall 2004;Stigler and Hiebert 1999); such activities are pursued over an extended period so there is sufficient immersion for teachers to have time to reflect and examine their practices and access to the results of their effort, thus encouraging continuing participation (Garet et al 2001;Putnam and Borko 2000;Richardson and Anders 1994); teachers play a distinctive and important role (Putnam and Borko 2000;Fishman and Davis 2006).…”

Section: What Is the Enacted Object Of Learning? This Means Establishmentioning

confidence: 68%

Learning study: helping teachers to use theory, develop professionally, and produce new knowledge to be shared

2011

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The lesson study approach is a systematic process for producing professional knowledge about teaching by teachers, and has spread rapidly and extensively in the United States. The learning study approach is essentially a kind of lesson study with an explicit learning theory-the variation theory of learning. In this paper, we argue that having an explicit learning theory adds value to lesson study, as the variation theory of learning serves as a source of guiding principles for the teachers when they engage in pedagogical design, lesson analysis and evaluation. Through the use of two Hong Kong learning study cases, one from each of the two major ways of conducting learning study, we demonstrate the power of variation theory in explaining and predicting the relationship between what has taken place in the classroom and what the learners learn, and subsequently identifying ways to improve student learning through promoting teacher professional learning in a learning study setting.

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Section: What Is the Enacted Object Of Learning? This Means Establishmentioning

confidence: 68%

Learning study: helping teachers to use theory, develop professionally, and produce new knowledge to be shared

2011

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“…It is also possible that some teachers, in confusing constructivist theories of learning with theories of teaching, overlook the need for explicitly teaching students about cognitive and metacognitive strategies (Bransford et al, 2000;Gough, 1997;Tobin, Tippins, & Gallard, 1994). Teachers might also lack time to consider research reports amidst their other concerns such as behaviour management and testing schedules (Bransford et al, 2000;Cannon, 2006;Nuthall, 2004). Although there are good reasons why teachers may not systematically access and apply findings from research on learning (Joram, 2007), such a situation can lead teachers to continue to use less effective practices and neglect more useful ones (Bransford et al, 2000;Rohrer & Pashler, 2010).…”

Section: Teachers' Knowledge About How People Learnmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessons

2011

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The quality of teachers' knowledge about how people learn influences students' learning outcomes. Similarly, the quality of students' knowledge about how they learn influences their engagement in self-regulated learning and consequently, their learning achievement. There is a gap between research findings that support these two premises and teaching-learning practices in classrooms. In this paper we describe attempts to reduce this gap. In Study 1 we surveyed early adolescent students' cognitive and metacognitive strategy use and demonstrated that students' cognitive and metacognitive strategy knowledge has substantial room for improvement. In Studies 2 and 3 we collaborated with teachers to embed explicit cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction, using learning protocols, into regular class lessons.Studies 2 and 3 showed that the learning protocols slipped readily into teachers' typical lesson designs, scaffolded teachers' delivery of strategy instruction, and scaffolded some students' acquisition of strategy knowledge, although progress was sometimes slow. Recommendations are presented for supporting teachers and students to engage with cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction.Keywords: theory-practice gap; teacher knowledge; cognitive strategies; metacognitive strategies; learning protocols Archived at Flinders University: dspace.flinders.edu.au Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessonsIt is clear from research evidence that the quality of teachers' knowledge/beliefs, intentions, and plans with respect to how people learn influences teachers' teaching actions (Kerr, 1981; Lawson, Askell-Williams, & Murray-Harvey, 2009), and that those teaching actions directly influence students' learning outcomes (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1989;Hattie, 2009;OECD, 2005;Rowe, 2002). Furthermore, the quality of students' knowledge about how they learn influences their engagement with learning, and consequently, their learning achievements (Bandura, 2001;Schraw, 1998;Schraw & Dennison, 1994;Schunk & Zimmerman, 1989;Weinstein & Mayer, 1986). However, as Hattie (2009 p. 3) asked, "Why does [this] bounty of research have so little impact?" We see that this lack of impact is associated with a gap between research findings and their use to inform teaching and learning practices (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000;Hattie, 2009). In this paper we report three studies that attempt to reduce this theory-practice gap, and show that research findings about strategies for good quality teaching and learning can have an impact on classroom practices. Teachers' knowledge about how people learnTeachers exert a direct impact upon student learning. Rowe (2002) and the OECD (2005) have reported that students of the most effective teachers have learning gains four times greater than students of the least effective teachers, that these effects accumulate over time, and that the single most important school-based variable of influence for student performance is teacher quality.The kno...

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“…Sometimes, evidence states the obvious or relates to problems that are too insignificant or too remote from the context of interest (see Hammersley, 2002;Levin, 2004). This latter complaint refers in particular to older research, which was often performed in artificial contexts and focused on questions that are only marginally related to the problems that practitioners experience (Glaser, Lieberman, & Anderson, 1997;Nuthall, 2004). As Shulman observed in 1997, ''in recent years, .…”

Section: Literature Review: Problems and Causesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gap between educational research and practice: A literature review, symposium, and questionnaire

Broekkamp

Hout-Wolters

2007

Educational Research and Evaluation

227

178

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Relating Classroom Teaching to Student Learning: A Critical Analysis of Why Research Has Failed to Bridge the Theory-Practice Gap

Cited by 164 publications

References 17 publications

Learning study: helping teachers to use theory, develop professionally, and produce new knowledge to be shared

Learning study: helping teachers to use theory, develop professionally, and produce new knowledge to be shared

Scaffolding cognitive and metacognitive strategy instruction in regular class lessons

The gap between educational research and practice: A literature review, symposium, and questionnaire

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