Science Teachers’ Ability to Self-Calibrate and the Trustworthiness of Their Self-Reporting

Congruence and Discrepancy Between Observation and Teachers’ Self-Report of Inquiry-Based Instruction

“…The teachers who were not able to conceptualise how they learnt or who stated that they learnt by observing or doing experiments (seldom stating that it was by reasoning from evidence) might be missing the understanding and sensitivity to the process of how their students learn, and this results in presenting knowledge to them instead of constructing it. This explanation is also emphasised by a study conducted by Feldman and Ozalp [18] who point out the lack of experience of teachers with learning itself.…”

“…The differences in these two views are significant as Wilcoxon test results present. The teachers misinterpret and overestimate their performance and the performance of their pupils in various ways described in Result section (also in [18,22]). Furtak's overview of research which took place during years when inquiry was the main focus of science education reform shows the positive effect of inquiry-based teaching on student achievement and stresses the importance of the role of a teacher in actively guiding activities [34].…”

“…The reflection has to foster a higher level of thinking. It seems to be important to participate in peer classroom observations and reflect on what is observed in order to get feedback and compare one's own performance with others as suggested also by Feldman and Ozalp [18] or Savasci and Berlin [22]. Curriculum material or adjusted material with inquiry design are important means for teachers to design inquiry teaching situations in their science classes.…”

“…Teachers with a greater and deeper understanding and knowledge of their subject matter seem to be more flexible and responsive to student ideas and the actual situation in the classroom than teachers with less such knowledge [17]. Feldman and Ozalp [18] question the self-reports of teachers since there might be the possibility that they do not have the knowledge, understanding, or skills to accurately assess what they have accomplished. They are often unaware of their deficits and over-estimate their skills [15].…”

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait: The Importance of Professional Development for the Implementation of Differentiated Instruction

“…However, self-reports are not as trustworthy as observations of their actual behavior. For example, teachers may overestimate their abilities or lack the skills to accurately assess what they can accomplish (Feldman and Özalp, 2019). It is also plausible that teachers became more self-critical when completing the survey for a second time because they have had to think it through, a point several of them raised during the interviews.…”