Teacher Decision-Making while Conducting Classroom Instruction.

Abstract

The primary purpose of this study was to examine how teachers' decisions at decisive points during a lesson vary depending upon teaching experience and the sex of the teacher. Using what the author calls a "Stop Video Method," the experiment involved showing teachers a videotaped classroom lesson and stopping it at decisive points, and asking the viewers what their decisions would be. The videotaped lesson used in the experiment was of a class in sixth grade arithmetic given by a teacher in his 30's. The main results were as follows : (1) Teacher decisions could be categorized into three groups : 'regress,' 'stop' or 'proceed.' (2) Teachers with more experience were inclined to make decisions involving a greater degree of risk than did those with less experience. (3) Also, male teachers were inclined to take more risks than were female teachers. (4) The decisions made by the more experienced teachers were based upon the objectives of the instruction while those made by the lesser-experienced teachers took the states of students more into account.