Concept Paper
Graduate Faculty of the School of Education
Requirements for the Degree of
Chapter 1: Introduction 1
Statement of the Problem 2
Purpose of the Study 4
Research Questions 4
Coding and Theoretical Framework 5
Definition of Key Terms 7
Chapter 2: Literature Review 8
Summary 12
References 14
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography 24
Introduction
One of the goals of an educational institution is the development of “warm demanding,” an educational environment in which the educational, professional exhibits a warm; but demanding presence in the classroom (Bondy et al., 2007). Current research suggests that there is a distinct overlap between the success of students in a classroom and an instructor’s ability to facilitate self-efficacy in the environment itself (Bandura, 1977). The identification and application of a warm demanding attitude in teacher orientation has been linked to academic growths and successes; particularly in urban academic settings (Adkins-Coleman, 2010).
The “warm demander” approach to learning is believed to be effective in a wide range of classrooms with a wide range of learning styles (Shevalier & McKenzie, 2012). Much of the research that has been completed on this topic has been focused on the urban academic setting; however (Adkins-Coleman, 2010). In the warm demanding classroom, instructors set boundaries for the students; which is something that is reflected repeatedly during the academic day. This fosters a mentoring environment and a focus on self-efficacy (Carpenter Ford & Sassi, 2012).
The idea of the “warm demanding” approach to teaching is commonly associated with African American teachers in an urban school environment (Ford & Sassi, 2014). These instructors balance the needs for hard limits and respect of students with a more nuanced approach to authority (Ford & Sassi, 2014). There are a number of challenges commonly associated with cross-racial classrooms; in which, the instructor is white and the rest of the classroom is some other racial group. Mismatches between the authority- figure teaching style and the needs of the classroom can lead to underachievement by students (Adkins-Coleman, 2010).
There is a very real need for a focus on self-efficacy in mathematics study (Usher & Pajares, 2007). Research suggests that mathematics and science are two of the areas where the achievement gap is the largest. Shrinking the achievement gap between students of different races would be entirely possible if there was a better focus on classroom dynamics (Bondy et al., 2007). In the urban classroom, a focus on warm demandingness is seen as empowering to the students. This can help reduce the academic achievement gap that exists between urban and suburban schools (Ford & Sassi, 2014). There are ways to narrow the achievement gap. Kaniuka (2011) suggests that the educator present in the classroom is significantly involved in the success of non-White students in the urban classroom (Kaniuka, 2011). In addition to warm demandingness of the instructor, Kaniuka (2011) found that a small-school setting with rigorous classroom expectations significantly shrunk the academic achievement gap for students. This was seen in a case study about a single disadvantaged school (Kaniuka, 2011). Narrowing the achievement gap and raising Average Yearly Progress (AYP) through instructor presence has been a long-term goal of schools around the United States; especially in science and math literacy (Usher & Pajares, 2007).
Statement of the Problem
Since the adoption of the No Child Left Behind Policy, schools have placed a greater focus on mathematics and reading instruction (Guisbond et al., 2012; Durlak, 2007; Hursh, 2007). Yet, despite this intent focus rendered by teachers, there exists a great debate concerning the effectiveness of the policy. For a lot of experts, rather than providing a wide and varied curriculum, the No Child Left Behind Policy has forced the educational institutions to narrow down the curriculum (Guisbond et al., 2012). After a decade, the academic performance index (API) dropped for the first time in 2013 (Baron, 2013; Fry, 2013). The percentage of the (API) dropped from 53% to 51% (Baron, 2013). Milsom (2015) reported the underperformance of many sophomores in the United States. There are several factors attributed to the so-called disengagement of students. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following: long breaks, lack of support and overwhelming workloads (Milsom, 2015). In other universities, it is likely that the reasons for the decline are not fully known.
The literature suggests the significance of having teachers who are warm and demanding (Bondy, Ross, Hambacher, & Acosta, 2013; Bonner, 2014; Ford & Sassi, 2014; Houchen, 2013; Ross, Bondy, Gallingane, & Hambacher, 2008; Xu, Coats, & Davidson, 2012). Moreover, teachers with more experience tend to be better warm demanders (Bondy, 2007; Ware, 2006). An authoritative form of teaching style is said to work best in pushing the students to improve their performance. There is some preliminary evidence that warm demanding might be a factor in the decline in student academic yearly progress (Bondy, 2013; Bondy, 2007). One aspect of the local problem is that the behavioral details of successful warm demanding are not well-known; because there is no professional learning community or other formal means of disseminating the knowledge and orientations of more experienced teachers to less experienced teacher (Bondy, 2013; Bondy, 2007). Gathering details of successful teacher warm demanding behaviors can address this aspect of the problem. The second aspect of the local problem is that less experienced teachers might lack self-efficacy (Kass, 2002), as a basis from which to adopt warm demanding (Bondy, 2013). A teacher with high self-efficacy knows how to apply the warm demanding approach in the classroom. Learning how successful teachers build and sustain the efficacy around warm demanding is a manner of addressing this aspect of the problem.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this qualitative study is to (a) increase understanding of the phenomenon of warm demanding, as enacted by successful and experienced teachers at the research site and (b) describe ways in which a professional learning community and other means could be used to assist less-experienced teachers; in both understanding and implementing warm demanding in the classroom. This purpose will be achieved by gathering data from 8-12 teachers at the research site, and is itself dependent on the assumptions specified above; namely that warm demand exists, is tied to success, and can be disseminated. The first purpose should be done so that an effective way of disseminating materials can be created. The experience of the teachers that are good warm demanders will be analyzed by applying descriptive phenomenology. It will follow a proper method of relaying the information formulated; so that the phenomenon will be effectively taught to inexperienced teachers.
Research Questions
For the purpose of this study, the proponent has developed a series of questions which will serve as a guide to facilitate the course of the discussion. These include:
Q1. How do successful teachers cultivate warmth in the classroom?
Q2. How do successful teachers cultivate demandingness in the classroom?
Q3. How do successful teachers cultivate a mixture of warmth and demanding in the classroom?
Q4. How does warm demanding influence positive academic outcomes for students?
Q5. How can the orientation of warm demanding be conveyed to other teachers?
Q6. How do successful warm demanders build self-efficacy for themselves?
Coding and Theoretical Framework
Since this study will utilize a qualitative research methodology through a phenomenological study, the proponent would adapt a case study approach. Hypotheses are not exactly a part of a qualitative research; but for the purpose of evaluation and testing, the proponent will use a coding approach to validate the result. The proponent of this study believes that the efficiency and effectiveness of the teaching approach rely on the competencies of the instructor in creating a teaching and learning environment; one that fosters openness and dynamic interaction; not restricted by any social, political or cultural boundaries. To allow for such phenomenon to exist in the classroom, the teacher should command authority in the classroom. This authority will demand students to comply with the academic requisites necessary for learning; thereby, overcoming the common challenges experienced in a typical classroom setting. In addition, fostering a warm demanding academic environment will allow students to personally overcome their personal issues; as far as, learning is concerned.
This study entitled A Descriptive Phenomenological Approach to Understanding ‘Warm Demanding’: Evidence from Public School Teachers trained to understand how teachers in public schools adapt the warm demanding approach in fostering effective and efficient methodology of the teaching-learning process. For this particular case study, the proponent will observe 10 classes from selected public schools. The classes will be on math and sciences.
Population
The selected population will be divided into two; the controlled group and the experimental group. The experiment group will adapt a “warm demanding approach to education”; while the controlled group will adapt the traditional relaxed environment. For the purpose of establishing structure, the proponent will adapt a Montessori Style educational system; in which, the students are free to express themselves and conduct their own approach to learning. This is opposite of the warm demanding approach.
Procedure
Each of the classes selected for the study will be evaluated based on how the instructor applies his or her authority over the students. The behavior of the students will be taken into consideration; as well as, their performance in the said classes. The responsiveness of the students to the applied authority, as explained in the warm demanding approach, will be recorded.
The success of the warm demanding approach can be analyzed based on the ability of the teacher to motivate the students to comply and participate in discussions and activities initiated during class. In addition, the student performance will also be taken into consideration. Considering that the proponent will adopt a case study methodology, the class participating in the study will have a week to use the said system
Definition of Key Terms
For the purpose of this study, the proponent decided to adapt a working terminologies that would guide the readers in understanding the content of the study. For better understanding and for a more suited application, the proponent decided to use both objective and subjective definition for the terminologies used in this paper.
Success. From within the context of this study, the proponent defines success as the effectiveness of the warm demanding approach in assisting teachers manage the teaching-learning process as indicated by the student’s improved performance in math and sciences.
Cultural Responsiveness. In the domain of pedagogy, cultural responsiveness is defined as the set of ways in which a teacher can alter aspects of pedagogy, communication, classroom management, and other factors to better align with the cultural needs and expectations of students (Bonner & Adams, 2012).
Galatea Effect. The Galatea Effect is defined as the tendency of a student to achieve at a higher level when encouraged by a teacher and to achieve at a lower level when not encouraged by a teacher (McNatt & Judge, 2004; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002).
Self-Efficacy. Self-efficacy is defined as a belief in the ability to succeed in a particular behavior (Bandura, 1977; Bandura 1994; Bandura 1997; Bandura 2000; Bandura, Adams, & Beyer, 1977).
PLC. A professional learning community is defined as a group of teachers, sometimes including administrators and other non-teaching personnel, who meet regularly in order to share best practices (Tang & Lam, 2014).
Warm Demanding. Warm demanding is defined as a behavioral orientation in which teachers are able to convey both care and a desire for academic rigor and performance to their students (Bondy et al., 2013).
Literature Review
A substantial amount of literature has been written about trying to improve the classroom learning environment and motivating students to be more engaged in the learning process (Bondy et al., 2013; Bonner, 2014; Deng, Lin, & Lo, 2012; Ford & Sassi, 2014; Houchen, 2013; Jackson, Sealey-Ruiz, & Watson, 2014; McNatt & Judge, 2004; Ross et al., 2008; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002; Salkovsky & Romi, 2015; Xu et al., 2012). A large amount of this materials concentrated on offering a definitive characteristic of a warm demander. One appropriate means of structuring a literature review on the subject of warm demanding is to proceed from;
an overview of the traditional classroom environment, for better understanding of what is typically seen in a traditional classroom, may require modification;
the presentation and definition of the concept of warm demanding, to establish the merits for needing to adapt this system for a more effective approach to the teaching-learning process;
a presentation of the theoretical basis for warm demanding, to institutionalize the effectiveness of the system that would warrant the voluntary adaptation of schools into their own learning process;
a discussion and analysis of empirical studies on warm demanding to critically evaluate the pros and cons of the system;
the identification of the role of the teacher as a warm demander and the expectations among students;,
an identification of both the gaps in the literature and the ways in which empirical findings have affirmed underlying theories of student success.
Understanding the Classroom Environment
In an article published in 2008, authors Elizabeth Bondy and Dorene D. Ross, wrote about teachers being warm demander. In the beginning of the article, the authors posed an important question, they asked how teachers could create an engaging classroom. Their response was as simple as “convince the students that you care for them” . The concept of caring is pivotal to fostering a warm, demanding environment for students to feel motivated and engaged in the learning process. For many academic institutions, the focus of teachers is on the academic enrichment of their students by capitalizing on developing a lesson plan that would meet all the cognitive criteria of development. Nevertheless; in the pursuit of wanting to enrich the cognitive knowledge of students, teachers failed to let their students know they can rely on them for support when things get tough. As a result, teachers are challenged by their students’ misbehavior and lack of interest. This is where Bondy and Ross (2008) offered the most sensible solution to the problem; engage the students to participate in their personal learning process.
A common problem experienced by teachers in public schools is getting the students to step up and become more participative. However, this is quite common in public schools or in a poverty stricken community. Thus, teachers find it challenging to foster a positive environment where students would feel motivated and encouraged. For example; authors of the article Promoting Academic Engagement through Insistence: Being a Warm Demander stated that public schools are usually confronted with racial discrimination and the racial achievement gap (Rossa, Bondya, Gallingane, & Hambacher, 2008, p. 143). This creates the low morale of students and disheartens them to productively engage and feel empowered to learn. More importantly creating an interesting lesson plan is to actually create an environment where students feel engaged (Bondy & Ross, 2008, p. 54). According to Skinner and Furrer, the stakes for creating an engaging classroom environment is high; because the teacher needs to effectively communicate to the students both warm and negotiable demands, which are important to the type of classroom environment needed to motivate students to become engaged . Therefore; the authors believe that by facilitating an engaging classroom environment, a teacher becomes a warm demander.
What is the Concept of “Warm Demanding”?
The concept of “warm demanding” originated from the early 1960’s with the so-called Galatea effect, from which, expectations play significant importance. Applying it to the context of education; several authors rationalized, like in any other setting, teachers and students also have their own sets of expectations. Students expect teachers to have mastered the basic rudimentary principles of teaching. In the same, teachers expect students to be engaged in classroom discussions; as with any typical dynamic setup.
Warm demanding supports teachers much foster an environment where the students feel motivated to participate. Teachers must exude the qualities of a warm demander to allow students to feel valued. At the same time, a teacher must command respect and authority to encourage students to follow their orders . In an article by Dr. Micheline S. Malow, Ph.D., she emphasized the importance of care and insistence in reaching out to students; especially those students with learning disabilities . However, Malow insisted that not all students would respond well to this kind of approach. A teacher should learn to balance the right amount of care and fair demanding that is tolerable for a particular child; as not everyone would manifest and respond well to the same approach. Furrer and Skinner capitalized on ensuring students are, in fact, going to perform according to expectations. Again, going back to the Galatea effect, authors who wrote about this principles suggest high exceptions from teachers of their students results in exemplary performance; because they are being motivated to respond positively to the expectations, and students feel they are being encouraged when their teachers think highly of them .
Theoretical Foundation of Warm Demanding
A good literature review has to include a discussion of a theoretical foundation for the concept presented in order to be connected with the empirical findings documented across different studies. It has already been achieved that there is a general consensus supporting warm demanding, and it is highly successful and effective; particularly during classroom orientation (Bondy et al., 2013; Bonner, 2014; Deng, Lin, & Lo, 2012; Ford & Sassi, 2014; Houchen, 2013; McNatt & Judge, 2004; Ross et al., 2008; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002; Xu et al., 2012). While the success of warm demanding has been established, the next concern for scholars and academicians is aiding teachers in becoming warm demanders. The most pressing open question in the literature is how teachers can become warm demanders. This can best be explained in the theory of the Galatea effect (McNatt & Judge, 2004).
Originally developed in the 1960s-era, discovery of the so-called Galatea effect; warm demanding supports that students were found to live up or live down to the expectations of their teachers (McNatt & Judge, 2004; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002). Subsequent empirical research demonstrated that a teacher’s belief the capacity of their students is, to some extent, self-fulfilling (McNatt & Judge, 2004; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002). In 2003, authors Furrer and Skinner asserts that warm demanding fosters an environment that engages students to actively participate; thereby, raising their academic performance. The engaging classroom environment encourages and motivates students to excel. Furrer and Skinner believes that engaging students to actively take part in academic discussions and activities constitutes a student to retain the concepts discussed during the lesson. This supports the empirical finding which confirmed what teachers and theorists had been debating on for several years; i.e., a teacher’s positive orientation towards students is a prime determining factor in their academic success (Ladson-Billings, 1999). Warmth is one name given to this positive orientation; it comprises belief, encouragement, care, trust, and related emotions and orientations (Bondy et al., 2013). On the other hand; demanding constitutes the authority that students should recognize, respect and abide. By blending these two concepts together, the teacher is able to advance in becoming a warm demander which is able to balance both care and authority. (Bondy et al., 2013; Bonner, 2014; Deng, Lin, & Lo, 2012).
The Merits of Warm Demanding in Classroom Set-Up
There has been numerous studies depicting the advantages of incorporating the system of warm demanding in the classroom set-up. There were evidences identifying that fostering increases the level of academic performances of students and actively engages students to be more participative in academic and non-academic activities (Ladson-Billings, 1999; McNatt & Judge, 2004; Ross et al., 2008; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002). It also gave students the motivation and the encouragement to pursue further; thereby, accounting for a large percentage of students proceeding to college due to identified merits (Bondy et al., 2013).
In the same way, this is also believed to have significantly improved the performance of teachers and their effectiveness in a classroom setting. According to Malow (2013), teachers who gradually progress in becoming warm demanders, are able to enforce effective classroom management. In addition, warm demanders are also effective in trying to control students and effectively allow the students to navigate on their own; which allows them to be independent; yet consultative in the progress they are making.
Defining a Warm Demander
Other empirical studies identified teacher demanding as an important factor in student success (Bondy et al., 2013). However, the demanding orientation was found to have hard limits. Teachers who were too demanding simply alienated their students, who either overtly or covertly rebelled against their expectations. Subsequent research combined the themes of warmth and demanding, and noted the combination of these two orientations was a far more likely predictor of student success.
There is; thus, a consensus among educational scholars that successful teachers manage to combine two distinct attitudes; warmth and demand (Bondy et al., 2013; Bonner, 2014; Davis et al., 2011; Ford & Sassi, 2014; Houchen, 2013; Ross et al., 2008; Rowe & O'Brien, 2002; Shevalier & McKenzie, 2012; Xu et al., 2012). Teachers who are warm, but do not ask their students to push for achievement, are often unable to motivate students to work harder inside and outside the classroom. Teachers who are demanding, but not warm, can alienate students. However; teachers who can combine the orientations of warmth and demand, give students the combination of trust, motivation, support, and challenges that are associated with high academic achievement.
Despite the consensus in the academic literature about the success of warm demanding as a teacher orientation, there are few practical guides that can help teachers understand what this phenomenon is; much less, to implement it. One reason for this difficulty is that warmth and demand are both context-specific. In other words, the behaviors that seem warm and demanding to students depend greatly on the socioeconomic, cultural, and academic circumstances of those students (Ford & Sassi, 2014). Identifying and learning from successful warm demanders in a given setting is; therefore, an appropriate means of helping peer teachers understand how they, too, can become warm demanders in the classroom. The knowledge generated by the student from warm demanders can form the content of a professional learning community, provide insight to administrators, and offer a template to teachers who are struggling with how best to adopt classroom orientations to engage students.
Based on the empirical articles analyzed in this literature review, the list of behaviors associated with successful warm demanding can be easily conveyed. The true challenge lies not in the identification of what constitutes warm demanding, but rather, in the identification of strategies that allow teachers to adopt warm demanding within their own contexts. The points of consensus in the literature (Bondy et al., 2013; Bonner, 2014; Ford & Sassi, 2014; Houchen, 2013; Ross et al., 2008; Xu et al., 2012) are that teachers possess the capability of being warm demanders with the combination of education, pre-service training, and other factors in the standard process of preparing a teacher; which gives all teachers the tools they need to be warm demanders. If so, what matters most in the adoption of warm demanding might not be fundamental skill-building; but rather the identification of ways to enable teachers to exercise the skills they have; such as, through the generation of self-efficacy.
Creating a Warm Demanding Classroom Environment
One of the main points of interest in Bondy et al.’s (2013) article, is that teachers with less than a year of experience; and asked to succeed in a cross-cultural setting, were in fact able to do so because they believed in their ability to be warm demanders. For these teachers, warm demanding was not a difficult orientation to understand, and it did not require them to devote time to building skills they did not possess. Rather, to use the term Bandura (1997) employed in his discussion of self-efficacy theory, what the teachers in Bondy et al.’s study possessed was the ability to orchestrate their existing skills; an ability that was rooted in their belief. The same kind of findings were obtained by other scholars (Bonner, 2014; Bonner & Adams, 2012; Davis et al., 2011; Ford & Sassi, 2014) whose work was consulted in this literature review.
Understood from the theoretical perspective of the self-efficacy theory; one of the key gaps in the literature is the lack of discussion on how teachers can build and sustain self-efficacy through various concepts and applications of the warm demanding orientation. The literature contains numerous details about the specific behaviors that comprise warm demanding, but there is comparatively less information on the topic of how teachers can come to believe in their ability to be warm demanders. Given the prominence of self-efficacy in the studies consulted in this literature review, this gap is an important one; teachers need to not only know more about the components of warm demanding, but also about how to believe in their ability to enact these behaviors. With this literature gap in mind, Chapter 3 contains a description and defense of a descriptive phenomenological method for (a) identifying the warm demanding behaviors of successful, experienced teachers at the local research site; (b) identifying how such teachers are able to build and sustain self-efficacy around warm demanding; and (c) exploring how the knowledge achieved from (a) and (b) can be disseminated to other teachers; primarily through a professional learning community (PLC).
Summary
The warm demanding teacher recognizes the cultural differences a student may have and potentially affect their ability to successfully learn the material that is being presented to them in the classroom. By acknowledging these differences and attempting to close the gap which arises from them; the warm demanding teacher is better able to relate the important learning objectives to the students in ways they can more easily understand, and interpret them within the framework of their existing knowledge base.
Caring about the student background is the first element. Secondly, the teacher approaches the students with the expectation that they can and will learn the lessons at hand. It is a no-excuses style of demanding positive results from the class. It is the complex interaction between the warmth of caring about their cultural differences, combined with the insistence that the students are capable of mastering the material being presented to them that gives this style of teaching its name. Warm demanding instruction is culturally relevant, critically caring and authoritative. Teachers take the philosophy that children’s’ lives can be improved through good education, and they take a personal level of responsibility for providing that education. This goal will motivate the teaching style control the decision making process and practices utilized in the classroom. Teachers seeking to adopt the warm demander orientation; a proposed solution for the problem of declining academic achievement, and affecting the research site, require some form of guidance. The conclusion of the literature review is that self-efficacy can give teachers a template for adopting the behaviors that are most commonly identified with warm demanding.
Methodology
For this study entitled A Descriptive Phenomenological Approach to Understanding ‘Warm Demanding’: Evidence from Public School Teachers, the proponent decided to initiate the use of the descriptive research design in the attempt to understand what warm demanding brings into the classroom setting as perceived from how public school teachers make out of it.. This design methodology facilitates for a participatory observation of the specific phenomenon. In an article published in 2004, the author formulated the necessary steps in conducting a phenomenological research for which the author believed that two steps are highly important in this pursuit. The first step involves the gathering and collection of data from the perspective of another person who is involved in the cooperative education program . The second step necessarily involves the researcher’s engagement or participation in the process as having to require the personal participatory knowledge of the researcher in the study .
Given the very nature and essence of the study, the proponent has conceptualized the need to conduct a case study analysis thereby foregoing the validation of the hypothesis which is not intended to be a part of a qualitative study. Nevertheless to evaluate and test the assumptions regarding the use of warm demanding in the public school classroom setting the proponent initiated the use of coding approach. This approach aims to validate the result drawn by assuming inferences through a set of codes. For this particular study it is assumed that the efficiency and effectiveness of the teaching approach rely on the competencies of the instructor in creating a teaching and learning environment. This environment is one that fosters openness and dynamic interaction; not restricted by any social, political or cultural boundaries. To allow for such phenomenon to exist in the classroom, the teacher should command authority in the classroom. This authority will demand students to comply with the academic requisites necessary for learning; thereby, overcoming the common challenges experienced in a typical classroom setting. In addition, fostering a warm demanding academic environment will allow students to personally overcome their personal issues especially in as far as learning is concerned.
Population
For ease and accessibility, the proponent decided to conduct the study in the State of {name of the state}, specifically the city of {name of city}. The reason for this choice it because the said locale is within close proximity with the proponent thereby making the study efficiently conducted within the identified location. To streamline the population, the proponent decided to center on public elementary schools within the selected population. Public elementary schools were selected in the belief that teachers within this sample have more control over their classes. More so, it is also the belief of the proponent that school administrators of public schools enforces strict rules, including aggressively instructing teachers to adapt the principle of “warm demanding” into the teaching-learning process in pursuit of attaining a bigger fund allocation as appropriated by the government among public schools who are able to meet the academic and scholastic standards set for Math and Sciences. In this case, the proponent further streamline the population into two (2) schools. The proponent will get six (6) classes respective from the two participating schools. Three (3) classes from Math and three (3) classes from Sciences will form the sample population.
Sample
For this phenomenological study, the proponent decided to observe twelve (12) classes from esteemed public schools from the state of {name of State}. The proponent streamlined the sample from schools, grade level, and courses. All were selected using the different principles of random sampling. Random sampling facilitates for the possibility that all sample of the population will be included in the selection. Specifically, the proponent decided fishbowl sampling technique in choosing the specific school and grade level. However, the courses of the students included in the study was selected using purposive random sampling in which a particular criteria has been set for the selection. For this particular study, the classes that were chosen for this study includes Math and Sciences because of its complexity and standardized process of teaching and learning.
As mentioned earlier, the proponent will be using the fishbowl sampling technique. This sampling methodology allows for the proponent to streamline the population. The purpose of doing this is to significantly lessen the number of participants to a manageable level. The fishbowl technique is a process of isolating all the sample of a population into a container and drawing out the sample with less probability of being controlled or manipulated.
Data Collection, Processing and Analysis
For the selection process, the proponent would utilize the principle of random sampling through fishbowl technique. The population will be streamlined from school, to classes to grade level. The proponent decided to write the names of the public elementary schools within the selected locale or population in a uniformly cut paper. This paper are placed inside an empty fishbowl and with the intervention of another person, two (2) schools were selected. After selecting the schools, the proponent will repeat the procedure but in this case it will bear the year level of the six (6) classes that will participate in the study. Note that the same grade level shall be applied for both the controlled and experiment group for both approaches.
The selected population will be divided into two (2) groups—the controlled group and the experimental group. Each group will adapt a specific teaching approach. The experiment group composed of three (3) classes will adapt the warm demanding approach, while the controlled group will adapt the Montessori Style of teaching approach. Contrary to the warm demanding, the Montessori Style allows student to freely express themselves and conduct their own approach to learning without having to conform or follow in a strict protocol that is typical in a traditional classroom setting. In other words, the Montessori Style is the opposite of the warm demanding style of teaching.
Each classes shall be observed, taking particular consideration on how the teacher applies his or her authority in class. In the same manner, the teacher’s warmth and openness to the students shall also be considered and observed. The students’ response to the teacher’s approach to teaching shall be recorded, including their performance in the specified class. The success of the approach employed by the teacher shall be analyzed based on how the students respond to the teacher’s use of authority in reference to the teacher’s ability to motivate the students’ to comply and participate in class discussions and the various activities initiated during class. In addition, the student’s performance, (i.e. the results of test, and seat works) shall also be taken into consideration. Since the proponent would like to establish a degree of reliability, the study will run for a week. This will give the proponent sufficient data to compare and contrast the results and establish a pattern in the behavior of the students.
Assumptions
This study assumes that result of the study favors more effective for the warm demanding approach because it is able to foster control within the classroom settings. As mentioned in Amy Carpenter Ford and Kelly Sassi’s study (2014), control and a certain degree of authority is favorable in a classroom setting because teachers are able to regulate the action and behavior of the students. Thus, it is assumed that in order to note the success of the warm demanding principle it is only fitting to observe the level of performance and behavior of the students as far as their motivation to comply and participate in class activities.
Summary
This section discusses the methodological approach that is selected by the proponent for this study. A descriptive phenomenological study has been determined because of the nature of the study requiring observation of how the principle of warm demanding is applied in the classroom setting and how this significantly affects the student’s motivation to learn and participate in class activities. A case study approach has been initiated to facilitate the study requiring the participation of two (2) schools with six (6) classes each that is further divided into two (2)--a controlled group and an experimental group. Each group will assume two distinct type of teaching approach. The controlled group will assume the Montessori Style of teaching method while the experimental group will assume the warm demanding style of teaching method. The proponent will observe how the use of warm and authority in the teaching process motivate the students to participate in class discussion and class activities.
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Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography
Abrantes, J. L., Seabra, C., & Lages, L.F. (2007). Sampling "hard to reach" populations in qualitative research: The case of incarcerated youth. Qualitative Social Work, 60, 960-964.
This article discusses the difficulty of including certain groups of individuals in research studies. This study pertains to my research, because the individuals analyzed reveal a pattern of becoming positively impacted by innovative and highly creative teaching methods. Thus; the importance of including rarely analyzed populations in such studies is obviously paramount to the inclusivity and efficacy of the study.
Achinstein, B., & Ogawa, R. T. (2012). New teachers of color and culturally responsive teaching in an era of educational accountability: Caught in a double bind. Journal of educational change, 13(1), 1-39.
This study discusses the difficulty teachers find in attempting to reach students of color and to motivate them in an era where tests rule the day and determine the educational success or failure of an institution. It then indicates the way in which student backgrounds; resembles teacher backgrounds; thus causing empathy from teacher influenced external forces not to give in to this sort of sentimental thinking. Rather than allow themselves to be "swayed by emotion," these teachers may deliberately resist the messages encoded in their own emotions. This leaves students in need stranded in an educational setting where even those teachers most able to sympathize with them do not, deliberately, for fear of losing their own jobs or being derided among their peers.
Adkins-Coleman, T. A. (2010). "I'm not afraid to come into your world": Case studies of teachers facilitating engagement in urban high school English classrooms. The Journal of Negro Education, 79(1), 41-53.
This study reveals the necessity of teacher courage in entering spaces stereotypically believed to be dangerous or unwelcoming to them. It highlights the importance of encouraging well-meaning liberal teachers from all walks of life and backgrounds to step into impoverished or primarily students-of-color classrooms. This article indicates that the most expedient route to educational success for both teachers and students is to facilitate effective relationships between those willing to be brave. This courage is so often met with welcome rather than derision supports my theory of the value of kindness in this profession; and as a bridge-building factor in these spaces.
Anderson, E. (2012). Reflections on the "Black-White achievement gap". Journal of School Psychology, 50(5), 593-597. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2012.08.007
This article discusses the manner in which black students are presented with obstacles in their learning processes; which white students do not face. It highlights the many reasons this is the case; including facing stereotype-concretizing pressures from teachers, as well as, an increased likelihood of facing various challenges associated with poverty. Moreover, this article highlights the fact that many educated and very left-leaning individuals are currently discussing these matters with the hope of resolving the societal problems encoded therein. This article pertains to my research, because it suggests that black students require motivation and the assumption they will achieve on par with white students; rather than pity. It also promotes the notion that racism impacts all; not merely those most directly affected by its ravages.
Appel, M., & Kronberger, N. (2012). Stereotypes and the achievement gap: Stereotype threat prior to test taking. Educational Psychology Review, 24(4), 609-635. doi: 10.1007/s10648-012-9200-4
This study expresses the reality that students of color are presented with assumptions embedded in the questions they are faced with when taking tests. When threatened with these microaggressions enough times, these students develop a profound fear of test-taking and an anxiety congruent with the attack they have come to expect to find in the questions therein. This study supports my analysis that a clearheaded and compassionate approach to teaching these students is particularly necessary. For students who have come to view teachers as participants in an eternally derogatory system, these students may view the educational system as one with compassion.
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215.
This article focuses on the importance of building self-esteem of students in order to inspire them to make the changes necessary in their behavior to bring about their academic success. This conclusion naturally engenders my own; that positive reinforcement and encouragement from teachers will create positive effects. Bandura is a psychologist in the Social Science department at Stanford University.
Bandura, A. (1994). Self-efficacy. In V. S. Ramachaudran (Ed.), Encyclopedia of human behavior (pp. 71-81). New York, NY: Academic Press.
This entry in the Encyclopedia in question simply explores the elements of self-efficacy; which I discuss in my paper. It highlights the fact that students will often achieve based on their personal beliefs by breaking down self-efficacy as a determining factor in human behavior. Bandura is a psychologist in the Social Science department at Stanford University.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: Basic Books.
This article focuses on the importance of feeling a sense of empowerment over one's own life and circumstances; vis-à-vis, one's pursuit of one's educational goals. Thus, the mentorship students receive from teachers who aim to build a trustworthy rapport with students is particularly key here. Bandura has extensive experience in the fields of psychology and social welfare; he is currently a professor at Stanford University.
Bandura, A., Adams, N. E., & Beyer, J. (1977). Cognitive processes mediating behavioral change. Journal of personality and social psychology, 35(3), 125-139.
This article analyzes the various ways of how cognitive processes contribute to societal behaviors and ultimately the change of status in entire populations of people. The article highlights the many ways that brain chemistry can contribute either to higher or lowered expectations of an individual; both by that individual and by another, and that stereotypical modes of thinking and belief systems contributes to unhealthy behavioral patterns. This article profoundly concretizes the manner by which humans consider rational thought; including what humans perceive to be rational behavior changes nothing. However, it illuminates our own prejudicial thinking and the impacts it has on most people.
Bandura, A. (2000). Exercise of human agency through collective efficacy. Current directions in psychological science, 9(3), 75-78.
This article summarizes the extent to which collaboration and deliberate, intentional social change can engender positive results for entire communities. It highlights the means by which human behavior can be changed with a minimum of supervision from some external and grander other. It extends the way in which humans grapple with notions of social change to include the reality of individual change can often times lead to far greater change than is often accredited. Meanwhile, it supports my conclusion that ultimately teachers best serve students when encouraging one another to respond wholistically to student concerns and problems. Rather than treat students as failures, this article assures its reader, that students should to be treated as collaborators in discovering the mechanisms by which the larger world functions.
Berryman, M., SooHoo, S., Nevin, A., Arani Barrett, T., Ford, T., Joy Nodelman, D., . . . Wilson, A. (2013). Culturally responsive methodologies at work in education settings. International Journal for Researcher Development, 4(2), 102-116.
This article focuses on the positive progress which has been made thanks to cutting-edge strategies dictating the interaction between teachers and students; even those teachers from affluent neighborhoods and students who are not. The article highlights the way these kindness-inducing modes of thought can contribute to building a positive relationship between students and their teachers. The article highlights the efficacy of such strategies in building lasting change within the mindsets of these students, as well as; in the teaching styles of those professionals studied. The results are unambiguous and quite powerful.
Bobbitt-Zeher, D. (2004). Black American students in an affluent suburb: A study of academic disengagement (Vol. 33, pp. 414-416). WASHINGTON: American Sociological Association.
This article discusses the reality that affluence does not necessarily indicate success among black communities. It theorizes some of the reasons why this might be the case. The article ultimately concludes that racism is so prevalent in the educational system that black students experience the same humiliation at the hands of the system, regardless of their socioeconomic status. This fact is truly tragic considering the extent to which these students might otherwise embrace academia as a path to becoming a leader in their communities. Individuals prevalent in black history including Ida B. Wells and W.E.B. du Bois were well-known for their educational achievements. Such achievements facilitated their success in other areas; including their participation in the Civil Rights Movements of their time, is certain.
Bondy, E., Ross, D. D., Gallingane, C., & Hambacher, E. (2007). Creating environments of success and resilience: Culturally responsive classroom management and more. Urban Education, 42(4), 326-348. doi: 10.1177/0042085907303406
This article discusses the many ways teachers can contribute to the success of their students by creating a classroom environment in which tolerance is key; and acceptance the name of the game, so to speak. The teachers studied here were ones who have had the most success in working with students of different races and ethnic backgrounds than themselves, and are those with the most open-minded approach to instruction. These individuals have created great and lasting positive impact in the lives of their students simply by cultivating a mindset that questions stereotypical assumptions regarding the their abilities. This suggests that such deliberate openness benefits teachers in fulfilling their roles with efficacy, as well as, it benefits students.
Bondy, E., Ross, D. D., Hambacher, E., & Acosta, M. (2013). Becoming warm demanders: Perspectives and practices of first year teachers. Urban Education, 48 (3), 420-450. doi: 10.1177/0042085912456846
This article highlights the journey that several first-year teachers take in embracing their role in the lives of their students. It reveals the necessity of learning to value difference and diversity in one's students; if one's intention is to become an effective purveyor of information. Moreover, it reveals that certain character traits are associated with success as a teacher; while others can become a significant impairment. The students are able to relax and embrace the influence of their teachers, and are able to accept their teacher as caring providers of education; rather than as strict disciplinarians. This suggests the role of caregiver can be seen as a sort of template for teacher behavior towards students, rigid, but always kind. These principles, if adopted, would engender a profound transformation in student relationships with teachers; and in the institution of teaching.
Bonner, E. P. (2014). Investigating practices of highly successful mathematics teachers of traditionally underserved students. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 86(3), 377-399. doi: 10.1007/s10649-014-9533-7
This article supports the notion that the most successful instructors do not merely focus on their academic subject when attempting to reach out to underperforming students. Rather, the teacher in question must attempt to connect on an emotional level with their students. Such students often have an emotional cause underlying their low performance; such connections can literally make the difference between success or failure in a classroom setting.
Bonner, E. P., & Adams, T. L. (2012). Culturally responsive teaching in the context of mathematics: a grounded theory case study. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 15(1), 25-38. doi: 10.1007/s10857-011-9198-4
Bonner and Adams describe the grounded theory case study. The case study discusses the four interconnected cornerstones of cultutrally responsive mathematics teaching (CRMT). To succeed; the classroom needs to have free communication, basic knowledge, trusting relationships, and continuous reflection and revision. Students who do not feel comfortable communicating in front of their peers need help from parents, teachers, and administrators to increase their confidence and basic knowledge. Once students feel they are up to date with their learning; they are more likely to participate, and share their thoughts and beliefs with their classmates and teachers. These cornerstones directly affect the classroom practices and promotes equity in mathematics. It is important to give urban students real world examples of using mathematics and science to help the students retain the information learned. These practices need to be enforced at all mathematical levels to reinforce the importance of mathematics and science on a daily basis.
Borg, J. R., Mary, O. B., & Harriet, A. S. (201
