Teacher Enthusiasm in Physics Instruction [Elektronische Ressource] / Melanie Keller. Gutachter: Hans E. Fischer ; Knut Neumann

M.Keller

Sujets

• Physik

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• Publié par: universitat_duisburg-essen
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 31
• Langue: English

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TEACHER ENTHUSIASM IN PHYSICS INSTRUCTION
Der Fakultät für Physik
an der Universität Duisburg-Essen
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Dr. phil. nat.
vorgelegte Dissertation
von
Melanie Keller
aus Schweinfurt
Referent: Prof. Dr. Hans E. Fischer
Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Knut Neumann
Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 29. Juni 2011
Für Opa Rudi.
Acknowledgements
Fortes fortuna adjuvat.
– Fortune favors the bold.
Augustus
This old saying that I like to credit Augustus with – even though his authorship is by no means
established, he just liked to mention it regularly – can be regarded as the leitmotif for this dis-
sertation. I was possibly bold when starting this thesis, unsure if it was the right thing to do,
perhaps even unaware of what exactly I was getting myself into. But I was also fortunate during
my time working on it: I was fortunate to be able to work on a subject that really interested me
and kept me curious and motivated. This helped get me through the expected downtimes that
most of us experience over the course of our studies. I was fortunate that so many people sup-
ported me throughout the process, and here I wish to thank them, at this moment and on this
page.
First, I’d like to thank Prof. Hans Fischer who accepted me into his working group and pro-
vided me with all the freedom I needed in order to pursue my research interests. Prof. Knut
Neumann I thank for being the first to invite me to the NWU-Essen, supervising my work,
making me feel welcome and encouraging me to go further with my research. I’m also thankful
for his continuing friendship.
Prof. Elke Sumfleth can be considered the “mother” of the NWU: I thank her for providing me
with a solid foundation on which my research interests were nurtured and were able to flourish.
I would also like to thank the German Research Foundation (and, ultimately, the German tax
payers) for providing me with the stipend that allowed me to pursue my research as liberally and
suited to my interests as I did.
This thesis came to be within a large international project called Quality of Instruction in Physics
(QuIP) whose members I would all like to thank, as well. First and foremost, I’d like to thank
Judith Riegelnig in Switzerland – although regrettably no longer part of the project – for her
cheerfulness, her guidance and insight into all matters of organizing and planning such a huge
project.
Due to the generous DFG stipend, I also had the chance to go abroad for a couple of weeks. I
was very lucky to be able to work with Prof. Anita Hoy at The Ohio State University in Colum-
bus and I am very grateful to her: you made me feel welcome, supported me in my research in a
way I had not yet experienced and provided me with insights into my work that proved very
helpful. Thank you!
In the years since I began my studies, and especially in the last couple of years, I’ve also discov-
ered my affinity to psychologists; for this thesis as well as for my ongoing wellbeing through
periodic downtimes they were certainly indispensable. I am very grateful to Simone Herrlinger
for providing me with statistical guidance as a newbie to the social sciences; Jill Gößling for her
cheerful spirit and encouraging words; and especially Annett Schmeck for her guidance and
support through my days at NWU.
Special thanks also go to Tobias Viering, particularly for sharing with me the love for all things
related to astrophysics and Science Fiction.
I am especially grateful to what I would like to call “the office”, that is Stefanie Wüsten, Ste-
phan Schmelzing, our youngest member Jenny Olszewski and our adopted member Marina
Zeidler: I cherished our time together so much and extend my deepest thanks to you for your
help and support through the years. Our time shared together was fun and exciting, and I will
always miss “the office”-years. Thank you!
Special thanks go to my parents, Heidi and Rüdiger, my brother, Christian, and my Godmoth-
er, Michaela, for always being there for me, supporting me when I needed it and encouraging
me to trust myself and venture further into this undiscovered country that is the future.
Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank the person that made all of this possible in the
first place, Irene Neumann: you literally saved my life, supported me in every way since the be-
ginning and always made me feel welcome and at home. Thank you! 1
Contents
1  INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 3 
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 6 
2  TEACHER ENTHUSIASM  7 
2.1  CONCEPTUALIZATIONS ..... 7 
2.2  TEACHER ENTHUSIASM AND STUDENT OUTCOMES ............................................................................................. 20 
2.3  CONCLUSION ............... 25 
3  INTEREST AND MOTIVATION AT SCHOOL ............................................................................................ 27 
3.1  WHAT IS MOTIVATION? ................................................................................................................................ 27 
3.2  THE SELF‐DETERMINATION THEORY OF MOTIVATION ......................................................................................... 29 
3.3  WHAT IS INTEREST? ...... 31 
3.4  STUDENT INTEREST AND MOTIVATION ............................................................................................................. 34 
3.5  TEACHER INTEREST AND MOTIVATION  38 
3.6  CONCLUSION ............... 42 
AIMS, RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES .......................................................................................... 43 
4  RATIONALE .......... 44 
4.1  AIMS ......................................................................................................................................................... 45 
4.2  MODELING TEACHER ENTHUSIASM ................................................................................................................. 46 
5  RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND HYPOTHESES ........................................................................................... 49 
5.1  RESEARCH QUESTIONS ... 49 
5.2  HYPOTHESES ................ 50 
DESIGN AND METHODS ............................................................................................................................... 56 
6  DESIGN AND SAMPLE ......................................................................................................................... 57 
6.1  QUIP AND DESIGN OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................... 57 
6.2  SAMPLE DESCRIPTION .... 59 
7  INSTRUMENTS ..... 61 2
7.1  TEACHER INTEREST AND MOTIVATION ............................................................................................................. 61 
7.2  TEACHER NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR AND ENTHUSIASTIC TEACHING ........................................................................... 69 
7.3  STUDENT INTEREST AND MOTIVATION  74 
7.4  TEACHER BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................ 77 
ANALYSES ..................... 79 
8  ASSUMPTIONS FOR PARAMETRIC TESTS ............................................................................................. 80 
9  INTEREST AND MOTIVATION OF TEACHERS ......................................................................................... 82 
9.1  INTEREST ..................... 82 
9.2  MOTIVATION ............... 85 
9.3  INTERRELATIONS OF TRAIT AND STATE COMPONENTS  86 
9.4  TEACHER INTEREST IN RELATION TO OTHER TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS ................................................................. 88 
10  NONVERBAL AND ENTHUSIASTIC TEACHER BEHAVIORS ...................................................................... 91 
10.1  NONVERBAL TEACHER BEHAVIOR ............................................................................................................... 91 
10.2  ENTHUSIASTIC TEACHING BEHAVIOR ............