Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Lack of clarity in university teaching: A case study

  • Published:
Higher Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Correlational studies suggest that clarity in teaching plays a crucial role in student learning and satisfaction from instruction. Other quantitative studies identify low-inference teacher behaviors that are components of clear instruction. The present study used qualitative methods to examine unclarity in teaching of a physics undergraduate course for non-science majors. Teaching clarity was measured both as a high- and low-inference behavior. Evidence of several data sources converge and reveal very low level of understanding of the material presented, strong dissatisfaction with instruction, and a good match between high- and low-inference teacher clarity behaviors. This is explained by the instructor's insufficient pedagogical knowledge, by his inability to apply those pedagogical principles he does know in actual classroom instruction, by his misconceptions regarding teaching and student learning, and by his detachment from his students and the subsequent lack of adjustment of instruction to them.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amundsen, C., Gryspeerdt, D. and Moxness, K. (1993). ‘Practice-centered inquiry: Developing more effective teaching’, Review of Higher Education 16(3), 329–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Angelo, T.A. and Cross, K.P. (1993). Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biglan, A. (1973). ‘The characteristics of subject-matter in different academic areas’, Journal of Applied Psychology 57(3), 195–203.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, C. (1988). ‘Asking the right questions about teacher preparation: Contributions of research on teacher thinking’, Educational Researcher 17(2), 5–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, C.M. and Peterson, P.L. (1986). ‘Teachers thought processes’, in Wittrock, M.C. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching, Third Edition. New York: MacMillan, pp. 255–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cruickshank, D.R. and Kennedy, J.J. (1986). ‘Teacher clarity’, Teaching and Teacher Education 2(1), 43–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N.K. (1978). The Research Act: A Theoretical Introduction to Sociological Methods, 2nd edn. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, W. and Guymon, T. (1978). Clarity of Explanation: A Powerful Indicator of Teacher Effectiveness. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto, Canada (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 151 321).

  • Feldman, K.A. (1976). ‘The superior college teacher from the student view’, Research in Higher Education 5, 243–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, K.A. (1989). ‘The association between student ratings of specific instructional dimensions and student achievement’, Research in Higher Education 30(6), 583–645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fennema, E. and Loef Franke M. (1992). ‘Teachers' knowledge and its impact’, in Grouws D.A. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, pp. 209–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frey, P., Leonard, D. and Beatty, W. (1975). ‘Student ratings of instruction: Validation research’, American Educational Research Journal 12, 435–447.

    Google Scholar 

  • Good, T.L. and Grouws, D.A. (1977). ‘Teaching effects: A process-product study in fourth-grade mathematics classroom’, Journal of Teacher Education 28(3), 49–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, P.L. (1989). ‘Learning to teach without teacher education’, Teachers College Record 91(2), 191–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, P.L. (1995). ‘Teachers' knowledge’, in Anderson, T.W. (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2nd edn. Oxford, UK: Pergamon, Elsevier Science, pp. 20–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hativa, N. (1984). ‘Good teaching of mathematics as perceived by undergraduate students’, International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology 15(5), 605– 615.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hativa, N. (1993). ‘Attitudes towards instruction of faculty in mathematics and the physical sciences: Discipline-and situation specific teaching patterns’, International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology 24(4), 579–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hativa, N. (1995). ‘The department-wide approach to improving faculty instruction in higher education: A qualitative evaluation’, Research in Higher Education 26(5), 377–413.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hativa, N. (1997). Teaching in a Research University: Professors' Conceptions, Practices, and Disciplinary Differences. ERIC document no. ED 407919.

  • Hativa, N. and Marincovich, M. (ed.) (1995). ‘Disciplinary differences in teaching and learning: Implications for practice’, New Directions for Teaching and Learning 64. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

  • Hativa, N. and Raviv, A. (1993). ‘Using a single score for summative teacher evaluation by students’, Research in Higher Education 34(5), 625–646.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hativa, N. and Raviv, A. (1996). ‘University instructors' ratings profiles: Stability over time and disciplinary differences’, Research in Higher Education 37(3), 341–365.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hiller, J.H., Fisher, G.A. and Kaess, W.A. (1969). ‘A computer investigation of verbal characteristics of effective classroom lecturing’, American Educational Research Journal 6(4), 661–675.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hines, C. (1981). A Further Investigation of Teacher Clarity: The Observation of Teacher Clarity and the Relationship Between Clarity and Student Achievement and Satisfaction. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University.

  • Hines, C., Cruickshank, D. and Kennedy, J. (1985). ‘Teacher clarity and its relationship to student achievement and satisfaction’, American Educational Research Journal 22(1), 43–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. (1981). ‘Students' models of university teaching’, Higher Education 10, 529–549.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kember, D. (1997). ‘A reconceptualisation of the research into university academics' conceptions of teaching’, Learning and Instruction 7(3), 255–276.

    Google Scholar 

  • Land, M.L. and Smith, L.R. (1979). ‘The effect of low inference teacher clarity inhibitors on student achievement’, Journal of Teacher Education 31, 55–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H.W. (1987), ‘Students' evaluations of university teaching: Research findings, methodological issues, and directions for future research’, International Journal of Educational Research 11, 253–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mathison, S. (1988). ‘Why triangulate?’, Educational Research 17(2), 13–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • McAlpine, L. and Weston, C. (1996). Researching Reflection: Metacognitive Model. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York, April.

  • McCaleb, J.L. and White, J.A. (1980). ‘Critical dimensions in evaluating teacher clarity’, The Journal of Classroom Interactions 15(2), 27–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metcalf, K.K. (1992). ‘The effects of a guided training experience on the instructional clarity of preservice teachers’, Teaching and Teacher Education 8(3), 275–286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, H.G. (1983). ‘Low-inference classroom teaching behavior and student ratings of college teaching effectiveness’, Journal of Educational Psychology 75(1), 138–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nespor, J. (1987). ‘The role of beliefs in the practice of teaching’, Journal of Curriculum Studies 19, 317–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patton, M.Q. (1980). Qualitative Evaluation and Research Methods, 2nd edn. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paulsen, M.B. and Feldman, K.A. (1995). Taking Teaching Seriously: Meeting the Challenge of Instructional Improvement. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 2. Washington, D.C.: George Washington University, School of Education and Human Development, ED 396616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rando, W.C. and Menges, R.J. (1991). ‘How practice is shaped by personal theories’, in Menges, R.J. and Svinicki, M.D. (eds.), College Teaching: From Theory to Practice. New Directions for Teaching and Learning 45. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenshine, B. and Furst, N. (1971). ‘Research on teacher performance criteria’, in Smith, B.O. (ed.), Research in Teacher Education. Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp. 37– 72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shavelson, R.J. and Stern, P. (1981). ‘Research on teachers' pedagogical thoughts, judgments, decisions, and behaviors’, Review of Educational Research 51, 455–498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L.S. (1986a). Paradigms and research programs in the study of teaching: A contemporary perspective’, in Wittrock, M.C. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching, 3rd edn. New York: MacMillan, pp. 3–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shulman, L.S. (1986b). ‘Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching’, Educational Researcher 15, 4–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, S. (1978). The Identification of Teaching Behaviors Descriptive of the Construct: Clarity of Presentation. Dissertation Abstracts International, 39(06), 3529A.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith and Edmonds (1978). ‘Improving faculty teaching: Effective use of student evaluation and consultants’, Journal of Higher Education 57(2): 196–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L.R. and Land, M.L. (1980). ‘Student perception of teacher clarity in mathematics’, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 11, 137–146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, J.S., Lowther, M.A., Bentley, R.J. and Martens, G.G. (1990). ‘Disciplinary differences in course planning’, The Review of Higher Education 13(2), 141–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, E. (1988). ‘Tinkering with teaching’, The Review of Higher Education 12(1), 63–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thielens, W. (1987). The Disciplines and Undergraduate Lecturing. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Washington, April.

  • Thompson, A.G. (1992). ‘Teachers' beliefs and conceptions: A synthesis of the research’, in Grouws, D.A. (ed.), Handbook of Research on Mathematics Teaching and Learning. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, pp. 127–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigwell, K., Prosser, M. and Taylor, P. (1994). ‘Qualitative differences in approaches to teaching first year university science’, Higher Education 27, 75–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trigwell, K. and Prosser, M. (1996). ‘Congruence between intention and strategy in university science teachers' approaches to teaching’, Higher Education 32, 77–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willson, R.C. (1986). ‘Improving faculty teaching: Effective use of student evaluation and consultants’, Journal of Higher Education 57(2), 196–211.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, S.M., Shulman, L.S. and Richert, A.E. (1987). ‘150 different ways' of knowing: Representations of knowledge in teaching’, in Calderhead, J. (ed.), Exploring Teachers' Thinking. London: Cassell, pp. 104–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolcott, H.F. (1988). ‘Ethnographic research in education’, in Jaeger, R.M. (ed.), Complementary Methods for Research in Education. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association, pp. 187–206.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel (Fax

    Nira Hativa

Authors
  1. Nira Hativa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hativa, N. Lack of clarity in university teaching: A case study. Higher Education 36, 353–381 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003401111968

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003401111968

Keywords

Search

Navigation