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Content Familiarity: Differential Impact of Effective Teaching on Student Achievement Outcomes

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Abstract

Improving the quality of higher education for all students requires researchers to focus on factors that potentially influence learning. Of particular interest are student entry characteristics and effective teaching behaviors. Accordingly, structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between student differences, prior experience with the subject material, past performances, teaching behaviors, and perceived learning and achievement. A theoretical model containing 8 variables was formulated and tested on students who were either experienced or inexperienced with the course material. The data were gathered at a large midwestern university fitting the Carnegie classification as a research institution. Overall, student achievement is affected by test anxiety and high school GPA. Prior experience with the course content revealed that content-unfamiliar students' perception of learning is more positively influenced by instructor organization than by instructor expressiveness, whereas for content-familiar students, expressiveness is much more influential than organization. Additionally, content-unfamiliar students are more sensitive to both teaching behaviors than content-familiar students. These findings have important implications for administrators, instructors, and researchers.

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  1. Centre for Higher Education, Research and Development, The University of Manitoba, 220 Sinnott Building–70 Dysart Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada

    Dieter J. Schönwetter

  2. The University of Manitoba, Canada

    Rodney A. Clifton & Raymond P. Perry

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  1. Dieter J. Schönwetter
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Schönwetter, D.J., Clifton, R.A. & Perry, R.P. Content Familiarity: Differential Impact of Effective Teaching on Student Achievement Outcomes. Research in Higher Education 43, 625–655 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020999014875

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