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Where English Teachers Get Their Ideas: Trivial Knowledge vs. Successful Teaching Activities.

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Title: Where English Teachers Get Their Ideas: Trivial Knowledge vs. Successful Teaching Activities.
Language: English
Authors: Donlan, Dan
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 36
Publication Date: 1990
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Creative Teaching, Creativity Research, Educational Research, English Instruction, Instructional Effectiveness, Instructional Innovation, Language Teachers, Teaching Methods
Abstract: A study was conducted to determine where a sample of English language arts teachers, identified as educational leaders, get their ideas. Twenty-five English language arts teachers agreed to participate in the study which took the form of a 10-item survey. Five items dealt with trivial knowledge about language conventions and five items required teachers to describe continually successful teaching practices. Results indicated that these 25 teachers tended to trace their trivial knowledge of language conventions to teachers they had once had and that they continued to use this knowledge in teaching their own classes. They did not rely on their own teachers for the development of what they perceived to be continually successful teaching ideas. Rather, these teachers tended to claim original creation. A sub-sample of 10 teachers was drawn from the original 25 (the five most and five least experienced) to determine whether these subgroups drew their teaching ideas from the same sources, whether the nature of the teaching ideas between the two groups was different, and whether their ideas labeled as "original creation" were perceived as being original by their peers. Results indicated that the two groups perceived that sources for teaching activities were distributed in a similar way and that both groups cited "original creation" as the most frequently used sources of ideas. To test whether claims of originality were warranted, a sample of 10 purportedly original ideas was submitted to a panel of 23 teachers under the guise of a "teaching idea contest," where prizes were to be awarded for originality. Results indicated that in none of the 10 cases did a majority of the judges determine that the idea was original. (Seven tables of data are included and nine references are attached.) (MG)
Entry Date: 1991
Accession Number: ED326897
Database: ERIC
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  Availability: 0
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  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED326897
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  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Where English Teachers Get Their Ideas: Trivial Knowledge vs. Successful Teaching Activities.
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
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  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Donlan%2C+Dan%22">Donlan, Dan</searchLink>
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 36
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 1990
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Creative+Teaching%22">Creative Teaching</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Creativity+Research%22">Creativity Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Research%22">Educational Research</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English+Instruction%22">English Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Instructional+Effectiveness%22">Instructional Effectiveness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Instructional+Innovation%22">Instructional Innovation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Teachers%22">Language Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teaching+Methods%22">Teaching Methods</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: A study was conducted to determine where a sample of English language arts teachers, identified as educational leaders, get their ideas. Twenty-five English language arts teachers agreed to participate in the study which took the form of a 10-item survey. Five items dealt with trivial knowledge about language conventions and five items required teachers to describe continually successful teaching practices. Results indicated that these 25 teachers tended to trace their trivial knowledge of language conventions to teachers they had once had and that they continued to use this knowledge in teaching their own classes. They did not rely on their own teachers for the development of what they perceived to be continually successful teaching ideas. Rather, these teachers tended to claim original creation. A sub-sample of 10 teachers was drawn from the original 25 (the five most and five least experienced) to determine whether these subgroups drew their teaching ideas from the same sources, whether the nature of the teaching ideas between the two groups was different, and whether their ideas labeled as "original creation" were perceived as being original by their peers. Results indicated that the two groups perceived that sources for teaching activities were distributed in a similar way and that both groups cited "original creation" as the most frequently used sources of ideas. To test whether claims of originality were warranted, a sample of 10 purportedly original ideas was submitted to a panel of 23 teachers under the guise of a "teaching idea contest," where prizes were to be awarded for originality. Results indicated that in none of the 10 cases did a majority of the judges determine that the idea was original. (Seven tables of data are included and nine references are attached.) (MG)
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 1991
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
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  Data: ED326897
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  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 36
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Creative Teaching
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Creativity Research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Research
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English Instruction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Instructional Effectiveness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Instructional Innovation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Teaching Methods
        Type: general
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      – TitleFull: Where English Teachers Get Their Ideas: Trivial Knowledge vs. Successful Teaching Activities.
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            NameFull: Donlan, Dan
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              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 1990
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