Uncovering expected teaching actions in attention-demanding teaching situations

Abstract

During the teaching process, a multitude of problems arise in establishing and maintaining relationships with students. The need to fully understand teaching requires more detailed and explicit knowledge regarding the ways teachers perceive and think about their classroom actions. This collective case study focuses on investigating teachers’ expectations of their teaching actions as well as the varying levels of intensity within differential teaching investments in expected teaching actions. Structured interviews were conducted with 10 primary school teachers, and the data were analysed using a primarily inductive coding scheme. The results provide a detailed exploration of two approaches, the interactional approach and the instructional approach, and their respective teaching methods. In both approaches, teachers’ investments in expected teaching actions illustrate a continuum of low and high intensities. The results may assist in gaining a better understanding of the situational demands of teaching. By being more conscious of their teaching actions, teachers can develop their pedagogical skills more deliberately.

Keywords:

• Instructional practices
• pedagogical relationship
• teacher reflection
• professional development
• qualitative study