Download TIMSS 2019 Context Questionnaire Framework (pdf)
Classroom Contexts
Because most teaching and learning in school takes place in the classroom, successful learning is likely to be influenced by the classroom environment and instructional activities. Through the teacher and student questionnaires, TIMSS 2019 will focus on the following factors and practices that are influential to teaching and learning:
- Teacher preparation and experience
- TIMSS mathematics and science topics taught
- Instructional time
- Instructional practices and strategies
- Instructional clarity
- Supportive classroom climate
- Use of instructional technology
- Challenges faced by teachers
Teacher Preparation and Experience
Through the teacher questionnaire, TIMSS 2019 will collect extensive data on teacher preparation, professional development, and teaching experience. Preparation is critical for effective teaching (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Hill, Rowan, & Ball, 2005), and prospective teachers need coursework to gain knowledge in the subjects that they will teach, to understand about how students learn, and to learn about effective pedagogy in teaching mathematics and science.
Professional development through seminars, workshops, and conferences can help teachers increase their effectiveness and broaden their knowledge (Blank & de las Alas, 2009; Yoon, Duncan, Lee, Scarloss, & Shapley, 2007). Professional development is especially important for exposing teachers to recent developments such as curricular changes or new technology for classroom instruction. The TIMSS 2015 Encyclopedia shows that many countries are increasing efforts to provide teachers with professional development opportunities.
In addition to education and training, teaching experience is essential, and the first years of teaching are especially important for teacher development (Harris & Sass, 2011; Leigh, 2010). Research also has found that teachers continue to develop pedagogical skills after five years of experience, and that this development can positively affect student achievement (Harris & Sass, 2011).
TIMSS Mathematics and Science Topics Taught
Since the first cycle of TIMSS in 1995, TIMSS has collected extensive data on the implemented curriculum—documenting the extent to which the mathematics and science topics in the TIMSS frameworks are covered in the classroom. TIMSS 2019 will collect this information by asking the mathematics and science teachers of the participating students to indicate whether each of the topics assessed has been covered in class in current or previous years.
Instructional Time
Key to curriculum implementation is the amount of instructional time teachers have to teach the mathematics and science curricula. For this reason, TIMSS 2019 will collect information from teachers and principals on instructional time. TIMSS results show that there is variation among countries in the intended instructional time prescribed by the curriculum and in the actual time of implementation in the classroom. Research has found instructional time to be related to student achievement (Hanushek & Wößmann, 2017), although such relationships may depend on how efficiently and effectively instructional time is used (Mullis, Martin, & Loveless, 2016). For example, teachers who are strong classroom managers may be more efficient, as they can focus the instructional time on teaching the curricular content.
Homework is one way teachers can extend instruction and evaluate student learning. The amount of homework assigned varies both within and across countries, with homework not assigned at all to fourth grade students in some countries. TIMSS 2019 will collect data on homework assignments, including how homework is used, through the teacher questionnaire at the fourth and eighth grades and the student questionnaire at the eighth grade. Although there are differences across countries, most eighth grade mathematics and science teachers assign homework, discuss the homework in class, and provide feedback to students. Students’ reports on time spent completing homework do not show a clear relationship with TIMSS achievement—perhaps because struggling students take a longer amount of time to complete their homework. Homework assignments may also be redundant with classroom instruction, not reinforcing or extending the instruction.
Instructional Practices and Strategies
Since 1995, the TIMSS teacher questionnaires have collected important information on the frequency with which teachers implement various instructional practices and strategies. For TIMSS 2019, mathematics-specific practices will include the frequency that students work on problems on their own, the frequency that they explain their answers in class, and the frequency with which they are asked to decide their own problem solving strategies. Science practices will focus on the frequency that teachers emphasize science investigation, with items focusing on student exposure to experiments and investigations within their science lessons.
Instructional Clarity
The TIMSS 2019 student and teacher questionnaires will include a renewed focus on instructional quality, including updating scales measuring instructional clarity (Nilsen, Gustafsson, & Blömeke, 2016). As described by Ferguson (2012), an important quality of an effective teacher is the ability to provide clear instruction—explaining the content clearly and gauging student understanding of the topic. For challenging topics, it is often necessary for the teacher to employ a variety of pedagogical techniques and explanations to ensure student comprehension. Another way that teachers can increase clarity is by linking new concepts to things students already know and understand (McLaughlin et al., 2005).
The TIMSS 2019 Instructional Clarity scales benefit from two previous efforts. Five of the 10 items in each of the TIMSS 2015 Students’ Views on Engaging Teaching scales at fourth and eighth grades measured instructional clarity. The scales showed positive associations between instructional clarity and student achievement in many participating countries, especially at the eighth grade. A number of countries also included a national extension in the fourth grade student questionnaire, and the results showed higher achievement for students reporting greater instructional clarity by their teachers (Bergem, Nilsen, & Scherer, 2016).
Supportive Classroom Climate
TIMSS 2019 also plans for the student and teacher questionnaires to contain new Supportive Classroom Climate scales. The TIMSS 2015 national extension (Bergem et al., 2016; Wendt, Bos, Selter, Köller, Schwippert, & Kasper, 2016) included a scale measuring supportive climate, which was based on the work of Baumert et al. (2010) and Klieme, Pauli, & Reusser (2009). The TIMSS 2015 national extension found a positive relationship between a supportive climate and student achievement. A supportive environment has also been found to increase student motivation and participation (Cornelius-White, 2007; Fauth, Decristan, Rieser, Klieme, & Büttner, 2014; Marzano, Marzano, & Pickering, 2003).
Teachers can create a supportive environment by providing positive feedback, listening and responding to students’ questions, and being empathetic to students’ needs (Reeve, 2002). Indicators of a supportive climate include the frequency with which the teacher helps students learn and the teacher showing interest in student learning, as well as the frequency that the teacher asks students to express their opinions.
Use of Technology in Instruction
Educational systems throughout the world are investing resources to ensure that classrooms are well equipped with instructional technology, and countries are also using technology more in assessment. TIMSS 2019 will document how mathematics and science teachers use instructional technology in the classroom. For mathematics, data will be collected on teachers’ reports of how often they have students do mathematics activities on computers, such as solving mathematics problems or exploring mathematics concepts. In science, data also will be collected on science specific activities such as whether teachers use technology to conduct or simulate experiments and investigations. In addition, students provide data on their use of technology for learning at home and in school.
With TIMSS 2019 being administered in many countries on personal computers and tablets, TIMSS 2019 also will collect data on students’ experiences taking tests on digital devices. It is expected that some students will have had extensive experience taking both formative and summative assessments online, and other students will have had less experience with digital assessment.
Challenges Faced by Teachers
Mathematics and science teachers face a number of challenges in fulfilling all of the obligations of their position in the school. The TIMSS 2019 teacher questionnaires will ask about having too many students in the class, being burdened with administrative duties, and not having enough time to prepare lessons. Teaching can also be more difficult when students have frequent absences from school or do not have the prerequisite foundation of content knowledge to learn the new mathematics or science content. It can also be difficult to teach students who come to school tired or hungry.