Models of Competence and Opportunities to Learn in the Classroom

This chapter will present models of competence based on teacher teaching practices. In the 1996 NAEP teacher questionnaire for both 4th and 8th grades, there were 61 questions related to science teaching practices pertaining to teaching methods, computer uses, assessment, science subject emphases, and so on. Table 3.1 lists sample teaching practice variables; a complete list of the 61 variables is available in Appendix A.

As can be expected, there are a wide variety of teaching practices in science classrooms. Even the 61 questions, or variables, included in the NAEP survey may not capture such a variety of teaching practices. On the other hand, these 61 teaching practices do not act independently in science classrooms. For example, performance assessment typically takes place within an inquiry approach to science teaching. If we think of possible interactions among the 61 variables, i.e., different combinations of the 61 teaching practices, these 61 variables can potentially represent a large number of teaching scenarios, or science teaching profiles. This chapter will identify significant teaching profiles associated with reaching or failing to reach NAEP competence.