Teachers' beliefs and actions affect student behavior and student |
An important domain of teaching includes teachers’ thought processes and their professional reflection, which cannot be observed directly. The illustrations below show how this unobservable domain interacts with and is influenced by the observable domain of teacher’s actions and the affects of these actions on student learning and the learning environment. The model also illustrates a further complexity of teaching namely, that the relationships between teacher behavior, student behavior, and the student achievement are reciprocal. |
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Teachers' thought processes include their theories and beliefs about how students learn, their plans for teaching, and the decisions they make while teaching. |
| What teachers do is not only influ-enced by their thought processes, before, during, and after teaching but also by student behavior and student achievement. This complexity contributes to the uniqueness of the teaching experience |  |
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Thought processes and actions may be constrained by external factors such as the physical setting/ curriculum or be influenced by unique opportunities such as the chance to engage in curriculum reform or governance. The model also illustrates a further complexity of teaching namely, that the relationships between teacher behavior, student behavior, and the student achievement are reciprocal. |
| View Poster : Visual Guide to A Model of Teachers' Thought and Action |
Source: Adapted from “Teachers’ Thought Process” by Christopher M. Clark and Penelope L. Peterson (1986) |