| This quantitative research study investigated the disparity between teacher knowledge and teacher practices. Empirical evidence clearly demonstrates that effective teachers have a positive influence on student success and achievement. According to James H. Stronge there are six universal qualities that effective teachers possess: the teacher as a person, classroom management and organization, planning and organizing for instruction, implementing instruction, monitoring student progress and potential, and professionalism. A clear understanding of what practitioners are doing in the classroom is the first step toward improving teacher effectiveness. Thus, the question becomes are teachers actually practicing what they know to be the qualities of effective teaching? To investigate this, a convenience sampling was used to survey 328 teachers from seven school districts in Utah. The study followed a quantitative, non-experimental, comparative design in which participating teachers (N = 328) completed a 10-point continuous Likert-scaled online survey questionnaire (SurveyMonkey.com). Independent t-test findings revealed significant differences between teacher knowledge and teacher practices (p < .05). Results from this study validate the premise that teachers generally have a sound knowledge of what constitutes effective instruction, however, for one reason or another do not always put that knowledge into practice. Future research should be conducted to explore why the current gap exists between teacher knowledge and teacher practices. |
