The effects of teaching methods on the state examination results
Submitted by:
Martin Ehala
Abstract:
In 2011, a new version of the state curriculum for Estonian secondary schools was adopted for gymnasium. In the new curriculum, half of the compulsory L1 courses, titled “Practical Estonian” were conceptually new, being directly dedicated to teaching functional literacy. They are based on the framework of New Learning developed by Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope (2008). Compared to previous curriculum, this change can be characterised as paradigm shift in Estonian L1 education. In 2012, a new state examination standard was adopted for assessing L1 competency at the exit of the secondary school. The new standard is also focussed on measuring functional literacy skills.
The current paper addresses the question how much effect do the teaching methods of the L1 teachers have on the state examination results. The courses of “Practical Estonian” were introduced to the curriculum in order to shift the focus of L1 to functional literacy. As the new state examination standard also focus on measuring functional literacy, it is hypothesised that the teachers that have successfully adopted the “Practical Estonian” approach are able to prepare their students better to the final examination.
The paper presents the results of a large scale online survey of L1 teachers about their general orientation toward teaching L1 and the methods they use. The survey data are compared to the state examination results in order to find which teaching methods and approaches are related to better state examination results. The paper also addresses various contextual factors that may mediate the effect of teaching methods on the state examination results.
References
Kalantzis, Mary, and Bill Cope (2008). New learning: Elements of a science of education. Cambridge University Press.