This paper presents the search for a categorizing framework that can be used to identify and discuss teacher quality. Both policy documents on national and European levels and academic literature show a remarkable variation in categories that are used to describe teacher education. As part of a larger study where the voice of teachers is used en strengthened on the topic of teacher education, there was the need to find a categorizing framework that can be used to analyze responses from teachers on the most important qualities that teachers need.The search for a categorizing framework combines a study of academic literature on categories for teacher quality and the use of international focus groups for the development of categories for teacher qualities. Both the outcomes from the literature survey and the results from the focus groups show the complexity of defining a coherent framework for teacher qualities. Two main approaches can be identified: one by using an analytical framework with mutual exclusive categories, based on Bloom’s categories, and one based on a task analysis of the work of teachers, focusing on specific roles or identities. In both approaches, both the literature and the focus groups emphasize the importance of personal qualities of teachers.Based on the outcomes a coherent framework for teacher qualities is presented, where both approaches are combined. This framework that might help in creating a shared language for discussing teacher quality among different stakeholders and different countries.
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In higher education, students often misunderstand teachers’ written feedback. This is worrisome, since written feedback is the main form of feedback in higher education. Organising feedback conversations, in which feedback request forms and verbal feedback are used, is a promising intervention to prevent misunderstanding of written feedback. In this study a 2 × 2 factorial experiment (N = 128) was conducted to examine the effects of a feedback request form (with vs. without) and feedback mode (written vs. verbal feedback). Results showed that verbal feedback had a significantly higher impact on students’ feedback perception than written feedback; it did not improve students’ self-efficacy, or motivation. Feedback request forms did not improve students’ perceptions, self-efficacy, or motivation. Based on these results, we can conclude that students have positive feedback perceptions when teachers communicate their feedback verbally and more research is needed to investigate the use of feedback request forms.
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