An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Pupil Responding and Teacher Reacting on Pupil Achievement

Three 40 minute science lessons, which had been carefully planned to minimize extraneous teacher behavior, were taken by the writer with Form II (Grade 7) classes. During the lessons pupil responding and teacher reacting variables were experimentally manipulated. A posttest of achievement was administered following the lessons and predicted posttest scores were calculated from the regression of a number of pretest measures (e.g., verbal ability, prior knowledge, attitudes) on this posttest. Residual achievement scores, calculated by subtracting predicted from obtained posttest scores, were used in analyses of variance to determine treatment effects. Results indicated that pupil participation, in the form of overt pupil responses to teacher questions, was a weak variable having little effect on pupil achievement. However, regular positive teacher reactions to pupil responses facilitated pupil achievement significantly more than minimal teacher reactions.