Variations in the Environment of Self-Paced Classrooms: Their Nature, Determinants and Effects

In a series of studies where units from the Australian Science Education Project (ASEP) were used to guide classroom activities, a number of pre- and posttest measures were administered to assess pupils' understandings, their attitude to science and science concepts, and their perceptions of the learning environment. The Learning Environment Inventory and Class Activities Questionnaire were used to measure pupils' perceptions, and classroom behaviours were classified using a scheme designed especially for the purpose. The data were analysed using correlational, canonical correlational, and multiple regression techniques, and a number of interpretable findings were obtained. The introduction of the ASEP units did have a marked effect on the nature of classroom behaviours and led to changes in how pupils perceived the learning environment. Using the canonical and regression analyses it was possible to predict the class environment more successfully than individual successes in the environment, although the environmental measures contributed little to explaining the variance in the achievements, attitudes and satisfactions of individuals studying the ASEP units. There were some interesting congruences between the results from the behaviour and perception measures, but the findings also raise some queries about the use of both sets of measures in self-paced learning environments.