Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (CLES)

The original version of the CLES developed by Taylor and Fraser (1991) was designed to assess students’ perceptions of the constructivist orientation of classrooms. This instrument has been widely validated and used in a number of studies involving constructivist learning environments (Aldridge, Fraser & Sebela, 2004; Mvududu, 2003; Nix, Fraser & Ledbetter, 2005; Paucharearn & Fisher, 2004; Taylor, Dawson and Fraser, 1995; Taylor, Fraser & Fisher, 1997). The original version of CLES developed by Taylor and Fraser (1991) was guided by several criteria:conceptual foundations; a response format that assesses individual students’

perceptions of their classroom; and economy of use so that the CLES can be answered in a relatively short time. A review of past research involving the CLES was provided in Section 2.3.5 of Chapter 2.

Table 3.1 Scale Description and Sample Question for Each Scale of WIHIC

Scale Description Item

Student Cohesiveness

Extent to which students are friendly and supportive of each other.

I make friendship among students in the class.

Teacher Support Extent to which teacher helps, befriends, and is interested in students.

The teacher takes a personal interest in me.

Involvement Extent to which students have

attentive interest, participate in class, and are involved in other students in assessing the viability of new ideas.

I discuss ideas in class.

Investigation Extent to which there is emphasis on the skills and of inquiry and their use in problem solving and investigation.

I carry out

investigations to test my ideas.

Task orientation Extent to which it is important to complete planned activities and stay on the subject matter.

Getting a certain amount done is important. Cooperation Extent to which students cooperate

with other during activities.

I cooperate with other students when doing assignment work. Equity Extent to which the teacher treats

students equally, including distributing praise, question

distribution, and opportunities to be included in discussions.

The teacher gives as much attention to my question as to other students’ questions.

Adapted from Fraser, Fisher and McRobbie (1996)

Table 3.2 Sample Questions for Each WIHIC Scale Chosen for my Study

Scale Sample Questions

Student Cohesiveness I make friendships among students in this class. I know other students in this class.

Teacher Support The teacher takes a personal interest in me. The teacher goes out of his/her way to help me. Involvement I discuss ideas in class.

I give my opinions during class discussions.

Earlier studies provided insights into the conceptual soundness and psychometric structure of the CLES and whether students made sense of the questionnaire. Despite

the successful validation of the original version of CLES across numerous nations, Taylor et al. (1997) reported that the theoretical foundation on which the original CLES was formed was weak. Therefore, the CLES underwent rigorous modifications and validation in assessing different classroom environments. Taylor et al. (1997) developed another version of the instrument that incorporated a critical constructivist and radical theory component of the classroom environment. Aldridge et al. (2000) noted that the socio-cultural limitations inherent in the previous version affected students’ cognitive constructive ability.

Table 3.3 Scales of the CLES and their Descriptions

Scale Description Personal Relevance Student Negotiation Shared Control Critical Voice Uncertainty of Science

Extent to which teachers relate science to students out-of- school experiences

Extent to which opportunities exist for students to explain and justify their ideas to other students, and to test the viability of their newly developing ideas and to listen and reflect on the viability of other students ideas.

Extent to which students are invited to share with the teacher control of the learning environment, including the articulation of their own learning goals, design and management of their learning activities and determining and applying assessment criteria

Extent to which a social climate has been established in which students feel that it is legitimate and beneficial to question the teacher’s pedagogical plans and methods and to express concerns about any impediments to their learning.

To ascertain the extent of opportunities for students to experience scientific and mathematical knowledge and how it was socially and culturally determined.

(Taylor et al., 1997; Aldridge et al., 2000)

The CLES has been useful in assisting teachers and researchers to understand and obtain measures of students’ perceptions in constructivist learning environments and how individual classroom practices are consistent with constructivist epistemology (Taylor, Fraser & Fisher, 1997). Taylor et al. (1997) designed the new version of CLES to measure five key elements of a critical constructivist learning environment from the students’ perspective. Taylor and his colleagues observed that the new instrument provided a clear psychometric structure. Communication between teacher and student was the fundamental goal in the development of the revised CLES that

contained 30 items in 5 scales, with 6 items in each scale and with five frequency response alternatives. In considering the importance of critical components of constructivism, Taylor et al. (1997) named the 5 scales of the CLES as Personal Relevance, Shared Control, Critical Voice, Student Negotiation and Uncertainty. Table 3.3 describes the five scales of the CLES.

Only some of the scales from the revised CLES were selected as being centrally relevant for the purposes of my research: Personal Relevance, Critical Voice and Student Negotiation. Table 3.4 provides sample items for the three dimensions of CLES selected for this study. A five-point frequency scale consists of Almost Never, Seldom, Sometimes, Often, and Almost Always.

Table 3.4 Sample Questions for Each CLES Scale Chosen for my Study

Scale Sample Questions

Personal Relevance I learn about the world outside of school.

My new knowledge starts with problems about the world outside of school.

Critical Voice It’s OK for me to ask the teacher “Why do I have to learn this?”

It’s OK for me to question the way I’m being taught. Student Negotiation I get the chance to talk to other students.

I talked to other students about how to solve problems.