A Case Study on Teacher Efficacy in Collaborating …

1 The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, Vol. 8, Num. 2, December 2012 139 A Case Study on Teacher Efficacy in Collaborating teaching of Casino gaming Class in Taiwan Dr. Jean Ling Lee, Kainan University, Taiwan ABSTRACT In the past few years, the Taiwanese government had financially support collaborative teaching programs which consists of a professor and a field specialist from specific industry to aid the students to learn not only the theories from the textbooks but also on-hand and on-the-job knowledge of the industry.

2 As a result, this Study was designed to investigate the influence that Collaborating teaching had on participating educators Teacher Efficacy through the examination of the development and change of the participating educators sense of Efficacy and the reflection of Efficacy beliefs in their classroom practices after Collaborating teaching . A college professor and a filed specialist participated in this research. It is to investigate the development of Efficacy beliefs in casino gaming class during the 8-week out of 18-week of a semester long Collaborating teaching .

3 To illuminate more comprehensively the process involved in the formation of Teacher Efficacy , the research methodologies adopted have moved from quantitative to qualitative. Hence, this Study reports on data obtained from classroom observations, the sources of questionnaire survey, and interviews with the two educators. The findings suggest that for Collaborating teaching to be beneficial to the teachers sense of Efficacy , both educators should seize the co-working opportunities by making good use of their individual knowledge and learn from each other.

4 It also suggests that the college professor can recommend the acquainted field specialist to join the project when teaching heavy pragmatic class and things will be going easier and smoother. In addition, the cultivation of team chemistry in Collaborating teaching is also a significant element for building up the Teacher s sense of Efficacy . Finally, we cannot ignore the present situation that schools paying more attention to do research rather than teaching instruction.

5 Based on the findings, research limitations and suggestion were discussed. Keywords: Collaborating teaching , Teacher Efficacy , Casino gaming INTRODUCTION Teacher Efficacy is a judgment of his or her capabilities to bring about desire outcomes of student engagement and learning, even among those students who may be difficult or unmotivated (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001, ). It is also a powerful Teacher distinguishing feature that related to their teaching behaviors and student outcomes such as achievement, motivation, students self- Efficacy beliefs, and behavior in the classroom (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001).

6 In addition, higher Teacher Efficacy is associated with higher student achievement, higher sense of learning Efficacy in students, and more positive student attitude toward school and teachers (Woolfolk et al., 1990, as cited in Ho & Hau, 2004, ). Hence, in the past decades, the interest in Teacher Efficacy has continued to grow in the academic field. The Journal of Human Resource and Adult Learning, Vol. 8, Num. 2, December 2012140 In the past few years, the Taiwanese government had asked colleges to increase the qualified professors with industry experience; nevertheless, there s still a shortage.

7 Therefore, the government started to encourage and financially support collaborative teaching programs which consists of a professor and a field specialist from specific industry; it enabled the students to learn not only the theories from the textbooks but also on-hand and on-the-job knowledge of the industry. Furthermore, the Taiwanese government finally revoked a long-standing antigambling law and passed a long-stalled bill to allow the casinos to be developed and operated in the leisure resorts on outlying islands to help stimulate the economies in early 2009 (Lee, 2010).

8 In July 2012, the residents referendum of Matsu allowed to build Taiwan s first casino which raised the demand of the casino gaming class in colleges gradually. As the casino gaming class is a newly developed course in Taiwan colleges, and it rarely applies to the Collaborating teaching approach; hence, the availability of qualified participants are limited, and the Collaborating teaching educators of casino gaming class are rare. The researcher finally obtained access to one college where both a professor and a field specialist were qualified and agreed to participate in this research.

9 Thus, a case Study approach was adopted, and the data was collected from the sources of questionnaire survey, the interviews with the two educators, and classroom observations. The purpose of the Study is to investigate the influence that Collaborating teaching had on participating educators Teacher Efficacy through the examination of the development and change of the participating educators sense of Efficacy and the reflection of Efficacy beliefs in their classroom practices after Collaborating teaching .

10 As a result, two questions were formulated to be the analysis of this Study : 1. How do the college professor and the field specialist s Efficacy beliefs develop in the casino gaming class over the course of 8-week out of 18-week Collaborating teaching ? 2. How are the college professor and the field specialist s Efficacy beliefs reflected in their classroom practices of the casino gaming class over the course of 8-week out of 18-week Collaborating teaching ? LITERATURE REVIEW Teacher Efficacy , by its general definition, means the measure of Teacher 's own ability to organize and execute courses to complete specific teaching tasks and reach teaching goals (Tschannen-Moran, Hoy, & Hoy, 1998).