REL Central Ask A REL Response

“In this study, two teacher educators, one special education faculty and one mathematics education faculty, examined ways to infuse educational theory into their practice to develop preservice teachers’ ability to meet the demands of the 21st century classroom. The study took place at an urban university in the southeastern United States where the teacher education program prepares future educators for the most diverse classroom settings existing in U.S. public schools today. Results informed the teacher educators of relevant challenges preservice teachers experience with regard to instructional design that addresses the needs of diverse learners. The action research study took place over a 3-semester period during which time the teacher educators learned how structured supports enhanced their students’ abilities to develop effective instruction for diverse learners.”

“With teacher quality repeatedly cited as the most important schooling factor influencing student achievement, there has been increased interest in examining the efficacy of teacher training programs. This paper presents research examining the variation between and impact that individual teacher training institutions in Washington state have on the effectiveness of teachers they train. Using administrative data linking teachers’ initial endorsements to student achievement on state reading and math tests, we find the majority of teacher training programs produce teachers who are no more or less effective than teachers who trained out-of-state. However, we do find a number of cases where there are statistically significant differences between estimates of training program effects for teachers who were credentialed at various instate programs. These findings are robust to a variety of different model specifications.”

“The high attrition rate of new science teachers demonstrates the urgent need to incorporate effective practices in teacher preparation programs to better equip preservice science teachers. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate a way to enrich preservice science teachers’ preparation by incorporating informal science teaching practice into science method courses. A phenomenographic study was conducted to understand preservice teachers’ experiences in informal science practice and discuss the multiple benefits of this practice. Five experiential descriptions are identified: (a) rigorous preparations to teach in an informal environment; (b) an engaging and informative environment for teaching and learning; (c) improvisation to address learners’ needs spontaneously; (d) a sense of contribution and rewarding experience; and (e) insight development for teaching through feedback, reflection, and observation. These experiences allow preservice teachers to develop confidence in science teaching that may help them overcome obstacles when they become science teachers.”

“The characteristics and experiences of beginning teachers in seven Northeast and Islands Region states and nationally, was produced by the 2006-11 REL Northeast and Islands and Education Development Center, Inc. The report describes the characteristics and experiences of beginning public school teachers (teachers with fewer than five years of teaching experience) in the Northeast and Islands Region states and compares them with the characteristics and experiences of beginning teachers nationally using data from the 2007/08 Schools and Staffing Survey. The study focuses on variables related to teachers’ preparation and workplace supports that research suggests might be associated with their perceptions of preparedness, effectiveness, and retention.”

“The purpose of this study was to describe the characteristics of field experiences in traditional teacher preparation programs completed by first-year teachers in Missouri and how experiences vary by teaching certificate type. This descriptive study is based on data from a survey administered in early 2015 to first-year teachers in Missouri public schools who completed traditional teacher preparation programs. Findings show that first-year teachers had field experiences that varied substantially in duration and diversity and that experiences varied for teachers with different types of teaching certificates. Most first-year teachers reported that their student teaching experiences aligned with their career teaching plans and first teaching assignments. Perceptions of the quality of resources and support in field experience schools were generally positive and first-year teachers reported frequent professional collaboration. Parent and community interaction during field experiences was less frequent. Observation and feedback activities during field experiences were frequent and first-year teachers engaged in a variety of instructional activities. Findings suggest that state and program administrators in Missouri and elsewhere may wish to monitor field experiences closely to ensure that expectations are met. Survey data suggest potential areas of focus including interaction with parents and community during field experiences; selection, training, and expectations of teacher candidate mentors; connections between course pedagogy to field experiences; and collaboration between teacher preparation programs and preK–12 schools. The survey developed for this study provides a data collection tool that can be adopted or adapted by state and teacher preparation program administrators and used as part of a system for monitoring program implementation. Detailed information about the implementation of teacher preparation programs may be used in future research on aspects of teacher preparation that are associated with more positive outcomes for program completers and their preK–12 students.”

“A component of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ Act (NCLB) (PL 107-110) is its emphasis on the importance of systematic and explicit instruction in early reading using practices that are grounded in scientific research. The Reading First legislation (Title I, Part B, Subpart 1) within NCLB is designed to support state and local education agencies so that they can in turn base their early reading instruction on scientific research and focus on five ‘essential components’ of early reading instruction, as defined by the legislation and informed by the National Reading Panel: (1) phonemic awareness; (2) phonics; (3) vocabulary development; (4) reading fluency, particularly oral reading skills; and (5) reading comprehension strategies. This report responds to a congressional mandate in the Reading First legislation for ‘a measurement of how well students preparing to enter the teaching profession are prepared to teach the essential components of reading instruction’ (No Child Left Behind Act, 2001, Section 1205(c)(8)). The study plan included a survey about teacher education programs and an assessment of pre-service teachers’ knowledge about the essential components of early reading instruction. Appended are: (1) Pre-Service Teacher Program Survey; (2) Program Survey Variables and Assessment Items; (3) Program Survey and Knowledge Assessment Pilot Testing; (4) Recruitment; (5) Demographic Information Gathered through Program Survey; (6) Data Cleaning Procedures; (7) Psychometric Analysis of the Program Survey Scales Measuring Coursework Emphasis on, Filed Experience Exposure to, and Feelings of Preparedness to Teach the Essential Components; (8) Descriptive Statistics for Program Survey Items; (9) Knowledge Assessment Scoring, Scale, Distractor, and Forms Analysis; (10) Knowledge Assessment Means Tables; (11) Hierarchical Linear Model Used to Answer the Primary and Secondary Research Questions; and (12) Administration of The Knowledge Assessment to Experts and Novices.”

“ This brief updates earlier study findings (Silva et al. 2014) regarding the extent to which teachers trained through teaching residency programs (TRPs) funded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Quality Partnership grants program are retained in their districts and schools. TRPs prepare new teachers primarily through a year-long residency in a high-need school and integrated coursework leading to a master’s degree. This brief examines two cohorts of novice TRP teachers–those who were in their first year of teaching and those who were in their second year of teaching during the 2011–2012 school year. It looks at the rates at which the TRP teachers were retained in the same district or the same school as of fall 2013. To provide contextual information, the study also includes a representative sample of teachers who were in their first or second year of teaching during the 2011–2012 school year and were trained through other (nonTRP) programs. The retention analyses focus on teachers from six districts served by 12 TRPs. Key findings from the study include:

• TRP teachers were more likely to remain teaching in the same district than non-TRP teachers with similar teaching placements.
• School-retention rates were similar between the two groups of teachers.
• TRP teachers who moved to different schools in the same district tended to join ones where a similar proportion of students were from low-income families, a lower percentage were black, and achievement was higher.”

“In Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, 30 teaching residency programs received funding through one of 28 Teacher Quality partnership grants awarded to establish or expand residency programs. These programs follow a model of teacher preparation in which prospective teachers complete graduate-level coursework alongside a year-long fieldwork experience in the district in which the prospective teacher will be hired. This report provides descriptive information regarding the 30 residency programs. For a purposefully-selected subset of 12 of the programs, in-depth information is provided regarding program participants and the retention rates of teachers once hired by the district.

The residency programs provided a fieldwork experience with a mentor teacher, along with integrated coursework. On average, residents reported being fully in charge of instruction for 21 days during the first half of the residence and 37 days during the second half. The programs included the equivalent of 10 courses, on average. The programs somewhat broadened the pool of people entering the teaching profession in the participating districts. For example, novice teachers from the residency programs were more likely than teachers from other programs to report having worked in a full-time job other than teaching (72 percent versus 63 percent). However, novice residency program teachers and teachers from other preparation programs had similar demographic characteristics. Novice teachers from residency programs had similar retention rates to other novice teachers. Approximately 90 percent of teachers from both groups reported staying in the same district from spring 2012 to fall 2012; about 5 percent of teachers were no longer teaching.”

“Based on the reform movements over the past two decades, it is evident that while effective teachers are critical to student learning, not all teachers are coming to the profession highly qualified. Policy and research continue to highlight the need to reorganize and refocus teacher preparation programs to produce higher quality teachers ready to meet the demands of the classroom from day one of employment. This study focuses on the enhancement of traditional preparation programs in public Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) as this continues to be the context for which most teacher candidates come to the profession. Using a six-group, four measure mixed-methods design, the objective of the study is to determine the impact California Teaching Fellows Foundation (CTFF), a pre-service teaching and learning opportunity for future teacher candidates, has on developing higher caliber teachers prepared in a traditional University-based teacher preparation setting. Through the use of an online survey, interviews, and focus groups, the relationship of CTFF participation to teacher efficacy before, during, and after traditional preparation participation is examined and explored from the perspective of teacher and supervisor. Unexpected findings show that CTFF participation has a relationship to decreased Teacher Efficacy for teacher candidates and CTFF is not creating a significant pipeline to teaching as proposed, leading to questions for further study.”