Project Activities
In the first 2 years of the project, researchers will work closely with coaches and teachers to fully develop MQI Coaching+, using rapid-cycle methods to iteratively develop and refine the program. In Year 3, researchers will carry out a randomized controlled study of the implementation and impact of MQI Coaching+, as well as a detailed cost analysis.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The research will take place in a large Maryland suburban district in the Baltimore–Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.
Sample
The development phases will involve 2 district coaches, 2 elementary schools, 6 third-grade teachers, 12 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers, and 450 third- to fifth-grade students. The pilot study will involve 10 district coaches, 40 elementary schools, 240 fourth- and fifth-grade teachers, and 6,000 fourth- and fifth-grade students. The student population is racially and economically diverse, with 29% of elementary schools classified as Title I.
Intervention
The intervention being developed will be called MQI Coaching+, a math coaching program for local district coaches that combines 1:1 video-based coaching cycles and school-based PLCs. The PLCs provide teachers opportunities to practice instruction with feedback and reinforce learning in the 1:1 cycles.
Research design and methods
The iterative development of MQI Coaching+ will use rapid-cycle, improvement science methods, while the pilot study is a school-level, randomized controlled trial.
Control condition
For the pilot study, 10 district math coaches and their fourth- and fifth-grade teachers and students will participate in standard coaching activities, which do not involve the MQI, video analysis, or the PLCs focused on practice with feedback.
Key measures
The key teacher outcomes are perceptions of reform-oriented teaching (survey), quality of instruction (MQI), and student achievement (Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers math assessment).
Data analytic strategy
Researchers will use descriptive methods to iteratively develop the program and assess feasibility and implementation fidelity. The pilot study will follow an intent-to-treat approach, using a multilevel model with students nested within teachers with schools assigned to an MQI Coaching+ district coach.
Cost analysis strategy
Researchers will use a Resource Cost Model approach to identify costs of each intervention component. Researchers will also use the CostOut tool to help organize these costs and make any adjustments related to inflation or the use of materials, which are built into the tool. Analyses will (a) distinguish start-up costs, such as initial training of local coaches and video equipment, from ongoing costs, such as time for local coaches and teachers and ongoing operational costs of replacing cameras and paying for the video platform; (b) summarize costs by category, including external services, personnel, equipment, and incentives; and (c) convert total costs into per-school, per-teacher, and per-student costs.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: The research team will produce a refined MQI Coaching+ model, with refined guidelines for the fidelity of implementation. Materials will include a professional learning community (PLC) meeting planning guide, a PLC collaborative log template, sequenced stock video clips for the PLCs, a video library of coaching conversations, a protocol for guiding the lesson rehearsals, and a post-PLC teacher survey. The team will also produce findings about the usability, feasibility, implementation, and impact of MQI Coaching+, as well as estimates of implementation costs.
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigators: Smith, Toni; Hill, Heather C.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
