Developing a Web-based Classroom Observation System (COS) to Support Increased Teacher Quality

Technology development includes prototyping, feasibility testing, and commercial production of a hardware platform that is durable, portable, safe, secure, and affordable. After development, the research design will include three groups of 12 third grade teachers from three elementary schools. All teachers will participate in a reading comprehension workshop, to be delivered by a reading expert. Teachers will be randomly assigned to one of three groups. One group will receive follow-up coaching, observation, and feedback, from the expert via IRIS. The second group will receive the same treatment, in-person from the expert. The third group will receive no additional follow-up from the expert, which is typical for these types of professional development workshops. Through surveys and observations, the researchers will measure the degree of teachers' enactment of the reading comprehension strategies. Student achievement will be measured using standardized reading comprehension tests.