Project Activities
MTP-S is a 2-year teacher coaching program designed to improve the quality of teacher-student interactions in secondary school classrooms. Researchers will randomly assign teachers to the treatment or control condition within blocks defined by subject (mathematics or ELA) and school. Impact analyses will focus on outcomes at the end of each intervention year. Researchers will collect observations in the fall of Year 1 (baseline) and twice in the spring of each year, with each observation based on a randomly selected section taught by each teacher. In both fall and spring of each year, students will complete a short engagement survey. Student achievement in math and English language arts as measured by end-of-course exams will also be collected.
Structured Abstract
Setting
The study will take place in a suburban district in Maryland.
Sample
The study sample will include 200 teachers who (1) teach a regular yearlong mathematics or English language arts (ELA) class in Grades 6-12 with an end-of-course exam in a regular middle school or high school and (2) do not participate in an induction program involving regular mentoring. The student sample will include all students in sections of mathematics or ELA taught by study teachers in the fall of each of the two intervention years.
Intervention
MTP-S is a 2-year teacher coaching program designed to improve the quality of teacher-student interactions in secondary school classrooms. This study will examine a modified version of MTP-S in which the vendor (Teachstone) trains, monitors, and supports coaches selected by the school districts (instead of providing Teachstone coaches). In each of the two years, a participating teacher completes 6 to 10 cycles of coaching. In each cycle, the teacher submits a videotape of a lesson, which the coach then analyzes. The coach selects 3 brief video clips and writes questions about them. The teacher's written responses provide the basis for a one-on-one discussion guided by the coach, which concludes with the development of an action plan.
Research design and methods
In this study, researchers will use a blocked cluster randomized experiment. They will randomly assign teachers to the treatment or control condition within blocks defined by subject (mathematics or ELA) and school. The project will follow teachers for the 2 intervention years and examine outcomes at the end of each intervention year. Researchers will collect observations in the fall of Year 1 (baseline) and twice in the spring of each year, with each observation based on a randomly selected section taught by each teacher. In both fall and spring of each year, students will complete a short engagement survey.
Control condition
Control teachers will receive only business-as-usual professional development opportunities.
Key measures
The research team will measure quality of teacher-student interactions using the Classroom Assessment and Scoring System-Secondary (CLASS-S) and the Danielson's Framework for Teaching (FFT). They will measure teacher self-efficacy using the Teachers' Sense of Self-Efficacy Scale. They will measure student engagement using four scales (i.e., Behavioral Engagement, Emotional Engagement, Behavioral Disaffection, and Emotional Disaffection). Researchers will measure student achievement using end-of-course test scores in mathematics and ELA.
Data analytic strategy
The research team will use multilevel intent-to-treat analyses based on a fixed-effects approach, which will take into account clustering at the section and teacher levels where appropriate. They will also conduct complier average treatment effect analyses based on an instrumental variable approach as supplemental analyses and random effects analyses as sensitivity analyses.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Products and publications
Products: Researchers will produce evidence of the efficacy of MyTeachingPartner-Secondary(MTP-S) intervention for secondary teachers and their students. Researchers will produce peer-reviewed publications along with study briefs and videos on the AIR, Teachstone, and Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning websites that are designed for general audiences. They will also present at conferences or provide written materials to incorporate in the journals, newsletters, or other communications of practitioner organizations (e.g., Council of Chief State School Officers, National School Social Workers Association, and National School Psychologist Association).
Related projects
Supplemental information
Co-Principal Investigator: Ruzek, Erik; Song, Mengli
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
