Project Activities
Researchers will evaluate the impact of three PD approaches on preschool teachers' beliefs, knowledge, and instructional practices and children's academic and social skills. They will recruit and randomly assign 440 public prekindergarten classrooms to one of four conditions. Teachers in the treatment group will receive one of three PD approaches. Researchers will collect data from teachers and children and conduct classroom observations as well as evaluate the cost effectiveness of the PD approaches.
Structured Abstract
Setting
This project will take place in public schools serving primarily low-income students in several regions across Texas representing urban and rural locations.
Sample
The sample will include 440 pre-K classrooms and teachers and 2,200 students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.
The TSR suite of PD resources includes online courses, activities, and progress monitoring tools that provide a framework for implementing research-based best practices that builds teacher knowledge about responsiveness and practices to increase students' school readiness in language, literacy, math, cognition, and social/emotional skills; and encourages data-based instruction that matches students' assessed needs with supplemental classroom activity resources. The TSR continuous improvement process includes 12 cycles of goal-setting, planning, and reflective assessment to break down the complex task of effective teaching into discrete behaviors. Teachers engage in ongoing practice and learning over time via videotaped practice activities and respond to guided reflection prompts where they reflect on practice, compare behaviors with exemplar demonstrations, and set goals for continuous improvement.
Research design and methods
Researchers will conduct this study over a five-year period. Three contrasting approaches to TSR PD delivery will be implemented across 12 continuous improvement cycles. For each cohort, they will recruit and randomly assign classrooms/teachers to one of four conditions (guided self-study, PLC, remote coaching, or BAU), resulting in a total of 110 teachers per condition across the four years. In Years 1-4, the research team will implement the three TSR PD approaches, and collect data from 440 classrooms/teachers and 5 children per classroom in fall and spring of each school year. In Year 5, researchers will conduct data analysis using all four years of data and disseminate study findings.
Control condition
In the business-as-usual condition, teachers will have access to PD resources but will not participate in target PD approaches (i.e., continuous improvement cycles through guided self-study, PLC, coaching).
Key measures
Researchers will assess teacher growth in observed instructional practices, efficacy, and beliefs about teaching at the beginning and end of the pre-K year (e.g., Teacher Behaviors Rating Scales, Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation, Teacher Efficacy Scale). The will administer child assessments to evaluate a range of key literacy and math skills at the beginning and end of the pre-K year (e.g., Preschool Language Scale-5, Test of Preschool Early Literacy). Teachers will complete the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation-Short Form to provide information about children's social skills.
Data analytic strategy
Researchers will use hierarchical linear modeling to analyze the data. They will conduct analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of three PD approaches for improving teacher outcomes. For child outcomes, the research team will conduct analyses to determine if the effect of the intervention on child outcomes is mediated by its effects on teacher behavior, and if the effects of the intervention on teacher's behavior are mediated by effects on teacher reports of reflectiveness and teaching beliefs. Cost-effectiveness will be evaluated by the effect sizes of the three approaches, calculated as Cohen's d.
People and institutions involved
IES program contact(s)
Project contributors
Products and publications
Researchers will produce evidence of the efficacy of three PD approaches for improving teacher practices and child outcomes, information about the cost-effectiveness of the PD approaches, and produce peer-reviewed publications. They will also prepare reports to share information with collaborating districts each year of the project and disseminate study findings to parents, teachers, school administrators, and state and regional education agencies.
Questions about this project?
To answer additional questions about this project or provide feedback, please contact the program officer.
