developing powerful teaching: what it will really take to leave no child behind
TRANSCRIPT
Developing Powerful Teaching: What It Will
Really Take to Leave No Child Behind
Challenges of 21st Century Teaching
Greater Need for Education in Society and Economy
Higher Standards for Learning
More Diverse Students with Greater Educational Needs
Greater Expectations of Schools for Ensuring Success
How Can We Develop Powerful Teaching?
What Do Effective and Equitable
Teachers Know and Do?
Two Theories of Reform Compete for Policy Attention
Bureaucratic Accountability -- Control Teaching via Tests & Texts -- Standardize Practice -- Emphasize “Doing Things Right”Professional Accountability-- Develop Expert Practice-- Support Student Learning-- Emphasize “Doing the Right Things”
What Matters Most
The experience of high-performing school systems around the world suggests that 3 things matter most:
1) Getting the right people to become teachers
2) Developing them into effective instructors, and
3) Ensuring that the system is able to deliver the best possible instruction for every child.
---Barber & Mourshed
The U.S. invests less in teaching than other countries
Preparation is uneven and underfundedSalaries are unequal and noncompetitiveWell-prepared teachers are unequally distributedLearning & collaboration time is scarceStrong systems for recruiting and preparing teachers and leaders are rare
To Get Effective Teaching, We Need to…
Overhaul teacher & administrator preparationCreate a steady supply of well-prepared teachers & leaders to all schoolsDevelop, recognize, and share teacher knowledge and skill to create widespread expertiseBuild productive school environments
Teacher Effectiveness has Many Components
Student learning gains are related to teachers’:Strong academic background Quality preparation prior to entryCertification in the field taughtExperience (> 3 years)National Board Certification
Together, these factors predict more of the difference in student learning than race & parent education combined (Clotfelter et al., 2008).
Policies should strengthen & equalize these features.
Teaching Effectiveness Depends on Many Factors
Teacher knowledge, skills, dispositions, and behaviors that support the learning process. Hanushek et al. estimate the individual teacher effects component of measured student achievement is about 7% of the total. Student availability for learning – Prior learning opportunities, health, supportive home context, attendance, developed abilitiesResources for learning – Curriculum quality, materials, class sizes, specialist supports, etc.Coherence and continuity – The extent to which content & skills are well organized and reinforced across grades and classes
Current policies won’t get
us there…Unequal funding, salaries, and working conditionsSink or swim entryCrash and burn-out inductionHit and run professional developmentMerit pay without competitive, equitable salariesFiring teachers without building a stable supply of excellent teachersFocusing on personnel without changing schools
The Teaching Gap Creates Most of the Achievement Gap
The least experienced and prepared teachers often teach the least advantaged students
High attrition rates for less-prepared and supported teachers create a revolving door and wasted resources for PD
Each teacher replacement costs $15,000 - $20,000
Students taught by underqualified teachers have significantly lower achievement in reading and mathematics.
These effects are magnified in poorly staffed schools.
Other reforms cannot work when the teaching force is underprepared and unstable.
Effects of Teacher Underpreparation
Fall-to-Spring Test Score Gains / Losses of Students Taught by Alternative Route and Traditional Route Teachers
-1.07
-0.78
0.99
1.89
-1.06
-0.39
1.31
1.83
-1.5
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Ch
ang
e in
NC
E S
core
Reading Math
Based on actual (unadjusted) fall and spring scores
Low-Coursework AC Low-Coursework TC Counterpart
High -Coursework AC High -Coursework TC Counterpart
Value-Added Gains of Students Whose Teachers Graduated from
Different Teacher Education Programs in NYC
-0.06
-0.04
-0.02
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
-0.120 -0.080 -0.040 0.000 0.040 0.080 0.120
Math
ELA
Strong Gains in ELA and MathStrong Gains in ELA, not math
Strong Gains in Math, not ELAWeak Gains in ELA and Math
Program Features Influencing Teacher Effectiveness
Quality of student teaching experience Courses in content and content pedagogyFocus on learning and applying specific tools in the classroomStudy of local district curriculum Portfolio or capstone project tying theory to practice
Action Steps: Expand High-Quality Pathways to Teaching
Evaluate all preparation and induction programs based on results of -- teacher performance assessments (TPA)-- graduates’ contributions to student learning -- retention rates in teaching Use results in program approval / accreditation decisions Study successful programs & create incentives for other programs to adopt these featuresExpand successful programs and eliminate those that don’t improve
Action Steps: Improve Induction, Evaluation, and Professional Learning
Ensure that induction includes coaching and collaborative planning Organize mentoring around a serious teacher performance assessment Involve mentors, principals, and teacher educators as assessors Introduce performance-based licensure for school leaders based on understanding teaching
Action Steps: An Extreme Makeover
for Teacher EvaluationCombine Evidence of Practice, Performance, and Outcomes in an Integrated Evaluation System that looks at:
Teaching practice in relation to standards, curriculum goals, and student needs
Contributions to colleagues and the school, and
Evidence about student learning / growth at the classroom and school level in relation to teaching practices, curriculum goals, and student needs.
Evaluating for Improvement
Evaluate and accredit teaching programs based on teacher performance, placement and retention, and teaching outcomesEvaluate teachers based on standards of practice and many kinds of evidence about student learning with skilled evaluators who provide expert feedbackEvaluate principals and schools based on how well they provide the necessary supports for good teaching
The Status of Professional Development in the United
States Effective professional development is better
understood but still relatively rare in the U.S. Most teachers (>90%) participate in 1 to 2
day workshops and conferences. Well under half get sustained PD, get
mentoring or coaching, or observe other classrooms.
Only 17% of U.S. teachers reported a great deal of cooperative effort among staff members in 2004. This percentage shrank to 15% in 2008.
What Research Tells Us
Well-designed professional development can improve practice and increase student achievement.
A review of high-quality experimental studies found that among programs offering extended PD (49 hours on average over 6 to 12 months), student achievement increased by 21 percentile points. (Yoon et al., 2007)
One-shot workshops do not have positive effects.
Professional Learning Opportunities in High-
Achieving Nations AbroadHigh-achieving nations in Europe and
Asia: Provide beginners with intensive
mentoring. Offer extensive, sustained learning
opportunities (15-25 hours per week, plus 100 hours /year) embedded in practice
Go well beyond workshops:Teachers engage regularly in Lesson Study,
Action Research, and Peer Observation and Coaching to evaluate and improve practice.
US Teachers Spend Much More Time Instructing and Much Less Time Planning
Number of Hours Teachers Spent in Instruction Annually
664
803
1080
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200
OECD Average,Secondary Schools
OECD Average,Primary Schools
US Average
Soucrce: OECD, Education at a Glance, 2007
Student Assessment Systems Abroad Also Support Effective
TeachingAssessments measure – and encourage - the full range of knowledge and skills represented in standards. Teacher scoring supports professional learningPD focuses on student learning through action
research and examination of student workSchool-based assessments support good instruction and enhance curriculum equity.
So What are we Doing about This?
While there is strong consensus that teaching quality is the key, the U.S. has been falling further behind in both international achievement and access to high-quality teacher learning.What’s ahead will depend on new policy in Race to the Top, ESEA, and the Common Core Standards movement
What We Need In Order to Achieve Teaching Quality &
EquityStudent performance assessments that shape productive learning and teaching Teacher & principal performance assessments to improve preparation, licensure, and accreditation High-quality preparation for all educatorsTeacher and Leadership Development AcademiesSustained, practice-based collegial learning opportunities for teachers & leadersEducator careers that reward, develop, and share expertise
We will have succeeded if, as a result of these efforts…
Those who can, do. Those who understand
teach.
Those who can, teach.Those who can’t, go into a less significant line of work.