Transcript Developing Powerful Teaching: What It Will Really Take to Leave No Child Behind.

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 underfunded
Salaries are unequal and noncompetitive
Well-prepared teachers are unequally
distributed
Learning & collaboration time is scarce
Strong systems for recruiting and
preparing teachers and leaders are rare
To Get Effective Teaching,
We Need to…
Overhaul teacher & administrator
preparation
Create a steady supply of well-prepared
teachers & leaders to all schools
Develop, recognize, and share teacher
knowledge and skill to create widespread
expertise
Build productive school environments
Teacher Effectiveness has Many
Components
Student learning gains are related to teachers’:
Strong academic background
Quality preparation prior to entry
Certification in the field taught
Experience (> 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 abilities
Resources 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
conditions
Sink or swim entry
Crash and burn-out induction
Hit and run professional development
Merit pay without competitive, equitable
salaries
Firing teachers without building a stable
supply of excellent teachers
Focusing 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
Reading
Math
2.5
1.89
2
Change in NCE Score
1.5
1.83
1.31
0.99
1
0.5
Low-Coursework AC
Low-Coursework TC Counterpart
0
High -Coursework AC
-0.5
-0.39
-0.78
-1
-1.07
-1.06
-1.5
Based on actual (unadjusted) fall and spring scores
High -Coursework TC Counterpart
Value-Added Gains of Students Whose
Teachers Graduated from Different
Teacher Education
Programs in NYC
ELA
0.08
Strong Gains in ELA, not math
Strong Gains in ELA and Math
0.06
0.04
0.02
Math
-0.120
-0.080
-0.040
0
0.000
0.040
0.080
-0.02
-0.04
Weak Gains in ELA and Math
Strong Gains in Math, not ELA
-0.06
0.120
Program Features Influencing
Teacher Effectiveness
Quality of student teaching
experience
Courses in content and content
pedagogy
Focus on learning and applying
specific tools in the classroom
Study of local district curriculum
Portfolio or capstone project tying
theory to practice
Action Steps: Expand HighQuality 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 features
Expand 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 Evaluation
Combine 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 outcomes
Evaluate teachers based on standards of
practice and many kinds of evidence about
student learning with skilled evaluators
who provide expert feedback
Evaluate 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
Professional Learning
Opportunities in High-Achieving
Nations Abroad
High-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
US Average
1080
OECD Average,
Primary Schools
803
OECD Average,
Secondary Schools
664
0
Soucrce: OECD, Education at a Glance, 2007
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Student Assessment Systems
Abroad Also Support Effective
Teaching
Assessments measure
– and encourage - the
full range of
knowledge and skills
represented in
standards.
Teacher scoring
supports professional
learning
PD focuses on student
learning through
action
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 &
Equity
Student performance assessments that shape
productive learning and teaching
Teacher & principal performance assessments to
improve preparation, licensure, and accreditation
High-quality preparation for all educators
Teacher and Leadership Development Academies
Sustained, practice-based collegial learning
opportunities for teachers & leaders
Educator 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.