Measures Of Effective Teaching Project Research Articles

Interview study on preservice teachers’ knowledge for teaching early algebra

This study aims to identify features of knowledge about teaching early algebra that preservice teachers have, and
 to suggest what preservice teacher education needs to improve teachers’ knowledge for teaching early algebra. We
 measured the knowledge of 109 preservice teachers using the assessment of mathematical knowledge for teaching
 elementary students as part of the measures of effective teaching project, and conducted in-depth interviews with
 18 of them. We report the findings from the interviews in terms of big ideas of algebra. Based on the results, we
 discuss teacher education programs with regard to the connections between the mathematical content, operation
 laws as the strand of algebraic thinking, and mathematical and didactical decisions from the teacher’s perspective.

Korean Teachers’ Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching in Algebraic Reasoning

To collect information about teachers concerning mathematical knowledge for teaching and find out what needs to be considered in developing a curriculum to teach it, the current study surveyed 137 secondary teachers and interviewed thirteen of them in Korea. The survey and interviews used the assessment of mathematical knowledge for teaching about algebra I, which was developed as part of the Measures of Effective Teaching project. The correct response rate of Korean teachers was very high, but there were some differences found in the areas of algebraic reasoning. Furthermore, mathematical analysis is important in assessing students’ algebraic reasoning, and each teacher’s typical teaching method is formidable in evaluating students’ reasoning. Implication is discussed for the improvement of teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching algebra.

Latent Class Analysis of Teacher Characteristics: Can We Identify Effective Teachers?

ABSTRACT Latent classes of effective and non-effective Algebra I teachers were established using measurements of teacher promoted engagement, teacher promoted understanding, and classroom management from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project (MET Project) database. Historically, robust measures of effective teaching exist in the literature; however, there are no sets of factors or attributes that define an effective teacher. Instead, current teacher accountability practices have weighed heavily on observations, student surveys, and standardized test scores in value added models as indicators of teacher effectiveness. This study focused on Algebra I teachers due to the importance of establishing student success in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Results support the use of latent class analysis using teacher characteristics to identify effective and non-effective teachers.

Converging on quality: Examining multiple measures of teaching effectiveness

The present study explores the convergent and predictive validity for several widely used measures of teaching quality from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2009-2011). Specifically, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, Hamre, & Mintz, 2012), the Framework for Teaching (FFT; Danielson Group, 2013), and the Tripod Student Perceptions Scale (Tripod; Ferguson, 2008) were examined. Correlations among measures were assessed by developmental level and content area (elementary mathematics N = 70; elementary English language arts N = 101; middle school mathematics N = 291, middle school English language arts N = 280). Both average scores and score variability (i.e., coefficient of variation) for the CLASS, FFT, and Tripod were used to predict value-added models (VAM), a high-stakes measure of students' academic growth. For elementary mathematics and ELA, findings indicated the CLASS and FFT exhibited moderate convergent validity while divergent validity was found between the Tripod and the CLASS and FFT. Across content areas in middle school grades, the CLASS, FFT, and Tripod exhibited moderate to high-moderate convergent validity. Average student and observer scores were positively related to VAM scores, whereas variability in scores demonstrated negative relations to VAM scores. Implications of findings for teacher evaluation and professional development are discussed.

Making Inferences About Teacher Observation Scores Over Time.

Observation protocol scores are commonly used as status measures to support inferences about teacher practices. When multiple observations are collected for the same teacher over the course of a year, some portion of a teacher's score on each occasion may be attributable to the rater, lesson, and the time of year of the observation. All three of these are facets that can threaten the generalizability of teacher scores, but the role of time is easiest to overlook. A generalizability theory framework is used in this study to illustrate the concept of a hidden facet of measurement. When there are many temporally spaced observation occasions, it may be possible to support inferences about the growth in teaching practices over time as an alternative (or complement) to making inferences about status at a single point in time. This study uses longitudinal observation scores from the Measures of Effective Teaching project to estimate the reliability of teacher-level growth parameters for designs that vary in the number and spacing of observation occasions over a 2-year span. On the basis of a subsample of teachers scored using the Danielson Framework for Teaching, we show that at least eight observations over 2 years are needed before it would be possible to make distinctions in growth with a reliability coefficients of .39.

Measuring Cultural Dimensions of Classroom Interactions

ABSTRACTWe trace the development and analyze the generalizability of the Classroom Assessment of Sociocultural Interactions (CASI), an observation system designed to measure cultural dimensions of classroom interactions. We establish CASI measurement properties by analyzing panoramic videos of 4th and 5th grade classrooms from the Measures of Effective Teaching project, and argue for its significance in terms of achievement opportunity for minoritized students and needed evidence regarding equitable teaching. We frame ten dimensions of sociocultural interactions within three domains: Life Applications (i.e., connections with what students know and do outside of school); Self in Group (i.e., interdependence to motivate learning and foster social identities); and Agency (i.e., how freedom and choice are managed).We demonstrate how measurement error is associated with raters, lessons, and lesson segments, and discuss implications for CASI refinement, as well as appropriate instrument uses to enrich learning opportunities for minoritized students across a variety of classroom settings.

Teacher Leaders and Student Achievement: can the dots be connected?

Abstract This study was designed to determine the effects of teacher leadership on student achievement in middle school math and science. Participants were 173 8th grade students, and eight teachers — four of whom were identifed as teacher leaders. The experimental groups were comprised of students who were instructed by teachers identifed as teacher leaders; and the control groups were comprised of students instructed by teachers not identifed as teacher leaders. Each experimental and control group was compared using the Explorer test results to determine equivalence between groups. An ANOVA performed on End of Quarter Test data in advanced and non-advanced math and science revealed a signifcant difference in both the advanced science and math groups; teacher leaders are positively correlated with higher scores of the advanced math and science groups. No signifcant difference was found between the experimental groups and control groups in either non-advanced math or science classes; teacher leaders did not signifcantly impact the scores of the non-advanced math and science groups. Keywords : Teacher leadership, Middle school, Math, Student achievement. References ACT. Explorer Test . 2013. Retrieved from http://www.act.org/explorestudent/ ANDREWS, D.; CROWTHER, F. Parallel leadership: A clue to the contents of the “black box” of school reform. International Journal of Educational Management , 16,152-159, 2002. doi:10.1108/09513540210432128 BASS, B. M.; RIGGIO, R. E. Transformational leadership (2 nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2006. BEACHUM, F.; DENTITH, A. M. Teacher leaders creating cultures of school renewal and transformation. The Educational Forum , 68, 276-286, 2004. doi:10.1080/00131720408984639 BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION. 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An Empirical Study of the Dimensionality of the Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching Construct

This study explores the dimensionality of mathematical knowledge needed by elementary school teachers. Specifically, we focus on the construct of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching to investigate whether common mathematical content knowledge (the generic mathematical knowledge that is held by an educated adult), specialized content knowledge (the content knowledge that is unique to teaching), and pedagogical content knowledge (knowledge of the content, students, and teaching) can be distinguished empirically. Findings from a secondary analysis of data collected from upper elementary teachers in the Measures of Effective Teaching project ( N = 397) suggest the most parsimonious explanation of Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching construct is that it is unidimensional. We argue, based on the findings and limitations we identified, that researchers should reconsider both the structure of the components that make up the content knowledge for teaching and the effects of item design on the dimensionality of the construct.

When Students Grade Their Teachers: A Validity Analysis of the Tripod Student Survey

ABSTRACTThis article develops a validity argument for the use of the Tripod student survey of instructional practices to assess teacher effectiveness in summative teacher evaluations and professional development decisions. This paper expands upon previous research in three ways: (a) it draws from current validity thinking to examine the evidence for separate summative and formative purposes of the Tripod survey, (b) it takes advantage of a large, multiple measure data set collected by the Measures of Effective Teaching Project, and (c) it accounts for both the multilevel nature of school data and contextual classroom features. Preliminary evidence was found for a two-dimensional structure, representing classroom management (Control) and academic support (Support). The Control and Support Tripod scores are fairly reliable and correlated with classroom observation ratings and teacher value-added scores. However, caution is suggested in interpreting these results as an endorsement for use in high-stakes teacher evaluations.

The effect of working condition on math teacher effectiveness: value-added scores and student satisfaction in teaching

The purpose of this study is to better understand how math teachers’ effectiveness as measured by value-added scores and student satisfaction with teaching is influenced by school’s working conditions. The data for the study were derived from 2009 to 2010 Teacher Working Condition Survey and Student Perception Survey in Measures of Effective Teaching Project. Using the structural equation modeling and other related methods, several models of teacher effectiveness were estimated. The findings indicate that among the examined working condition factors, support for instruction and for student conduct management have significant effects on teachers’ value-added scores in mathematics. Moreover, the student satisfaction with teaching seems to have a mediating effect on value-added scores. The findings of the study significantly contribute to a better understanding of the effects of working environment on math teachers’ effectiveness and how improvement in working conditions can enhance math teachers’ performance.

Moving beyond means: revealing features of the learning environment by investigating the consensus among student ratings

Student ratings, a critical component in policy efforts to assess and improve teaching, are often collected using questionnaires, and inferences about teachers are then based on aggregated student survey responses. While considerable attention has been paid to the reliability and validity of these aggregates, much less attention has been paid to within-classroom consensus, and what that consensus can reveal about classrooms. This study used data from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project to investigate how the consensus among student ratings in a classroom can enhance our understanding of the learning environment, and potentially could be used to understand features of instructional practice. The results suggest that consensus is related to teacher effectiveness, the questioning strategies used by teachers, and the demographic heterogeneity of students. The possibility of instructional subclimates and the implications for the use of overall averages in teacher appraisal are discussed together with directions for future research.

The Test Matters

In this study, we examined how the relationships between one observation protocol, the Protocol for Language Arts Teaching Observation (PLATO), and value-added measures shift when different tests are used to assess student achievement. Using data from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project, we found that PLATO was more strongly related to the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9), the alternative assessment used by MET to assess more ambitious outcomes. We also found that the SAT-9 is more instructionally sensitive to the PLATO factor of Cognitive and Disciplinary Demand than the state tests used in MET study. This difference suggests that PLATO factors designed specifically to identify ambitious instructional practices are especially sensitive to which test is used to construct value-added scores.

The Measures of Effective Teaching Project: An Experiment to Build Evidence and Trust

The Measures of Effective Teaching project has collected performance data using multiple indicators from over three thousand teachers across six urban districts. In the second year of the study, classes of students were randomly assigned to teachers in order to assess the impact of assignment bias on performance judgments. This article discusses the project rationale, design, preliminary findings, justification for the experiment, and details of the random assignment process. Results from the randomized trial will be released in a subsequent report.