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Eric.ed.gov – The Relationship of Teacher Quality and Student Achievement in Elementary Schools from the New York City

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The present study sought to examine the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement in public elementary schools in a community district school of the New York City. It has 23 elementary schools, more than 7,600 students and around 350 teachers. For this study, participants consist of a sample of 117 full-time teachers who were working in third, fourth and fifth grade during the 2006-2007 school year. By recognizing the link between quality teaching and student achievement, this study addressed the broad question: “What is the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement?” Methodologically, data collection was based on a standardized questionnaire developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The survey used here was adapted by the researcher to explore three specific teacher quality characteristics:… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Vermont Teachers’ Understanding of Mathematical Problem Solving and “Good” Math Problems.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: For the past five years, Vermont has been developing an innovative statewide assessment system in which portfolios of student work in mathematics and writing are a key element. The use of mathematics portfolios, particularly in elementary school, is a novel aspect of the assessment system. This study examines the elementary school mathematics portfolio assessment and its instructional impact by exploring the conceptions of problem solving, the knowledge of problem-solving strategies, the evaluation of problem-solving tasks, and the instructional practices of 20 fourth-grade teachers. Teachers indicated that the portfolio assessment program has enhanced their understanding of mathematical problem solving and broadened their instructional practices, but that they have encountered difficulty in understanding certain components of the reform and making the relevant changes. Teachers did not share a common… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Toward Instructional Reform in the Math Classroom: A Teacher’s Process of Change.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The reform movement in mathematics education calls for students to engage in problem solving, to discuss and communicate their thinking, and to develop meaningful understandings. This paper reports a case study of a fourth-grade class in line with the reform call, emphasizing the process of change the teacher experienced and the support she needed. The teacher in this study taught mathematics using the Cognitively Guided Instruction approach. Observations, interviews, and student assessments were collected. Reported are four phases of teacher change: (1) the teacher’s teaching and thinking at the beginning of the study; (2) learning, thinking, and stimulating the process of change; (3) learning from and helping individuals; and (4) building on children’s thinking in instruction. Contains 25 references. (MKR) Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – Why Understanding 1-3/4 divided by 1/2 Matters to Math Reform: ABE Teachers Learn the Math They Teach.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper explains the investigative attempts of The New York City Math Exchange Group (MEG) on elementary mathematics teachers’ content knowledge in Adult Basic Education (ABE). The study is comparative in nature and took place in a workshop at the Adults Learning Maths Conference in Boston. The new members of the MEG professional development group were compared to the veteran members. It is observed that among the experienced MEG members, the ability to compute a division problem, create story problems, and reason mathematically and abstractly were higher than in other studies of U.S. teachers and the sample of new MEG members. It is concluded that it is only through comprehensive and ongoing staff development that all teachers can better understand, apply, and teach mathematics to their students.… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – How the Experts Teach Math. Research in Brief.

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Findings are reported from a six-year study of seven expert mathematics teachers who taught in elementary schools in very poor neighborhoods with “difficult” students or in economically depressed areas with high unemployment. Compared with novice teachers, the expert teachers used time more wisely, organized lessons better, and knew their content and how to help children learn it. Each of these aspects is discussed with specifics noted. The three aspects are intertwined, and expert teachers know how to combine the three so that their students are successful. (MNS) Link til kilde

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Eric.ed.gov – How and Why Do Teacher Credentials Matter for Student Achievement? Working Paper 2. Revised

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: Education researchers and policymakers agree that teachers differ in terms of quality and that quality matters for student achievement. Despite prodigious amounts of research, however, debate still persists about the causal relationship between specific teacher credentials and student achievement. In this paper, we use a rich administrative data set from North Carolina to explore a range of questions related to the relationship between teacher characteristics and credentials on the one hand and student achievement on the other. Though the basic questions underlying this research are not new–and, indeed, have been explored in many papers over the years within the rubric of the “education production function”–the availability of data on all teachers and students in North Carolina over a ten-year period allows us to explore them in more… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Missing Data and Mixed Results: The Effects of Teach For America on Student Achievement Revisited

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This paper revisits existing experimental work on Teach For America (TFA) and extends it by examining treatment effects across the distribution of student achievement. TFA is a rapidly expanding teacher preparation program that currently serves over half a million students in low-income districts across the country. Previous research results did not have notable variation by subgroup. Estimates were inaccurate due to the treatment of a non-response code as a valid response value. Revised estimates confirm positive effects for math and not reading, but show that TFA teachers were especially effective for African American students, but not Hispanics, and for females, but not males. In addition to examining differences across subgroup, others have argued that a distributional approach is important for thoroughly investigating policy interventions because examinations focused… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Changing Mindsets: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: The Changing Mindsets project sought to improve academic attainment by supporting pupils to develop a growth mindset: the belief that intelligence is not a fixed characteristic and can be increased through effort. Previous research (Good et al., 2003; Blackwell et al., 2007) has suggested that holding this belief enables pupils to work harder and achieve better results. The project consisted of two separate interventions: (1) an intervention that taught pupils directly about the malleability of intelligence through six workshops, which were delivered by undergraduates from the University of Portsmouth, and four further sessions delivered by two local organisations: the Education Business Partnership, and Pompey Study Centre (now called Portsmouth in the Community); and (2) a professional development course that trained teachers on approaches to developing and reinforcing… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – To Adapt or Subscribe: Teachers’ Informal Collaboration and View of Mandated Curricula

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: California public schools serve a highly diverse student population, including: 65% minorities, 24.9% English Language Learners, 10.6% disabled, and 19% in poverty. In the face of this diversity, all teachers are expected to use the Curriculum Frameworks of the California State Board of Education as a “blueprint for implementing the content standards adopted by the California State Board of Education and are developed by the Curriculum Development and Supplemental Materials Commission.” The Curriculum Standards for California Public Schools and “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) appear to have a goal of equal access to education for all students. “Education: The Promise of America” states that the goal of the NCLB legislation is to ensure that “all children are proficient in reading and math by the 2013-2014 school year”… Continue Reading

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Eric.ed.gov – Initial Impacts of No Child Left Behind on Elementary Science Education

eric.ed.gov har udgivet: This research examines the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on elementary science education within a Midwestern state possessing strong national education measures. Elementary teachers (N = 164) responded to an online survey, which included both closed-ended and open-ended questions pertaining to science instruction and changes made in science instruction since the implementation of NCLB. More than half of these teachers indicated they have cut time from science instruction since NCLB became a law. The reason given for this decrease in science education was mainly the need to increase time for math and reading instruction. (Contains 3 figures.) Link til kilde