MSP News Archive

MSP News: Teacher Preparation, Selection, and Effects

1. NEW MSP PAPER

A. "Using RITES Investigations 2010," Andrew Zucker, The Concord Consortium, Rhode Island Technology Enhanced Science Program, July, 2010.

"In order to learn more about the use of the RITES Investigations a number of research and evaluation activities have been conducted, including visits to selected classrooms by staff of the Education Alliance, and a meeting at which RITES teachers presented posters about their use of an Investigation. This document is a report on a survey of the cohort 1 RITES teachers (whose participation began in the summer of 2009) that was conducted during the spring of 2010. These science teachers had agreed to use a RITES Investigation during the 2009-2010 school year."

MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>MSP Papers
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20873


2. NEW IN LIBRARY

A. "The Implications of Teacher Selection and Teacher Effects in Some Education Experiments," Michael J. Weiss, MDRC, April 2010.

"In some experimental evaluations of classroom or school-level interventions it is not practically feasible to randomly assign teachers or schools to experimental conditions. Given such restrictions, researchers may randomly assign students to the program or control group and consider the teacher or school to be a part of the intervention. However, in an individually randomized evaluation of a classroom or school-level intervention, unless teachers or schools are randomized to experimental conditions, it will not be clear whether measured differences between program and control group students are a result of the core components of the intervention or a result of the teachers (that is, teacher effects). This working paper clarifies the interpretation of typically calculated "program impacts" in this situation. In addition, using the magnitude of estimated teacher effects from past research, this paper demonstrates that, if teachers or schools are not randomly assigned to experimental conditions, it is significantly more difficult to establish whether the program works or whether the types of teachers selected (or volunteering) to teach in program classrooms are simply more or less effective than their control group counterparts. The significant implications of the correct causal inference to be made are discussed."

MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Professional Development
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20870


B. "Preparing Teachers: Building Evidence for Sound Policy," Committee on the Study of Teacher Preparation Programs in the United States; National Research Council, National Academies Press, 2010.

"Teachers make a difference. The success of any plan for improving educational outcomes depends on the teachers who carry it out and thus on the abilities of those attracted to the field and their preparation. Yet there are many questions about how teachers are being prepared and how they ought to be prepared. Yet, teacher preparation is often treated as an afterthought in discussions of improving the public education system. Preparing Teachers addresses the issue of teacher preparation with specific attention to reading, mathematics, and science. The book evaluates the characteristics of the candidates who enter teacher preparation programs, the sorts of instruction and experiences teacher candidates receive in preparation programs, and the extent that the required instruction and experiences are consistent with converging scientific evidence. Preparing Teachers also identifies a need for a data collection model to provide valid and reliable information about the content knowledge, pedagogical competence, and effectiveness of graduates from the various kinds of teacher preparation programs. Federal and state policy makers need reliable, outcomes-based information to make sound decisions, and teacher educators need to know how best to contribute to the development of effective teachers. Clearer understanding of the content and character of effective teacher preparation is critical to improving it and to ensuring that the same critiques and questions are not being repeated 10 years from now."

MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Professional Development
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20869


C. "Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups," National Center for Education Statistics, July 2010.

"The Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups report examines educational progress and challenges in the United States by race and ethnicity. This report shows that over time, the numbers in each race/ethnicity who have completed high school and continued their education in college have increased. Despite these gains, the rate of progress has varied. Differences on key indicators of educational background, performance, and attainment persist among the various races and ethnicities studied. "

MSPnet Location: LIBRARY>>Ed Change & Policy
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/20868


3. ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Your comments requested on Draft Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards

NRC welcomes comments until August 2nd on Draft Conceptual Framework for New Science Education Standards.

The National Research Council (NRC) Board on Science Education released a draft conceptual framework for new science education standards. The 190-page document lays the foundation for what core science ideas, cross-cutting concepts, and scientific practices all students need to succeed in science, and is the first major step in the development of the next generation of science standards. Science educators and other stakeholders have until August 2 to review and comment on the framework. With funding from the Carnegie Corporation, a committee of experts developed the draft framework and is currently gathering feedback from a broad range of stakeholders. The revised framework will be released publicly later this winter. The framework will then be used as the basis for writing new science education standards, a process that will be led by Achieve. Review and comment on the Draft Framework, which is open for public comments until August 2.

MSPnet Location: EVENTS>>Announcements
http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/announce/id-141