A number of larger projects that include multiple states and multiple years are described below:
Evaluating Professional Development in Math & Science Partnerships through SEC
GOALS AND DESIGN OF STUDY. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), has been awarded a grant under the Goal 3 program. We have launched a three-year empirical study to test an objective, reliable methodology for measuring the effects of professional development on improving instruction in mathematics and science education. Specifically, the study is driven by three primary research questions:
- To what extent is the quality of the professional development (defined broadly) supported by MSP activities consistent with research-based definitions of quality?
- What effects do teachers' professional development experiences have on instructional practices and content taught in math and science classes? Are high-quality professional development activities more likely than lower-quality activities to increase the alignment of instructional content with state standards and assessments?
- How can MSP projects use study findings to improve professional development and the content and instruction of mathematics and science classes?
The Surveys of Enacted Curriculum in math and science are a primary tool in the MSP PS Study for measuring the effects of Professional development on improvement in instructional practices in relation to state standards. In cooperation with AIR, the study team developed a professional development log system through the web for tracing activities of teachers. The study is being conducted with five MSP projects across the country.
Year 2 Progress Report of Longitudinal Study (2004)
Indicators of Quality of Teacher Professional Development and Instructional Change Using Data from Surveys of Enacted Curriculum: Findings from NSF MSP-RETA Project, John Smithson & Rolf Blank, CCSSO, January 2006.
MSP/RETA Workshop on Use of Online, Web-based Tools for Evaluation
Workshop Agenda
Study of MSP Professional Development; Intro to SEC and PDAL Tools
Professional Development Activity Log
Prior Research on Quality Factors in Professional Development
Smithson Presentation
Garet Presentation
Jacobson Presentation
Yoon Presentation
Study Design
Project Brochure
2-Page Description of Study
PowerPoint Description
Products from Study
Presentations: Data Tools and Evaluation of Professional Development, AERA 2005
SEC Math Survey, Science Survey (both have new professional Developments items)
Professional Development Activity Log--CD with tutorial and access (by request)
AERA presentation, April 2004
Baseline Survey Data Summary/Year 1
Charts: Professional Development Activities of Middle Grades Math and Science Teachers (SEC, Year 1 of Study)
Project Contacts
Math & Science Partnership Study under NSF/RETA Grant
Improving Instruction with Use of Data on Enacted Curriculum
CCSSO led a three-year experimental-design study supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to test the effects of the use of Data on Enacted Curriculum (DEC) in improving instruction in math and science education. The project involved 40 middle schools in five large urban districts. The steps in the study design were
- collect enacted curriculum data from all math and science teachers
- report data on instruction to half the schools using SEC graphs friendly and content maps
- provide professional development and technical assistance to schools
- follow-up survey with all schools and teachers
- measure change in instruction by comparing two groups of schools
The goal of the study was to determine whether the Surveys of Enacted Curriculum model is an effective tool for assisting teachers and schools in improving instruction. The study tested the concept of "data-driven reform" with use of data on both student achievement as well as current instructional practices and content. See the study design summary for more information.
The DEC project was led by Rolf Blank Director of Education Indicators at CCSSO. The research activities were led by Andrew Porter and John Smithson at Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). The professional development and technical assistance component was led by Mark Kaufman and Diana Nunnaley of the Regional Alliance for Mathematics and Science Education/TERC (Cambridge, Mass.). The collaborating districts for the project were Chicago, Miami-Dade, Philadelphia,Charlotte-Mecklenburg, and Winston-Salem. Further information available on the DEC website.
Data On Enacted Curriculum Study: Summary of Findings (2004). R.K. Blank & DEC Project Team, CCSSO, Washington, DC. $10 (Paper from "Experimental Design Study of Effectiveness of DEC Professional Development Model in Urban Middle Schools," under grant from National Science Foundation, EHR/ROLE Program)
Model for improvement developed through DEC project
Project Contacts
Development of Surveys and Data Reporting and Study of State Initiatives
CCSSO and WCER recently completed a study of the effects of state initiatives in math and science education, using the surveys of enacted curriculum as primary tools for data collection and analysis. Over 600 teachers across 11 states completed self-report surveys that covered the subject content they taught and the instructional practices they used in their classes. The goals of the project were to
- measure differences in instructional practices and curriculum content among teachers and schools
- determine if there are differences in math and science teaching that are related to state policy initiatives and state standards
- develop survey instruments, field test surveys of enacted curriculum to analyze classroom practices across multiple states and districts, and develop methods of reliably reporting data that are useful to educators.
State education specialists and researchers collaborated to develop survey instruments that would gather reliable data from teachers and students, as well as formats for reporting survey results that would communicate key findings to educators. The project was supported by a a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The final project report, New Tools for Analyzing Teaching, Curriculum and Standards in Mathematics & Science (2001), describes advances in survey methods and analyses of enacted curriculum data. It highlights central findings of the research and demonstrates applications of the surveys and data reporting for improvement of instruction, An initial study report, Using Data on Enacted Curriculum in Mathematics & Science (2000) provides examples of how the data on enacted curriculum can be reported and used by educators. |
Aligning Instruction to Standards and Assessment for English Language Learners
