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19 Jul 2017
Brief

Fostering a New Approach to Research on Teacher Preparation: Results of the First Convening of Researchers, Practitioners, and K–12 Educators

Jenny DeMonte

We know that students learn more when they receive high-quality instruction. We also have findings suggesting that some teacher preparation programs produce graduates that are more capable than others. These two pieces of evidence have led many teacher educators, researchers, and stakeholders to conclude that we need better studies of activities and experiences that are part of teacher preparation to learn about their impact on what teacher candidates know and can do.

To help support the progress toward these kinds of studies, American Institutes for Research brought together 35 researchers, teacher preparation providers, and school leaders to discuss what kind of research designs would help teacher preparation providers improve their programs. They collectively agreed on some key themes to guide study designs—the research should be nuanced, actionable, formative, and contextualized. The themes could inform research designs that can fairly quick lead to findings to inform teacher preparation—findings that are at the right grain-size, and speak directly to what goes on in preparation programs and be useful to providers hoping to improve teacher preparation.

Participants also talked about challenges to conducting research within teacher preparation, and also prioritized some research questions. Prior to the next convening in October 2017, participants will design research that can lead to the kind of findings providers seek to inform improvements in their programs. Participants will share their designs at the meeting and offer feedback to each other. Ultimately, we will report on what took place at the second convening, and offer some recommendations for designing research in teacher preparation.

PDF icon Fostering a New Approach to Research on Teacher Preparation: Results of the First Convening of Researchers, Practitioners, and K–12 Educators (PDF)

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Although there is a growing body of evidence designed to facilitate understanding of teacher preparation, the study outcomes emerge long after teacher candidates have left preparation programs. AIR brought together 35 researchers, teacher preparation providers, and school leaders to discuss what kind of research designs would help teacher preparation providers improve their programs; this report shares the results of this effort.
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DeMonte Jenny_4.jpg

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Can More Data Help Improve Teacher Preparation?

The U.S. Department of Education’s new regulations for teacher preparation programs ask states and organizations that prepare teachers to provide much more data about graduates’ competence, their persistence in the teacher workforce, and their impact on student learning. But is this the right data needed to improve teaching? In this blog post, Jenny DeMonte gives an overview of the new requirements and examines whether they are likely to improve teaching.
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Further Reading

  • New Collaborations, New Approaches: Research for Improvement in Teacher Preparation
  • Better Data May Equal Better Prepared Teachers
  • Preparing and Evaluating Effective Teachers and Leaders
  • It’s 2016: Do You Know Where the Teachers Are?
  • States Can Drive Change to Make Principals Prepared on Day One
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Topic

Education
Teacher Preparation and Performance

RESEARCH. EVALUATION. APPLICATION. IMPACT.

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