AN IDEAL TQ DATA SYSTEM - THIRD WAVE ELEMENTS

The third wave of data is typically even more difficult to collect than the data in the first and second waves.  Data in this wave includes information on professional development, mentoring and induction, census data, population projections, exit surveys, instructional logs, observations.

Professional Development

A number of states have moved away from lifetime teaching certificates to temporary certificates.  States are typically requiring teachers complete a set number of hours of professional development in order to renew such temporary certificates.  SEAs should collect data on not only the basic number of professional development hours completed, but also information about the type, timing, and perceived efficacy of such professional development.  At the very least, teachers could be asked about the number of hours of professional development taken, the areas in which they believe they need more help, the professional development that actually led to changes in teaching behavior, and whether the changes in teaching behavior are perceived to positively affect student achievement. The Center for Teaching Quality has recently conducted such surveys as part of their larger working conditions surveys.

Mentoring and Induction

Recent research has shown that mentoring and induction programs are associated with increased rates of retention for beginning teachers.  As Smith and Ingersoll (2005) point out, not all mentoring and induction programs have the same effect.  Indeed, they conclude that only programs with certain characteristics have a positive effect on retention. 

While preparation programs and school districts could collect information on mentoring and induction programs, collecting the data statewide would make more sense.  An ideal situation would have districts describing their mentoring and induction program and providing a list of participants (both mentors and mentees).  The participant lists could then be collected by the state and surveys invitations could be emailed to participants.  The surveys would assess the details of the mentoring and induction program as well as participants’ perceptions of the efficacy of the different facets of the programs.

The Center for Teaching Quality is working with the Portland (OR) Public Schools and the Portland Schools Foundation in conducting surveys and focus groups on the quality of new teacher induction and mentoring, and as such, has created a range of instruments that could be used.

The New Teacher Center (NTC) at the University of California-Santa Cruz offers the most comprehensive and successful induction and mentoring program in the nation. The NTC research division conducts studies related to mentoring and the first two years of a teacher’s or principal’s careers. Papers can be downloaded through the Network of Researchers on Teacher Induction and at http://www.newteachercenter.org/research_articles.php.

Census Data

Census data is available from the US Census Bureau.  For research purposes, different organizations may be interested in the education level of households in particular zip codes. Understanding the effects of teachers and teacher education on student achievement may require a deeper understanding of the communities in which teachers teach and students learn.

Population projections

Population projections are also available from the US Census Bureau.  Population projections can assist preparation programs and school districts in predicting future enrollment and the need for teachers based on student enrollment.

Exit Surveys

While SEAs and preparation programs may have objective characteristics of teachers that may help explain attrition or mobility, surveys of teachers actually leaving the profession provide important information about the reasons teachers provide for why they leave the profession or move to another school.  Such information can assist preparation programs and school districts in their efforts to improve their programs aimed at preparing and retaining teachers. 

Instructional Logs

Both teacher preparation programs and school districts could collect instructional logs.  At the preparation program level, instructors could keep logs about the details of the daily classroom activities.  This information could then be linked to the test scores of graduates/completers as well as to the perceptions of graduates/completers about the strengths and weaknesses of their program.

At the school district level, districts could collect teachers’ instructional logs as a way to determine the different knowledge and skills taught in the classroom.  This data could be linked to data on professional development activities as well as to teacher preparation program data as a way to ensure that teachers receive the appropriate training and to determine whether preparation programs and professional development activities are penetrating into the classroom.

Classroom Observations

As with instructional logs, classroom observations could be conducted at both the teacher preparation level and the K-12 classroom level.  Moreover, the data collected could be utilized in the same way as the data garnered from the instructional logs.

Last updated: March 17, 2006