Teachers, Pedagogy and Student Achievement

Richard J. Kraft

University of Colorado-Boulder

World Bank Consultant

Cost-Effective Ranking of Educational Policies by Policy Specialists

(Schiefelbein, Wolff, Schiefelbein, 1998)

40 no or low cost policies for higher student achievement

1. Assign best teachers to first grade2. Do not switch teacher during school year4. Enforce policies on length of school year6. Test 10% of 4th graders-report to teachers9. Revise maths and reading curriculum16. Classroom libraries

The teacher is the key to good schools and high achievement!

Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement

(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)

Factors Studied Significant Effects with Number of Total Analyses

Primary Secondary

Teacher’s length of education

Total years of schooling 9:18 5:8

Tertiary or teacher college 21:37 8:14

In-service teacher training 8:13 3:4

Teacher gender (female) 1:2 2:4

Mr. Mohammed, Outstanding Teacher in Egypt

Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement

(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)

Factors Studied Significant Effects with Number of Total Analyses

Primary Secondary

Teacher subject knowledge

or language proficiency 4:4 ---

Teacher experience 13:23 1:12

Teacher salary level 4:11 2:11

Teacher social class 7:10 ----

Do small or large group pedagogy make a difference?

Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement

(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)

Classroom pedagogy and organization Primary

SecondaryInstructional time 15:17 12:16Active pedagogy 3:8 2:5Frequent monitoring of pupil performance 3:4 0:1Class preparation time 5:8 1:2

Can parents improve schools?Imam-Council President. Women Voting for first time in School Board election-Egypt.

Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement

(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)

Classroom pedagogy and organization

Primary Secondary

Frequency of homework 9:11 2:2

Teacher efficacy 1:1 0:1

Cooperative-learning

task structure ---- 3:3

PAKEM,CLCC,MBA improve gov’t and religious schools in Indonesia

Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)

“Measures of teacher preparation and certification are by far the strongest correlates of student achievement in reading and mathematics…policies regarding teacher education, licensing, hiring and professional development may make an important difference in the qualifications and capacities that teachers bring to their work.”

Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)

“Teacher effectiveness is a strong determinant of class differences in student learning, far outweighing the effects of differences in class size and heterogeneity. Students who are assigned to several ineffective teachers in a row have significantly lower achievement and gains.”

Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)

Factors: Teacher Performance/Student Achievement

Variable Research Results

a. Teacher Intelligence Low or insignificant

b. Verbal ability More sensitive measure

c. Subject Knowledge Mixed results

d. Education courses Math/science positive

e. Year’s experience Levels off at 5 yrs.

f. Licensing Positive/mixed

Does the form of pedagogy affect student achievement?

Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)

Factors: Teacher Performance/Student Achievement

Variable Research Results

f. Flexibility, creativity positive

g. Clarity, enthusiasm positive

h. Task-oriented behavior positive

i. Variability of lessons positive

j. Teaching repertoire (experience and skill based, direct and indirect, lecture and small group instruction)

Some Key Lessons on Teachers and Student Achievement

Subject and Age Appropriate PedagogyTime: Full school year and school day

Time on task Teachers-students on time and controlled absences

Best teachers in early gradesMaster reading, writing and maths in early gradesClass and school libraries, laboratories actually usedActive, creative, higher order thinking and questioning,

experimentation, experiential, skill based teachingParental support and a “reading culture”Nutrition and FeedingEarly Childhood EducationTeachers-Teaching-Teachers, Observation of Other Classes,

Does mass testing make a difference in student achievement?

Teachers and Student Achievement (AERA, 2004)

Exemplary Pre-school and Kindergarten Programmes

Catholic Sister’s Programme------------Eritrea

Universal Kindergarten/Pre-school------Chile

Head Start---------------------------------------U.S.

Infant Schools-----------------------Great Britain

Early Childhood Teacher Training----Canada

Is early childhood education important for later achievement?

Do parent and community involvement affect student

achievement?

Exemplary Primary School Programmes-Student AchievementEscuela Nueva (New School)--Latin America

Breakthrough to Literacy -----S. and E. Africa

Primary Reading Programme--------Zambia

PAKEM/CLCC---------------------------Indonesia

New Schools Project------------------------Egypt

Fé y Alegría-------------------------Latin America

SEQIP-------------------------------------Indonesia

New Schools Project-Egypt

Do service learning and peer tutoring make a difference?

Exemplary Secondary School Programmes-Student AchievementLesson Study----------------------------------------JapanDon Bosco Vocational Schools----------- WorldwideEDUCO-------------------------------------------HondurasService Learning---------------Argentina, U.S., ChinaMiddle Schools-------------------------------OECD, U.S.Apprenticeships-----------------------Germany, JapanLanguages------------------Netherlands, ScandinaviaTextbooks----------------------------------------SingaporeTeachers Training Teachers(TTT)---Cuba, Lat.Am.

Does Class Size affect Student Achievement?

Do desks and textbooks affect achievement?

Do curriculum guides make a difference?

School Inputs Affecting Student Achievement

(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)

Factors Significant Effects with Number of Total Analyses

Primary Secondary Class Size 9:26 2:22Textbooks 19:26 7:13School Library 16:18 3:4Science Laboratories 5:12 1:1Nutrition and Feeding 7:8 1:1Expenditure per pupil 3:6 3:5

Does infrastructure affect quality of schooling?

Do you need a classroom or a building to have a school?

Do class or school libraries make a difference in student achievement?

Pre-Service Teacher Education Entrance Criteria

Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Rep. of China National written examinations for entrance

GermanyNational oral and written examinations for entrance

France, New Zealand, Canada, U.S.A. and JapanInstitutions set own entrance criteria

Pre-Service Teacher Education Programmes: Degree level

Canada, U.S.A., Japan

Bachelor’s degree or fifth year program for both primary and secondary teachers

Australia, New Zealand Indonesia, and Hong Kong (recent)

Upgrading primary teachers to bachelor’s degree

Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs-Subject Concentrations

Many countries have primary education as a subject concentration

Canadian provinces and China Taipei

One subject concentration for primary

Hong Kong and Germany

Two subject concentrations for primary

Secondary teachers worldwide have one or two subject concentrations

Do practical experiences make a difference for new teachers?

Pre-Service Student Teaching

Full-year internship--France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Taiwan

Two year internship/courses----Germany

One-Semester----------------------U.S.

One week or less---------------Many in Egypt

Exemplary Pre-Service Teacher Education Programmes

Botswana: University-Based Excellence,

Train TTC Instructors, Tied to school curriculum

Pakistan-Mobile Teacher Training Unit-Girls

Chile, U.S.-Theory and Practice, Early Childhood, Accreditation (NCATE)

Bangladesh-BRAC, Community Women

Great Britain -Open University

Exemplary In-Service, Continuous Professional Development (CPD)

Sri Lanka-Cost effective 9:1 ratio university or normal school based versus distance learning

Egypt and Others -Teacher & Supervisor Standards

Uganda- Clinical Supervision

Japan-Lesson Study

Latin America- Teachers-Training-Teachers

Betty JawokoClinical Supervision, Uganda

Student Achievement

Singapore, Hong Kong, China-Taiwan, Japan, and Korea

High student achievement on most international examinations-teacher role in student achievement under study

Research on Teaching

United States

School-based research by university researchers

Action-research by classroom teachers

Oscar Mogollón, ColombiaFounder, New School’s Movement

Exemplary Programme I(Kraft, 1999, Schiefelbein, 2001)

Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Uganda

New Schools (Escuela Nueva)

1. Democratic Education and Student Leadership2. Community Involvement and Shared Decision

Making3. Empowered Teacher Authors and Trainers4. Continuous Assessment and Flexible Promotion5. Individualized and Small Group Instruction

Exemplary Programme I

6. Cultural Sensitivity and Local Content7. Active Learning and Teacher

Facilitators8. Learning Centers and Classroom

Libraries9. Student Workbooks and Teacher

Handbooks10. Local Control and National Commitment

Median Scores on the First International Comparative Study (UNESCO/OREALC), 1998

Colombia

Urban Rural

Language Math Language Math

228 235 234 245

Frances Sampa, ZambiaDirector, Primary Reading Prog.

Exemplary Programme II(Sampa, 2005)

ZambiaPrimary Reading Programme (Breakthrough to Literacy)

Literacy training-language experience

Mother tongue and English

Teacher workbooks

Student writing

Grade 1 surpass Grade 5: 700% gain 1 year

Primary Reading Programme E. and S. Africa-Uganda, Zambia

Exemplary Programme III(Gasparini, 2000)

Cuba

Teacher empowerment

School competition

Local curriculum development

High student achievement

Median Scores on the First International Comparative Study (UNESCO/OREALC), 1998

• Country Language Math

• Cuba 343 351

• Argentina 263 251

• Chile 259 242

• Brazil 256 247

• Honduras 216 218

Exemplary Programme IVJapan-Lesson Study

(Lewis, 2002)

Increased student autonomy and initiative, and close observation of student learning and needs

Learning how to learn, problem solvingTeaching for understanding of imp’t subjectsTeachers jointly plan research lessonsStudent co-operative learning, engagementFocus on academic outcomesContent chosen to meet student needsShared observation of live lessons

My Favorite School!Jardin de Niños El Simiente

(Adapted from Bernbaum and Kraft, 2002)

Multigrade (3 teachers for 8 grades), creative leadership, Montessori, Escuela Nueva, manipulatives, garden, fish pond, 5000 tree nursery, handicapped accessible, dance troupe, band, hundreds of books, read 1 book per day per student, typewriters, active science, founded jr. secondary, student work, parental involvement, workshops for other teachers, clean but minimal infrastructure