Summary
Evaluators face serious challenges assessing the impact of teaching practice on student outcomes, such as for assessing the impact of grant-funded teacher training programs. To overcome these barriers, the evaluators of an NSF-funded teacher scholarship/fellowship program elected to coach teachers on conducting their own evaluations of student outcomes. To facilitate this process, we collaboratively developed templates and guidance for teachers’ measurement and reporting of student growth, provided training and technical assistance as teachers prepared student outcome data, and guided teachers in reflecting on results to improve their practice. The evaluators then aggregated the participating fellows’ student outcome reports to assess the program’s overall impact. We discuss challenges that prompted the approach, explain how we improved it over time, and reflect on strengths and shortcomings. Beyond contributing to summative program evaluation, this model for teacher self-evaluation enhanced participating teachers’ capacity for self-reflection and ability to continuously improve their teaching practice beyond the fellowship.
Authors
Steven W. Mumford, Kathryn Newcomer
Organization/Affiliation
University of New Orleans, George Washington University
Year
Noyce Award Number
1240041Grade Level
Graduate-level (initial teacher preparation), Graduate-level (preparation of individuals already holding a teaching certificate), High School (preparation to teach), Middle School (preparation to teach), Other
Discipline
General, Mathematics, Other, Science
Resource Type
URL
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ps_facpubs/8
Citation
Mumford, S. W., & Newcomer, K. (2019). Promoting STEM teacher reflection through self-evaluation. Political Science Faculty Publications, Paper 8. New Orleans, LA: University of New Orleans ScholarWorks. Accessed at https://scholarworks.uno.edu/ps_facpubs/8.
Content Focus
Assessment, Effectiveness of program graduates, Other, Pedagogy, Research methods, Retention of STEM teachers in high need school districts, Retention, Support, and Tracking of Graduates, Teacher candidate learning—pedagogy