Promoting STEM Teacher Reflection through Self-Evaluation

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.