Halt Certification: Reducing The Workload, Increasing The Rigour And Cutting The Cost, Lawrence Ingvarson, Hilary Hollingsworth

Teacher workforce and careers

In December 2022, federal, state and territory education ministers released a National Teacher Workforce Action Plan to improve teacher supply and retention in the profession. While recognising the important role that Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher (HALT) certification could play, the plan also recognised that the current approach to certification was cumbersome for teachers and called for it to be ‘streamlined’. At the request of the education ministers, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has produced a revised Framework for the Certification of HALT Teachers. Guided by the Framework, certifying authorities across state and territory school systems …

School Improvement Tool: A Summary Of The Underpinning Research, Christina Rogers, Fabienne Van Der Kleij, Pauline Taylor-Guy

School and system improvement

In 2023, ACER published the School Improvement Tool (SIT), the second iteration of the National School Improvement Tool (NSIT). A comprehensive review of international research was undertaken to inform the development of the SIT which consists of nine inter-related domains that describe the practices of highly effective schools and leaders. This document provides a summary of research evidence that underpins each of the nine domains of the SIT. Acknowledging interdependencies between domains, it presents a narrative of key evidence and research-based considerations for each domain. Further detail about the evidence for each domain can be found in the School Improvement …

School Improvement Tool: Literature Review, Fabienne Van Der Kleij, Pauline Taylor-Guy, Christina Rogers

School and system improvement

The School Improvement Tool identifies practices of highly effective schools and schools which have undergone substantial improvement, based on evidence from the international literature. It is made up of nine inter-related domains, or areas of practice. This literature review presents a thematic synthesis of the research evidence across the nine domains of the School Improvement Tool. This review underpinned the development of the School Improvement Tool, as the Second iteration of the National School Improvement Tool.

Teacher Development Multi-Year Studies. Insights On The Challenges Of Data Availability For Measuring And Reporting On Student Learning Outcomes, Elizabeth Cassity, Debbie Wong

Education Analytics Service

Student learning outcomes are an important source of evidence regarding improved teaching quality. A multi-year teacher development study series was commissioned by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to investigate teacher development initiatives in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. The overall aim of the study series is to understand the extent to which the Australian investment has improved teaching quality and student learning. This paper outlines the different approaches to sourcing and using data in each country context, and then presents initial insights about the challenges associated with the limited availability of data …

Teacher Development Multi-Year Studies. Using Case Studies To Investigate And Understand Teaching Quality And Student Learning: Initial Lessons Learned, Jennie Chainey, Debbie Wong, Elizabeth Cassity, Hilary Hollingsworth

Education Analytics Service

This paper presents some initial lessons learned about the use of case studies as a key form of evidence regarding teaching quality and student learning in a multi-year teacher development study series. This study series, commissioned by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), involves the investigation of teacher development initiatives in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos), Timor-Leste and Vanuatu. The overall aim of the study series is to understand the extent to which the Australian investment has improved teaching quality and student learning. This paper discusses the processes used to design, implement, analyse and report case …

Understanding How Covid-19 Has Changed Teachers’ Chances Of Remaining In The Classroom, Gema Zamarro, Andrew Camp, Dillon Fuchsman, Josh B. Mcgee

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

The 2020-2021 academic year was a year like no other. After nationwide school closures during the spring of 2020, schools reopened in the fall of 2020 using combinations of in-person, hybrid, and remote learning models. Teachers had to adapt to unexpected conditions, teaching in unprecedented ways, using synchronous and asynchronous instruction, while also being challenged to establish connections with students, families, and colleagues. Health concerns added to the mix as some teachers went back to in-person education during the height of the pandemic. As a result, teachers' levels of stress and burnout have been high throughout these unusual pandemic times …

Professional Learning Modes. Literature Review, Anna Dabrowski, Pru Mitchell

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

This literature review summarises evidence from education research to describe and compare different modes of professional learning. It applies the findings to the question: ‘what works best, and for whom’ in terms of modes of professional learning for Australian teachers, with particular focus on early childhood teachers, casual relief teachers and teachers in rural and remote teaching contexts. A key professional learning challenge common to these teachers is isolation – which can be physical, pedagogical, technological and/or social isolation. The review sought to identify research on modes of professional learning and in particular any studies that compared different modes of …

Teaching And Learning International Survey, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) gathers data about school teaching environments from teachers and school leaders, in close to 50 countries in its most recent cycle. TALIS is a tool to assist educational reformers to improve the quality of teaching. TALIS data is based on the opinions, perceptions, beliefs and accounts of teachers and school leaders, as reported by them in a self-completion questionnaire. This publication, presents an overview of TALIS and covers its origins and context, purpose, measurement objectives, background information collection, target population and sampling methodology, assessment administration, reporting and dissemination and influence.

Ready To Engage? Urban Middle School Teachers’ Responsiveness To Targeted Engagement Interventions On Their Virtual Instructional Practices: An Action Research Study, Svetlana Nikic

Dissertations

Teachers’ effectiveness is associated with their instructional practices and is ultimately linked to students’ learning outcomes. In order to impact teachers’ effectiveness, schools focus substantial effort and resources on professional development led by an assumption that teachers’ classroom practices can be improved through targeted interventions. Even if this premise is correct, little information is available about how much a teacher’s practice may change through interventions, or which aspects of instructional practice are more receptive to improving teacher effectiveness (Garret et al., 2019).

This study took place at an urban middle school and examined teachers’ responsiveness to targeted engagement intervention in …

Predictive Measures Of Teacher Effectiveness During Student Teaching, Kristen M. Carlson

The Interactive Journal of Global Leadership and Learning

The student teaching semester of a teacher candidates career is performative in the need to impress a university supervisor, cooperating teacher, and pass any licensure required assessments. Two data collection points during this semester are from a required performance assessment (edTPA) and a perception survey (CM Exit). This article reviews the predictive validity of the two tools based on three years worth of data from one mid-sized, Midwestern teacher preparation program.

Teacher Wellbeing During A Pandemic: Surviving Or Thriving?, Anna Dabrowski

Teacher workforce and careers

As cases of COVID-19 surge across the world, research has begun to emerge which considers the implications of school lockdowns on student learning, engagement, and achievement. Yet as face-to-face teaching and learning recommences, it is not only students who will need help adjusting to "the new normal". While 2020 has seen a dramatic increase in the workload of teachers, many of whom have negotiated a continuity of learning in adverse circumstances, we must remember that long before COVID-19 disrupted schools, teachers were already at risk of burnout. The novel coronavirus has further exacerbated the stresses facing teachers, and as countries …

Quality Control And Teacher Effectiveness In State Public Senior Secondary Schools, Nigeria, Stephen Olufemi Alfolabi, Abdulrasaq Ayuba

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The study investigated the relationship between quality control and teacher effectiveness in Nigerian Public Senior Secondary Schools using Kwara State as a case study. Forty Public Senior Secondary Schools out of 305 representing 36% were randomly selected while 440 teachers out of 1,207 representing 37% were proportionally selected using multi-stage sampling technique. The instruments titled “Quality Control Questionnaire” (QCQ) and “Students Academic Performance Profoma” (SAPP) were adopted to elicit data required. Three research questions and operational hypotheses each were generated and analyzed using percentage and regression statistic at 0.05 significant level. Findings of this study revealed that there was a …

Predicting And Perceiving Teacher Effectiveness Of Novice Teachers, Kristen Carlson

Dissertations, Theses, and Projects

“What makes a good teacher” is a question that many people interested in education try to answer, whether they are school administrators, education faculty, parents of a K-12 student, or politicians. For several decades, policy makers have been searching for ways to measure teacher effectiveness, primarily through student standardized assessments. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interested educators and education researchers who are working to find alternative ways to measure teacher effectiveness instead of relying solely on the individual students’ standardized assessment scores. This study sought to predict novice teacher effectiveness through performance assessment and to determine how novice …

The Potential Link Between Teacher Evaluation And Student Achievement, Darrell Stinchcomb

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Abstract

The push for educational accountability and standardization in the United States gained traction with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Uniformity in the curriculum, academic standards, testing, and accountability were some of the requirements that were being touted by politicians, educators, and special interest groups. School districts across the United States were forced to develop systems to prove that teachers were teaching and students were learning. New York State enacted reform legislation under Education Law section 3012-c, which included the Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) to evaluate teachers and principals. One of the components of this evaluation …

Building The Capacity Of Teachers For Supporting 21st-Century Learning, Jenny Gore, Michelle Ware, Sui-Linn White, Lee-Anne Collins, Lloyd Bowen, Carole Hansen

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) was first conceptualised by Julie Bowe and Jenny Gore in 2007. It involves teachers working in professional learning communities (PLCs) to reflect on their classroom practice through the lens of the quality teaching model. This teacher-led process builds capacity for quality teaching with novice and experienced teachers alike. Following a set of protocols and adhering to essential features of the approach, one PLC member teaches a lesson, observed by all others. The lesson is coded individually and then collaboratively analysed, using the shared language of the model. This poster presentation graphically highlights evidence from several research …

The Science Behind The Art Of Teaching: Evaluation As Inspiration, Michele Bruniges Am

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Teachers across Australia inspire students to love learning. Our best teachers are constantly evaluating their impact on learning outcomes and adapting their practice – balancing the art and science of teaching. As we move rapidly towards the third decade of the 21st century, there is more pressure than ever for all teachers to deliver both deep discipline knowledge and the skills students need to survive and thrive in the workplace of the future. We need to use technology and data to support teachers to maximise learning outcomes for their students. This has to be done in a way that helps …

Challenging The Politics Of The Teacher Accountability Movement: Toward A More Hopeful Educational Future

Occasional Paper Series

No abstract provided.

The Preparation And Certification Of School Librarians: Using Causal Educational Research About Teacher Characteristics To Probe Facets Of Effectiveness, Sue C. Kimmel, Marcia A. Mardis, Shana Pribesh, Laura A. Pasquini, Barbara Schultz-Jones, Faye R. Jones, Lois D. Wine, Lenese M. Colson

STEMPS Faculty Publications

How do we define a high-quality school librarian? Decades of educational researchers have attempted to link teacher characteristics—such as how teachers are prepared, which credentials they carry, and years of experience—to student outcomes. These researchers have contended that individual educator attributes may have a direct effect on what and how much their students learn. School librarians are also teachers who have direct student contact, and although numerous studies have indicated that school librarian preparation, licensure, and other background characteristics are promising areas for further direct exploration, researchers have yet to examine if, how, and why school librarians’ certification or preparation …

Using Problems Of Practice To Leverage Clinical Learning, Maika Yeigh

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publications and Presentations

Teacher preparation is a complex endeavor. Preparation programs are designed to transform regular humans into adept teachers through carefully constructed coursework and clinical experiences. University programs and the K-12 school systems both play important roles in the process; however, tensions have persisted between university coursework and clinical field work—a divide between "theoretical" and "clinical". The 2010 NCATE Blue Ribbon Panel Report issued a call to action, and asked teacher preparation programs to reconceptualize approaches to pre-service teacher learning by placing clinical experiences at the heart of the work in an effort to bridge traditional theoretical and clinical divides. This article …

Using Measures Of Quality To Improve The Learning Outcomes Of All Children, Dan Cloney

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

There is compelling evidence that high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs can act to narrow achievement gaps attributed to social inequality. This evidence is typically observed in model programs, designed by experts and offered to vulnerable families outside the market. In everyday settings, where market forces may price families out of certain programs or poor local availability may preclude attendance, ECEC programs do not appear to deliver these significant gains or close these gaps. There is a need to continually improve quality in all ECEC settings to deliver on the potential of early education. It is unclear, however, …

Using Measures Of Quality To Improve The Learning Outcomes Of All Children, Dan Cloney

Dr Dan Cloney

There is compelling evidence that high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs can act to narrow achievement gaps attributed to social inequality. This evidence is typically observed in model programs, designed by experts and offered to vulnerable families outside the market. In everyday settings, where market forces may price families out of certain programs or poor local availability may preclude attendance, ECEC programs do not appear to deliver these significant gains or close these gaps. There is a need to continually improve quality in all ECEC settings to deliver on the potential of early education. It is unclear, however, …

Investigating The Impact Of Student Opt Out On Value-Added Measures Of Teacher Quality, Joshua Marland

Doctoral Dissertations

Student assessment nonparticipation (or opt out) has increased substantially in K-12 schools in states across the country. This increase in opt out has the potential to impact achievement and growth measures used for educator and institutional accountability. This simulation study investigates the extent to which value-added measures of teacher quality are impacted as a result of varying degrees of opt out, as well as various types of nonrandom opt out. Results show that the magnitude of opt out has a greater impact on stability of value-added estimates than the type of nonrandom opt out patterns simulated in this study, with …

A Case Study Of The Implementation And Impact Of The System For Teacher And Student Achievement (Tap), Tyrone D. Burton

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

For many years, educators and researchers have debated over which variables influence student achievement. A growing body of evidence suggests that schools can make a great difference in terms of student achievement, and a substantial portion of that difference is attributed to teachers. (International Institute for Educational Planning, 2004). Specifically, differential teacher effectiveness is a strong determinant of differences in student learning, far outweighing the effects of differences in class size and class heterogeneity (Darling-Hammond, 2000). Students who are assigned to one ineffective teacher after another have significantly lower achievement and learning (that is, gains in achievement) than those who …

Professional Growth: Informal Peer Observation, Carolyn A. Clark

All Theses And Dissertations

The practice of peer observation has recently gained attention as educational and political leaders examine teacher effectiveness. Prior research studies about peer observation were mostly conducted in secondary universities or in schools where this practice was voluntary. Since this practice has recently become mandated, this qualitative case study examined how teachers perceived the experience of informal peer observation in relation to their professional growth. The study was conducted in a Pre-K-8 public school for three months while teachers participated in informal peer observation rounds. When teachers completed their informal peer observation, they filled out the peer observation documentation forms and …

Value Added Models And The Implementation Of The National Standards Of K-12 Physical Education, Clancy M. Seymour, Mark J. Garrison

Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education

The implementation of value-added models of teacher evaluation continue to expand in public education, but the effects of using student test scores to evaluate K-12 physical educators necessitates further discussion. Using the five National Standards for K-12 Physical Education from the Society of Health and Physical Educators America (SHAPE), physical educators in New York State were polled about the most important goals of physical education and how value-added models may be affecting physical education practices. Participants were drawn using a proportionate stratified random sample (n=489). Standard 5 was selected as the most important by 36% of physical educators who responded, …

Investing In Teachers, Adeola Capel, Hilary Hollingsworth, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Alison Lonsdale, Yung Nietschke, Rachel Parker, Kate Reid, Jeaniene Spink, Mollie Tobin, Mary Fearnley-Sander, Jacinta Overs

Dr Kate Reid

This evaluation compares evidence from the literature with Australia’s experience in supporting teacher development in a range of developing countries. It uses case studies to good effect in explaining choices made, the extent to which expectations were or were not met, and the lessons for future Australian assistance for teacher development. The evaluation found mixed results. In cooperation with governments and other donors, Australia has made positive contributions, such as improving teacher frameworks and curriculums, and training teachers through a range of interventions. However, there is room to improve—for example, in enhancing policy, strengthening analysis and negotiating new investments—so teacher …

Investing In Teachers, Adeola Capel, Hilary Hollingsworth, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Alison Lonsdale, Yung Nietschke, Rachel Parker, Kate Reid, Jeaniene Spink, Mollie Tobin, Mary Fearnley-Sander, Jacinta Overs

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

This evaluation compares evidence from the literature with Australia’s experience in supporting teacher development in a range of developing countries. It uses case studies to good effect in explaining choices made, the extent to which expectations were or were not met, and the lessons for future Australian assistance for teacher development. The evaluation found mixed results. In cooperation with governments and other donors, Australia has made positive contributions, such as improving teacher frameworks and curriculums, and training teachers through a range of interventions. However, there is room to improve—for example, in enhancing policy, strengthening analysis and negotiating new investments—so teacher …

Measuring Teacher Effectiveness: A Comparison Across Va Models Utilizing Arkansas Data, Kelli Lane Blackford

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

A shift in accountability systems from No Child Left Behind to a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act redefined the mandate of classroom teachers from being highly qualified to highly effective. Whereas previously, a teacher was deemed highly qualified for having a bachelor’s degree, full state certification, and demonstrated knowledge of subject matter in the field they teach, a highly effective teacher had to demonstrate their abilities to move a student at an acceptable rate of student growth (one grade level in an academic year). To provide this evidence, student assessment data was now going to be a …

The New York State Annual Professional Performance Review And Teacher Morale : Constructive Guidance Or Demoralization?, Joseph William Lloyd

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Recent educational reform efforts such as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the Race to the Top Initiative (RTT) have exhibited a proclivity to use centralized, top-down reform tactics to improve student achievement. The requirement of states to revise their previous teacher evaluation systems, in order to procure funding from the Race to the Top Initiative, represents a signature example of such tactics. Emerging research suggests that these policies may also unintentionally reduce teachers’ autonomy, deteriorate professional interactions, decrease teachers’ sense of worth and subsequently weaken teacher morale. Additional research indicates that early career teachers tend to respond …

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2015), Acer

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

It is indeed timely that Research Conference 2015 addresses the theme Learning Assessments: Designing the future. It is six years since our Research Conference considered issues in assessment, and the landscape is being significantly transformed. Not only is Australia’s school curriculum changing, but related issues of teaching quality and assessment practice are hot topics here and in many other countries. This transforming landscape includes changes in thinking about the fundamental purposes of assessment; growing demands for the assessment of a broader range of student skills and capabilities; and new technologies that allow us to gather and visualise information about student …