Results of a Study of a Teaching-Credential Program's Impact on Recent Graduates (original) (raw)

During the 2006-07 school year, the TNE Evidence Committee conducted an evaluative study of the impact of a Department of Secondary Education (SED) teaching-credential program. The specifics: Research Questions  To what degree do new credential-program graduates implement CSUN-identified effective teaching practices in their classrooms?  What factors facilitate or impede implementation of pedagogies taught in the credential program?  Future question: Is the program improving over the years in terms of this implementation? Participants  All 1 st and 2 nd-year fulltime secondary math teachers who earned CSUN Traditional Single-Subject Math credentials from Fall 2004 to Spring 2006, and who agreed to be observed Methods  Collaborative development with key SED personnel of a structured protocol for classroom observations (the "tool") to detect the presence/significance of research-based "effective practices"  Collection of written background information from each participant prior to observation  1 period-long observation of each participant, using the "tool"  Audiotaped interview of each participant immediately after each observed lesson  A second observation and interview of some participants Data Analysis  % of time spent per teaching mode total (i.e., breakdown of the average lesson)  Significance of each effective practice in the lessons overall  [Add brief description of qualitative analysis]