Search

We summarize the results of a field scan that set out to describe the current state of math teacher learning and promising future directions for improving math teaching and learning for all learners, particularly those most underestimated by the education system. We share five key learnings: (1) math teacher learning is in a "steady state," where schools and districts generally use three approaches to support math educators: professional learning communities (PLCs), instructional coaching, and professional learning workshops, (2) researchers have not been able to document a strong link between each of these three approaches and teacher and student learning, with the exception of coaching which shows benefits for teachers but not direct evidence of student learning, (3) comprehensive programs that apply several of these approaches simultaneously with sufficient supports can improve math outcomes for students, but gains often dissipate when supports decline, (4) there are a few "points of light" of innovative new approaches including teacher-led learning innovations, teacher pipeline initiatives, practice-embedded models, and digital clinical simulations, and (5) there are opportunities for new initiatives in math education to pay greater attention to the implications for teacher learning. We discuss important critiques of our report and offer a "call to action" for stakeholders in the field.

Interactive simulations allow preservice teachers to connect education theory and pedagogy in scaffolded environments. We created digital simulations with scenarios from in-person simulatio...

In a design-based implementation study, we supported 11 teacher educators from diverse institutions across the country in implementing new approaches to practice-based teacher education. We observed that teacher educators proceeded through a developmental process in implementing new approaches, and we propose the Practice Based Teacher Education (PBTE) Engagement Ladder as a model of this process. Teacher educators proceed through stages of Adoption, Adaptation, and Redesign, as they shift from “off-the-shelf” implementations of PBTE approaches in individual lessons and units, towards more ambitious modifications of courses and eventually, program and curricula. This developmental process of teacher educator learning and change builds on prior research about teacher adoption of technology-enhanced pedagogies. We illustrate this developmental process through a series of case studies, and we conclude with a set of design hypotheses for promoting the adoption of PBTE approaches across the diverse landscape of teacher education.

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Recent studies of massive open online courses (MOOCs) have focused on global providers such as edX, Coursera, and FutureLearn, with less attention to local initiatives that target regional learners. In this study we combine data from the main edX platform and one regional MOOC provider, Edraak in Jordan, to explore differences in learners’ behavior and preferences. We find that regional provider Edraak attracts younger learners, more females and those with lower levels of education compared to global providers. Edraak learners value local courses because they cater to their interests and learning needs. We document our multi-platform learning analytics procedure, where we establish a common data format and script that enables an “apples-to-apples” comparison without exchanging data — a common privacy and data security concern. These findings suggest the potential of this methodological approach to study and learn from regional MOOC providers, particularly around the questions of equity and access in the global MOOC ecosystem.

Using eight waves of longitudinal data on a statewide kindergarten cohort of English learners (ELs), I examined ELs’ tenure in language-learning programs and their academic performance following reclassification as fluent English proficient. I employed discrete-time survival analysis to estimate the average time to and grade of reclassification with and without controlling for socioeconomic status and home language. The average EL exited 3 years after school entry or in second grade; however, the odds that a non-Spanish-speaking EL was reclassified were nearly twice that of their Spanish-speaking EL classmates after controlling for income. Despite reclassification in the early elementary grades, large percentages of the kindergarten cohort experienced later academic difficulties and 22% of the sample was retained in grade.