Teachers, Pedagogy and Student Achievement Richard J. Kraft University of Colorado- Boulder World Bank Consultant
Mar 27, 2015
Teachers, Pedagogy and Student Achievement
Richard J. Kraft
University of Colorado-Boulder
World Bank Consultant
Cost-Effective Ranking of Educational Policies by Policy Specialists
(Schiefelbein, Wolff, Schiefelbein, 1998)
40 no or low cost policies for higher student achievement
1. Assign best teachers to first grade2. Do not switch teacher during school year4. Enforce policies on length of school year6. Test 10% of 4th graders-report to teachers9. Revise maths and reading curriculum16. Classroom libraries
The teacher is the key to good schools and high achievement!
Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement
(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)
Factors Studied Significant Effects with Number of Total Analyses
Primary Secondary
Teacher’s length of education
Total years of schooling 9:18 5:8
Tertiary or teacher college 21:37 8:14
In-service teacher training 8:13 3:4
Teacher gender (female) 1:2 2:4
Mr. Mohammed, Outstanding Teacher in Egypt
Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement
(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)
Factors Studied Significant Effects with Number of Total Analyses
Primary Secondary
Teacher subject knowledge
or language proficiency 4:4 ---
Teacher experience 13:23 1:12
Teacher salary level 4:11 2:11
Teacher social class 7:10 ----
Do small or large group pedagogy make a difference?
Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement
(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)
Classroom pedagogy and organization Primary
SecondaryInstructional time 15:17 12:16Active pedagogy 3:8 2:5Frequent monitoring of pupil performance 3:4 0:1Class preparation time 5:8 1:2
Can parents improve schools?Imam-Council President. Women Voting for first time in School Board election-Egypt.
Teacher and Pedagogical Attributes Affecting Student Achievement
(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)
Classroom pedagogy and organization
Primary Secondary
Frequency of homework 9:11 2:2
Teacher efficacy 1:1 0:1
Cooperative-learning
task structure ---- 3:3
PAKEM,CLCC,MBA improve gov’t and religious schools in Indonesia
Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)
“Measures of teacher preparation and certification are by far the strongest correlates of student achievement in reading and mathematics…policies regarding teacher education, licensing, hiring and professional development may make an important difference in the qualifications and capacities that teachers bring to their work.”
Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)
“Teacher effectiveness is a strong determinant of class differences in student learning, far outweighing the effects of differences in class size and heterogeneity. Students who are assigned to several ineffective teachers in a row have significantly lower achievement and gains.”
Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)
Factors: Teacher Performance/Student Achievement
Variable Research Results
a. Teacher Intelligence Low or insignificant
b. Verbal ability More sensitive measure
c. Subject Knowledge Mixed results
d. Education courses Math/science positive
e. Year’s experience Levels off at 5 yrs.
f. Licensing Positive/mixed
Does the form of pedagogy affect student achievement?
Teacher Quality and Student Achievement (Darling-Hammond, 2000)
Factors: Teacher Performance/Student Achievement
Variable Research Results
f. Flexibility, creativity positive
g. Clarity, enthusiasm positive
h. Task-oriented behavior positive
i. Variability of lessons positive
j. Teaching repertoire (experience and skill based, direct and indirect, lecture and small group instruction)
Some Key Lessons on Teachers and Student Achievement
Subject and Age Appropriate PedagogyTime: Full school year and school day
Time on task Teachers-students on time and controlled absences
Best teachers in early gradesMaster reading, writing and maths in early gradesClass and school libraries, laboratories actually usedActive, creative, higher order thinking and questioning,
experimentation, experiential, skill based teachingParental support and a “reading culture”Nutrition and FeedingEarly Childhood EducationTeachers-Teaching-Teachers, Observation of Other Classes,
Does mass testing make a difference in student achievement?
Teachers and Student Achievement (AERA, 2004)
Exemplary Pre-school and Kindergarten Programmes
Catholic Sister’s Programme------------Eritrea
Universal Kindergarten/Pre-school------Chile
Head Start---------------------------------------U.S.
Infant Schools-----------------------Great Britain
Early Childhood Teacher Training----Canada
Is early childhood education important for later achievement?
Do parent and community involvement affect student
achievement?
Exemplary Primary School Programmes-Student AchievementEscuela Nueva (New School)--Latin America
Breakthrough to Literacy -----S. and E. Africa
Primary Reading Programme--------Zambia
PAKEM/CLCC---------------------------Indonesia
New Schools Project------------------------Egypt
Fé y Alegría-------------------------Latin America
SEQIP-------------------------------------Indonesia
New Schools Project-Egypt
Do service learning and peer tutoring make a difference?
Exemplary Secondary School Programmes-Student AchievementLesson Study----------------------------------------JapanDon Bosco Vocational Schools----------- WorldwideEDUCO-------------------------------------------HondurasService Learning---------------Argentina, U.S., ChinaMiddle Schools-------------------------------OECD, U.S.Apprenticeships-----------------------Germany, JapanLanguages------------------Netherlands, ScandinaviaTextbooks----------------------------------------SingaporeTeachers Training Teachers(TTT)---Cuba, Lat.Am.
Does Class Size affect Student Achievement?
Do desks and textbooks affect achievement?
Do curriculum guides make a difference?
School Inputs Affecting Student Achievement
(Adapted from Fuller and Clarke, 1994)
Factors Significant Effects with Number of Total Analyses
Primary Secondary Class Size 9:26 2:22Textbooks 19:26 7:13School Library 16:18 3:4Science Laboratories 5:12 1:1Nutrition and Feeding 7:8 1:1Expenditure per pupil 3:6 3:5
Does infrastructure affect quality of schooling?
Do you need a classroom or a building to have a school?
Do class or school libraries make a difference in student achievement?
Pre-Service Teacher Education Entrance Criteria
Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Rep. of China National written examinations for entrance
GermanyNational oral and written examinations for entrance
France, New Zealand, Canada, U.S.A. and JapanInstitutions set own entrance criteria
Pre-Service Teacher Education Programmes: Degree level
Canada, U.S.A., Japan
Bachelor’s degree or fifth year program for both primary and secondary teachers
Australia, New Zealand Indonesia, and Hong Kong (recent)
Upgrading primary teachers to bachelor’s degree
Pre-Service Teacher Education Programs-Subject Concentrations
Many countries have primary education as a subject concentration
Canadian provinces and China Taipei
One subject concentration for primary
Hong Kong and Germany
Two subject concentrations for primary
Secondary teachers worldwide have one or two subject concentrations
Do practical experiences make a difference for new teachers?
Pre-Service Student Teaching
Full-year internship--France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Taiwan
Two year internship/courses----Germany
One-Semester----------------------U.S.
One week or less---------------Many in Egypt
Exemplary Pre-Service Teacher Education Programmes
Botswana: University-Based Excellence,
Train TTC Instructors, Tied to school curriculum
Pakistan-Mobile Teacher Training Unit-Girls
Chile, U.S.-Theory and Practice, Early Childhood, Accreditation (NCATE)
Bangladesh-BRAC, Community Women
Great Britain -Open University
Exemplary In-Service, Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Sri Lanka-Cost effective 9:1 ratio university or normal school based versus distance learning
Egypt and Others -Teacher & Supervisor Standards
Uganda- Clinical Supervision
Japan-Lesson Study
Latin America- Teachers-Training-Teachers
Betty JawokoClinical Supervision, Uganda
Student Achievement
Singapore, Hong Kong, China-Taiwan, Japan, and Korea
High student achievement on most international examinations-teacher role in student achievement under study
Research on Teaching
United States
School-based research by university researchers
Action-research by classroom teachers
Oscar Mogollón, ColombiaFounder, New School’s Movement
Exemplary Programme I(Kraft, 1999, Schiefelbein, 2001)
Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Peru, Uganda
New Schools (Escuela Nueva)
1. Democratic Education and Student Leadership2. Community Involvement and Shared Decision
Making3. Empowered Teacher Authors and Trainers4. Continuous Assessment and Flexible Promotion5. Individualized and Small Group Instruction
Exemplary Programme I
6. Cultural Sensitivity and Local Content7. Active Learning and Teacher
Facilitators8. Learning Centers and Classroom
Libraries9. Student Workbooks and Teacher
Handbooks10. Local Control and National Commitment
Median Scores on the First International Comparative Study (UNESCO/OREALC), 1998
Colombia
Urban Rural
Language Math Language Math
228 235 234 245
Frances Sampa, ZambiaDirector, Primary Reading Prog.
Exemplary Programme II(Sampa, 2005)
ZambiaPrimary Reading Programme (Breakthrough to Literacy)
Literacy training-language experience
Mother tongue and English
Teacher workbooks
Student writing
Grade 1 surpass Grade 5: 700% gain 1 year
Primary Reading Programme E. and S. Africa-Uganda, Zambia
Exemplary Programme III(Gasparini, 2000)
Cuba
Teacher empowerment
School competition
Local curriculum development
High student achievement
Median Scores on the First International Comparative Study (UNESCO/OREALC), 1998
• Country Language Math
• Cuba 343 351
• Argentina 263 251
• Chile 259 242
• Brazil 256 247
• Honduras 216 218
Exemplary Programme IVJapan-Lesson Study
(Lewis, 2002)
Increased student autonomy and initiative, and close observation of student learning and needs
Learning how to learn, problem solvingTeaching for understanding of imp’t subjectsTeachers jointly plan research lessonsStudent co-operative learning, engagementFocus on academic outcomesContent chosen to meet student needsShared observation of live lessons
My Favorite School!Jardin de Niños El Simiente
(Adapted from Bernbaum and Kraft, 2002)
Multigrade (3 teachers for 8 grades), creative leadership, Montessori, Escuela Nueva, manipulatives, garden, fish pond, 5000 tree nursery, handicapped accessible, dance troupe, band, hundreds of books, read 1 book per day per student, typewriters, active science, founded jr. secondary, student work, parental involvement, workshops for other teachers, clean but minimal infrastructure