- Year 2024
- NSF Noyce Award # 1852837
- First Name Jamie
- Last Name Gillespie
- Registration Faculty/Administrator/Other
- Discipline Mathematics
- Role Other: Evaluator
- Presenters
Jamie Gillespie, The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, NC State
Need
This evaluation provided formative data to the project leaders for decision-making and improvement of the program. It also assisted the project leaders in meeting the program’s reporting expectations.
Research Questions
*How effective is the program at preparing teachers to be master teachers and leaders? *How well does the Fellows program support its Fellows? *What impact does the Fellows program have on teacher effectiveness? *What impact does the Math Fellows program have on the retention of Fellows in teaching careers?
Approach
This evaluation used a utilization-focused design to collect and analyze data that project leaders needed and could use to make improvements to the program. Data collection included: •Survey – collected annually in the fall regarding the previous year •Classroom observations – completed annually in a rotation of classrooms •Interviews – Fellows were interviewed 3 of the 5 years and their principals were interviewed in year 5 •Completion of NBPTS certification – data collected by the program leaders •Completion of master’s degrees or graduate certificates – data collected by the program leaders. The survey asked Fellows to share their educational opinions, their instructional practices, how prepared they felt to teach specific topics, and what leadership activities they had engaged in. The classroom observations used the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA) to score:•The rigor of the teacher’s questions •The rigor of the instructional tasks •The implementation of the tasks •The amount of student engagement •The quality of the mathematical discussions. In interviews, Fellows were asked how supported they felt by the program, whether they had noticed any changes to their instruction because of their participation, and whether they had noticed any impact of their participation on their students. They were also asked if they planned to stay in teaching.
Outcomes
*50% of Fellows earned NBPTS certification*100% of Fellows earned a Master’s of Mathematics Education or a graduate certificate in Teaching and Learning Mathematics *Increases in Fellows’ participation in leadership activities, including leading professional development in their schools/districts and presenting at conferences*Increases in Fellows’ use of specific instructional practices, including the Effective Mathematics Teaching Practices (NCTM) *Increases in Fellows’ performance on the IQA observation tool, specifically:–Increases in task potential to engage students in exploring and understanding the nature of mathematical concepts–Increases in the rigor of Fellows’ questions to their students–Increases in the extent to which students showed their work and explained their thinking–Increases in students’ engagement in class mathematical discussions
Broader Impacts
*Students in the schools where the Fellows teach will get high-quality mathematics instruction, leading to better understanding of mathematics. *The schools will benefit from having teacher leaders. *As the Fellows continue to share what they have learned with their colleagues, in the schools/districts and at conferences, they will contribute to improving the quality of mathematics instruction beyond their classrooms.
