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 grade
2. Do not switch teacher during school year
4. Enforce policies on length of school year
6. Test 10% of 4th graders-report to teachers
9. Revise maths and reading curriculum
16. 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
Teacher’s length of education
Total years of schooling
9:18
Tertiary or teacher college 21:37
In-service teacher training 8:13
Teacher gender (female)
1:2
Secondary
5:8
8:14
3:4
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
Teacher subject knowledge
or language proficiency 4:4
Teacher experience
13:23
Teacher salary level
4:11
Teacher social class
7:10
Secondary
--1:12
2:11
----
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 Secondary
Instructional time
15:17
12:16
Active pedagogy
3:8
2:5
Frequent monitoring
of pupil performance 3:4
0:1
Class 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 Pedagogy
Time: Full school year and school day
Time on task
Teachers-students on time and controlled absences
Best teachers in early grades
Master reading, writing and maths in early grades
Class and school libraries, laboratories actually used
Active, creative, higher order thinking and questioning,
experimentation, experiential, skill based teaching
Parental support and a “reading culture”
Nutrition and Feeding
Early Childhood Education
Teachers-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 Achievement
Escuela 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 Achievement
Lesson Study----------------------------------------Japan
Don Bosco Vocational Schools----------- Worldwide
EDUCO-------------------------------------------Honduras
Service Learning---------------Argentina, U.S., China
Middle Schools-------------------------------OECD, U.S.
Apprenticeships-----------------------Germany, Japan
Languages------------------Netherlands, Scandinavia
Textbooks----------------------------------------Singapore
Teachers 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
Class Size
Textbooks
School Library
Science Laboratories
Nutrition and Feeding
Expenditure per pupil
Primary
9:26
19:26
16:18
5:12
7:8
3:6
Secondary
2:22
7:13
3:4
1:1
1:1
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
Germany
National oral and written examinations for
entrance
France, New Zealand, Canada, U.S.A. and
Japan
Institutions 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 Jawoko
Clinical 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, Colombia
Founder, 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 Leadership
2. Community Involvement and Shared Decision
Making
3. Empowered Teacher Authors and Trainers
4. Continuous Assessment and Flexible Promotion
5. Individualized and Small Group Instruction
Exemplary Programme I
6. Cultural Sensitivity and Local Content
7. Active Learning and Teacher
Facilitators
8. Learning Centers and Classroom
Libraries
9. Student Workbooks and Teacher
Handbooks
10. Local Control and National Commitment
Median Scores on the First International
Comparative Study (UNESCO/OREALC), 1998
Colombia
Urban
Language
228
Math
235
Rural
Language Math
234
245
Frances Sampa, Zambia
Director, Primary Reading Prog.
Exemplary Programme II
(Sampa, 2005)
Zambia
Primary 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
•
•
•
•
•
Cuba
Argentina
Chile
Brazil
Honduras
Language
343
263
259
256
216
Math
351
251
242
247
218
Exemplary Programme IV
Japan-Lesson Study
(Lewis, 2002)
Increased student autonomy and initiative, and
close observation of student learning and needs
Learning how to learn, problem solving
Teaching for understanding of imp’t subjects
Teachers jointly plan research lessons
Student co-operative learning, engagement
Focus on academic outcomes
Content chosen to meet student needs
Shared 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