Developing Teacher Quality and
Effectiveness in New Teachers
MARY E. DIEZ, PH.D.
DEAN, SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
ALVERNO COLLEGE
Assumptions
 A vision of teaching guides descriptions of quality
practice
 Teacher quality and effectiveness builds
developmentally over the professional life span
 Effectiveness is best measured using multiple
sources of data
How clear are we on the vision of teaching
and teacher quality?
 Black box story
 Institution with excellent results on standardized test scores of
the students of their graduates

Explanation: Success comes from
admitting students after they’ve completed the content major
 having a 5 year program
 teachers graduating with a master’s degree

How clear are we on the vision of teaching
and teacher quality?
 Alverno story
 Institution consistently identified as producing strong teachers
who persist in the profession (85% still teaching after 5 years, a
great percentage in urban schools) and have a positive impact
on learners and school cultures


Studies: Zeichner for NCTAF, US D.O.E., Levine, Edutopia
Explanation: Success comes from
being clear about outcomes (grounded in the work of teaching)
 using performance assessments that come ever closer to the
performance of the outcomes
 implementing a pedagogically developmental curriculum
 using feedback and self assessment across the program

A vision of teaching guides descriptions
of quality practice
 What are expectations for
high quality, effective
beginning practice?
 InTASC Standards 2011


Changes from 1992
standards
Four categories of standards
The Learner and Learning
 Content and Application of
Content
 Instructional Practice
 Professional Responsibility

Sample standards
 The teacher understands how to connect concepts
and use differing perspectives to engage learners in
critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative
problem solving related to authentic local and global
issues.
 The teacher understands and uses multiple methods
of assessment to engage learners in their own
growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the
teacher’s and learner’s decision making.
How do we build for beginning teacher
quality and effectiveness?
 What are developmental paths for high quality,
effective beginning practice? (Change Magazine
article)
 Three metaphors for current teacher preparation

Survivor


Armchair Tourist


Emphasis on dynamic personality traits/focus on practice,
Emphasis on prior academic achievement/focus on theory
Expeditionary Learning

Emphasis on development—both academics and dispositions/
integrated approach to theory and practice
How do we build for ongoing development of
teacher quality and effectiveness?
 InTASC developmental rubrics to guide professional
development

Following principles for good professional development

Accompanied by suggestions for the kinds of experiences that
can help teachers develop across the professional lifespan

Enhanced by videos of practice – classroom, teacher team
meeting, teacher reflection
Using data from multiple
types of assessments, the
teacher draws conclusions
about student progress
toward learning objectives
and uses this analysis to
inform instruction to meet
learner needs.
S/he keeps digital and/or
other records to support
his/her analysis and
reporting of learner
progress.
The teacher participates in
collegial conversations to
improve individual and
collective instructional
practice based on the
assessment data.
And…
The teacher uses and/or designs
a variety of classroom formative
assessments, matching the
method with the type of
learning objectives. S/he
provides students with multiple
ways to demonstrate
performance using
contemporary tools and
resources.
The teacher uses data to guide
the design of differentiated
learning experiences.
S/he works with colleagues to
analyze performance across
groups of learners and engages
in joint development of
strategies for improving
instruction and support.
And…
The teacher uses formative
classroom assessments to
maximize the development of
knowledge, critical thinking, and
problem solving skills embedded in
learning objectives.
The teacher works individually and
with colleagues to gather
additional data needed to better
understand what is affecting
learner progress and to advocate
for necessary change. S/he works
with colleagues to analyze progress
against standards and expand the
range of supports for students with
varied instructional needs.
S/he joins with others to use
assessment information to
evaluate the effectiveness of
curriculum and instruction.
How do we build for ongoing development of
teacher quality and effectiveness?
 Lessons from the MET study
 If most teachers are not reaching the kind of teaching practice described by the
upper levels of the measures
 Two of Fullan’s “Wrong Drivers”
 Accountability–using test results and teacher appraisal to reward or punish
teachers and schools vs. capacity building
 Individual teacher and leadership quality—promoting individual vs. group
solutions
 Fullan’s Criteria for Effective Drivers
 Foster intrinsic motivation of teachers and students
 Engage educators and students in continuous improvement of instruction and
learning
 Inspire collective team work
 Affect all teachers and students
How do we best measure teacher quality
and effectiveness?
 For readiness to enter practice
 Current practice varies widely
 No clear best practice in measurement
 Teacher Performance Assessment Consortium Model
 Embedded signature assessments
 Teacher Performance Assessment
 Validity/reliability studies show strong evidence of
trustworthiness
How do we best measure teacher quality
and effectiveness?
 What combination for initial practice?
 Value added scores of students
 TPA
 Teacher observations, documentation, reflections
 Other data (InTASC suggestions): Observations or records of
team meetings, planning documents, samples of student work
 For advanced practice
 Value added scores of students
 National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
Assessments
 Teacher observations, documentation, reflections
 Other data (see InTASC suggestions)
Areas of controversy
 Selection as the primary determiner of quality:
Are good teachers born or developed?


Current research
Implications for policy and practice
 Appropriateness of measures of learning:
Do standardized tests tell the whole story?

Implications for policy and practice
 Conceptualization of teaching as simple or complex:
what is quality teaching?

Implications for policy regarding evaluation tools
Relook at central question

How do we develop teacher quality and effectiveness in new
teachers?

Who should teach and how best recruit them into teaching?

What are expectations for high quality, effective beginning
practice?

What are developmental paths to readiness for high quality,
effective beginning practice?

What are supports for continuing development in teaching
quality?
Resources

Diez, M.E., Athanasiou, N., & Pointer Mace, D. (2010). Expeditionary learning: The
Alverno College teacher education model. Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning,
November/December 2010, 18-24.

Edutopia. (2007). Ten leading schools silence the critics: Innovative teacher prep.
www.edschools.org/teacher_report.htm

Fullan, M. (2011) Choosing the wrong drivers for whole system reform. East Melbourne,
Victoria, Australia: Centre for Strategic Education.

Gathering Feedback for Teaching (2011). MET Project Policy and Practice Brief. Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation.
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue. Washington, D.C. :

Levine, A. (2006). Educating school teachers. Washington, D.C.: The Education Schools
Project.

Zeichner, K. (2000). Ability-based teacher education: Elementary teacher education at Alverno
College. In L. Darling-Hammond (Ed.), Studies of excellence in teacher education:
Preparation in the undergraduate years. Washington, D.C.: American Association of Colleges
for Teacher Education and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future.