PSU/SPLED 505 [Type text]
Arfang Dabo aud179@psu.edu
Humphrey Fellow 2009-2010
Research Statement
Will observations of a master teacher (MT)
improve the positive reinforcement
strategies of a novice teacher (NT)?
To cope with the situation of teacher shortage, the Ministry of Education of
Senegal has been enrolling university students and high school graduates to teach
in the schools. This phenomenon has become almost the norm in the less
privileged areas. Some programs have been developed and are implemented by the
National In-Service Teacher Training Committee in conjunction with local
professional development units to equip these novice teachers with basic
pedagogic techniques so that they can teach the children in the classroom.
The purpose of the study is to see the impact of an in-service teacher training
practice that focuses on novice teachers. It is, generally, believed that by observing
a mentor teacher a novice teacher will gain and develop pedagogical competence
that will help them better teach the growing diverse student population in their
classrooms. Specifically, the study attempts to see whether repeated observations
of a mentor teacher followed by discussions and feedback will help novice teachers
develop positive reinforcement in their classroom practice.
1
PSU/SPLED 505 [Type text]
Arfang Dabo aud179@psu.edu
Humphrey Fellow 2009-2010
Methods
Participants
Novice Teachers:
Four novice teachers (NT) without any formal pre-service training will be selected
to participate in the study. The participants will be initially observed and
videotaped and eligibility will be determined by the deficiency of desirable
instructional competence in their teaching.
The novice teachers will be committed to the study but will be informed about the
intervention and the target behavior.
Mentor teachers:
Four resident teacher advisors will be selected and trained to deliver the
intervention.
Observers:
In addition to the four MT and the four NT, four observers will be recruited among
the teacher advisers. They will be trained not only to observe and collect data but
also to code at different phases of the study will be described in the procedures.
Arrangements to reach inter-observer agreement will be made during the process
of selection of mentor teachers and novice teachers.
Setting
The setting of the intervention will be either formal (e.g. classroom) or informal
(e.g. staff room). All observations will take place in classrooms in different schools
2
PSU/SPLED 505 [Type text]
Arfang Dabo aud179@psu.edu
Humphrey Fellow 2009-2010
of different school districts, and possibly different regions to avoid imitation of
treatment. The selected novice teacher will have to observe and job shadow the
mentor teacher for tree times for three weeks. After each session, they novice
teacher will sit with the mentor teacher for a discussion and feedback. NT can ask
questions and MT is supposed to provide answers and explanation.
The Design
A multiple probe design will be utilized to collect data for three weeks. Data
collection will comprise two phases.
Phase one: The NT will observe the MT and collect data three times a week for
three weeks.
Phase two: After each week’s three observations, The NT will be observed
teaching in their classrooms by the MT and the teacher advisers.
Data will be then analyzed and compared to baselines and across participants to
determine whether and to what extent observing a mentor teacher for three weeks
will have an impact on a novice teacher’s instructional competence and classroom
practice.
Dependent Variable:
The dependent variable in this study will be a desirable instructional competence
the NTs will display in teaching their class. We mean by instructional competence
 Instructional prompts
 Instructional correction
 Praise
Independent variable:
The independent variable in this study will be the opportunity to observe a mentor
teacher, discuss with them and receive feedback.
3
PSU/SPLED 505 [Type text]
Arfang Dabo aud179@psu.edu
Humphrey Fellow 2009-2010
We mean by observation watching a classroom instructional situation, discussing
strategies with teacher, and looking at graded students work and discussing it.
Observation and recording
Observations of the MTs by the NTs will happen in the classrooms during a 45
minutes lesson.
Observations of the NTS will happen in their own classrooms during a 45 minutes
lesson. There will be two observers in each session and data collected for 20
minutes.
Recordings will begin at the same time as observations but will last the whole
lesson. A camera fixed on a tripod will be utilized for the recordings and it will be
placed at the most appropriate spot to have a good coverage and avoid reactivity
and distraction.
At the end of each session the two observers will then watch the video recordings
with the researcher and then compare them with the observation codes.
4