Towards Creating a Feedback Loop: Assessing Perceptions of Teacher Preparedness and Beliefs About Student Learning Amongst Math Teachers, University Faculty, and School District Administrators
The data reveal that there is indeed a disconnect between perceptions of preparedness
of math and science teachers and the perceptions of school administrators regarding how
prepared math and science teachers are regarding a host of variables related to teaching
and learning. In addition, there is a notably high perception of underpreparedness
for a number of variables related to STEM teaching and learning as reported by both
in-service math and science teachers and school administrators. Our somewhat naive
theory of action around this project initially was that we would collect data, show
relevant stakeholders the disconnects in these perceptions, and in so doing, we could
create a situation in which the parties might feel compelled to act or to at least begin a
conversation about aligning teacher preparation curricula and programs to the expectations
of in-service teachers and school district administrators. Despite the data we had
collected and the resulting "eureka" moments that we were having as a research team, we
had to negotiate very carefully the territory around getting the relevant parties to the
table to talk about a process for addressing some of the disconnects we had
found. The feedback teams became the vehicle by which we not only began this
process, but though which we uncovered what has become our theory of action for future
work, the hypothesis we wish to test in a future study.
A recurring theme in our
focus group meetings with school administrators was that they were very glad to be asked
to participate at all and that they are very open to the idea of building partnerships
with universities around the issue of science and math teacher preparation. As we
brainstormed about what a model might look like and how we could implement it, it became
clear that each district, let alone each school, had unique needs outside of (but related
to) the science and math teacher preparation issue that initially drove this study, but
that could be fertile ground for a partnership between a university and the school.
Some, for instance, wanted help with using data to inform assessment and
instruction. Others wanted to involve disciplinary faculty from the university in
their own math and science professional development. As we tried to keep the focus
groups "on task" about the feedback loop question, the answer was actually emerging in
other parts of the conversation.
Recall that our data indicated disconnects
regarding math and science teacher preparation programs and specific areas where there was
a perceived lack of preparedness. Focus groups facilitated an exploration of how to
engage the university in a feedback process, which in many ways addresses external
pressures (NCATE, Pennsylvania Department of Education) rather than the needs of local
school districts. As one respondent noted, "The only time we hear from the
universities is when they need us to place a student teacher. And that is tough
because we have PSSAs (standardized tests) and the pressure of testing and now you want me
to give up a classroom in my building to a new teacher?" Another
respondent expressed his frustration at not having been asked to talk about a potential
relationship like this before our project: "Of course there should be a relationship
like this between the school districts and the university! We are on the same
side! We prepare the students that come to you, and you prepare the teachers and
send them back to us, and they teach the next group and so on. This should be at the
heart of what goes on, we are all connected whether we like to talk about it or
not!" One administrator finally suggested, and others quickly joined in,
that we identify specific smaller projects the schools wanted to be involved in
that might also appeal to the interests of university STEM faculty, and then in that
context, after we spent some time working on a project or problem, do a more in-depth
conversation about the STEM pre-service preparation data. It is worth noting here
that the school administrators' response to our study has been overwhelmingly
enthusiastic. In addition to the comments above, the administrator response rate to
our survey was over 70%, and the percentage of administrator survey respondents who also
wanted to participate in the focus groups was more than 50%, both unusually high
percentages in our experience with other surveys and focus groups. Perhaps this is
best explained by the fact that when we asked respondents in one focus group comprised of
twelve administrators if they had ever been asked by any university to engage in a
conversation about STEM teacher preparation, for all but one administrator, the answer was
no.
As we explored the perceptions of university faculty regarding teacher
preparation, the idea of building relationships through engagement around specific
projects resonated more. It is one thing to show data to university faculty and
explore the disconnects when they feel no need to respond to the data or when no avenue
for developing a response is apparent. However, if university faculty establish
relationships with a group of teachers/administrators from a nearby school by working on a
project they are mutually interested in, faculty may look at that data differently since
it would then have a context, literally a "face" (or many faces). We explored this
new plan with a cohort of science and math university faculty and they reacted
enthusiastically. This shifts dramatically how we are conceptualizing our future
work, but at the same time, we believe it makes our work more relevant while making the
goal of creating a sustainable feedback loop more achievable.
Limitations of the Study and Future Research
Clearly, one of the
limitations of this study is that we are focusing on a regional collection of districts
and universities. In order to test the generalizability of our findings, we would
have to include more research sites in our analysis. We have recently submitted a
proposal for potential NSF funding that would allow us to carry out the next iteration of
this work.
