Research on teacher training 2020
The key questions facing researchers and policy makers are whether teacher education programs are effective in changing teachers’ knowledge and practices and whether such changes, if they occur, enhance student learning. The answers to these questions will help determine the characteristics of effective programs for reading teachers.
Because there are multiple layers of causal relationships, spanning teacher educators to students and including materials and environment, researchers generally focus on a few teaching and learning processes at a time, usually using a specific method. to answer the research question. Research on instructional variables, for example, generally examines interactions between teachers and students in particular learning contexts.
Experimental vs. Non-experimental studies
The number of non-experimental studies far exceeded that of experimental and quasi-experimental studies. There were also many more studies on pre-service teachers than on in-service teachers. Experimental studies provide causal evidence of teacher improvement and sometimes simultaneous student achievement, and non-experimental studies use a variety of approaches and methodologies, providing multiple perspectives and rich contextual descriptions of teacher learning. Correlational data suggest that certain aspects of teacher quality characteristics, such as certification status and degree in the field to be taught, are positively correlated with student outcomes. However, this does not tell us whether these characteristics ultimately lead to better student achievement.
Findings from experimental research
Some pre-service experimental studies revealed improvements in the knowledge of prospective teachers, but it is unknown whether their new learning affects classroom practice and student learning. A longitudinal study would have to follow trainee teachers through their first year of teaching and beyond. Given the differences between the sites where teachers of the same programs teach, the power of such a study would be relatively small, so few of these studies have been conducted.
The problems are not that serious for studying in-service education because these sites are identifiable and accessible. However, only a few experimental in-service studies reported results for both teachers and students. Most studies that measured teacher or student outcomes showed significant or modest improvements in teacher knowledge or student achievement. Those that measured both provide clear evidence that in-service teachers learn from professional development programs that focus on specific types of reading instruction and that students of those teachers benefited from improved instruction.
Findings from non-experimental research
Non-experimental designs predominate in pre-service studies due to researchers ‘interest in relating teachers’ learning processes, both individually and collectively, with prescribed courses, field experience, or combinations of these. In general, these nonexperimental studies affirm the importance of providing field experiences alongside course work to help teachers connect theory and practice. Most also report favorably on initial teacher change, but it is unclear whether this change leads to implementation, although some research suggests that the use of pre-service training becomes increasingly apparent in the first two years of teaching. . The effect on student learning is still uncertain. Few of these studies measure or report student outcomes.
In keeping with trends in teacher pre-vocational preparation, a considerable number of non-experimental studies have focused on the practice of reflection designed in various ways to examine the process of change in the beliefs and attitudes of future teachers in relation to with a series of instructional questions. Similarly, the importance of technology has stimulated numerous non-experimental studies on the impact of new technologies on the training of literacy teachers, largely ignored by experimental research: multimedia, hypermedia and computer-mediated communication. Non-experimental studies have also been instrumental in bringing to the fore the under-researched topic of teaching reading to students of diverse cultures.
The non-experimental in-service professional development studies, like the experimental studies, focused on more specific instructional methods and problems compared to the pre-service studies. Conceptual tools supported by practical strategies prove to be the most influential, and conferences with mentors and supervisors are also important.
Future directions
Experimental research provides evidence of teacher change and its effect on student achievement. To guide change more effectively, we also need to understand more deeply teachers’ attitudes, beliefs, and conceptualizations about literacy and the changes they experience as they study practices and outcomes; Knowing teachers’ beliefs and attitudes is important because it indicates a source of teacher behaviors. In one study, for example, correlational analyzes indicated that teachers’ philosophical acceptance predicted their use of instructional methods. The teachers who improved and those who did not improve were different in their self-efficacy and willingness to experiment. Because non-experimental studies ask different questions than experimental studies, focusing on the processes of change and reflection, both types of studies are needed. Findings from nonexperimental teacher switching studies do not contradict those from experimental research, but they need to be better designed and reported to facilitate follow-up or parallel studies. In addition, more longitudinal studies that track teachers through their early years of teaching and studies that investigate diversity must be rigorously conducted.
Conclution
One of the key assumptions made about teacher education and professional development is that, if effective, it should produce “better” instruction (changes in teacher behavior) and “better” reading by students (greater performance). However, this assumption does not drive much of the research. Only a few experimental studies compared groups and outcome measures, but both are necessary to establish links between interventions and performance. Improvements in research conceptualization and design would allow for such analyzes, analyzes that are key to policy work, for example, to establish the relative costs of raising reading achievement through different professional development programs.
Improvements in methodology and reporting could also lead to a more integrated and holistic understanding of teaching reading. Part of the imbalance between the number of experimental and nonexperimental studies and between pre-service studies and in-service studies can be explained by costs, by the questions that are asked, or, sadly, by assuming that researchers chose a methodology and then I found a problem to study. The latter tactic may be made less attractive by current national policy, which has adopted experimental research design as an exemplary standard. It should be recognized that non-experimental methodologies may be preferable for certain problems. Knowledge integration would be facilitated, at least, by authors who make their assumptions explicit when reporting studies and by journal editors who require explicit statements of the relationship between questions, methodology, and data. Finally, we note that researchers rarely cite relevant research from paradigms other than their own. But there is much to be gained if the authors broaden their vision to include research from different methodologies. Combining data from research conducted using different methodologies has the potential to enrich the knowledge base.
