Does It Work? Building Methods for Understanding Effects of Professional Development

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The project intends to rigorously investigate challenging questions about the effects of professional development on teacher learning, classroom practice and student achievement. A technical advisory panel provides strong methodological support, and capacity for dealing with issues in mathematics education, teacher professional development, and problem solving. The intent is to develop and refine methods for empirically examining the relationships among these variables. Research questions include: what do the teachers learn from InterMath experiences; if the teachers learn from InterMath, do their instructional practices change as a result; and if the teachers' practices change, are there measurable changes in students' achievement. PIs see the study as contributing to educational opportunities for mathematics learners. By studying links along the continuum from professional development to student learning PIs intend to take steps toward" gaining insights to inform practice relevant to these connections. The focus of the study is on one (out of six ) 50-hour grades 7-8 mathematics number concepts course for teacher professional development and comparing treatment teachers to control groups with matching based on similar response patterns across items on an assessment of CKT-M (Content Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics). Pre-post student achievement assessed on state CRCT (Criterion Referenced Competency Test) and NAEP released items. Pre-post teacher observation based on videotapes. While InterMath has apparently been successful no independent study of the program has been carried out and previous work is based largely on teacher self report. The program provides an opportunity for research that may illuminate the connections studied. This is not an evaluation of InterMath but use of the program to study the relationships among the key variables and perhaps contribute to how one might study the relationships. The study has is intended to illuminate connections among the key global variables of professional development, teacher learning, teacher practice, and student achievement in a context where there is reason to believe the received view of practice is in place.