Search results for: Evaluation

Teacher professional development (PD) is seen as a promising intervention to improve teacher knowledge, instructional practice, and ultimately student learning. While research finds instances of significant program effects on teacher knowledge, little is known about how long these effects last. If teachers forget what is learned, the contribution of the intervention will be diminished. Using a large-scale data set, this study examines the sustainability of gains in teachers’ content knowledge for teaching mathematics (CKT-M). Results show that there is a negative rate of change in CKT after teachers complete the training, suggesting that the average score gain from the program is lost in just 37 days. There is, however, variation in how quickly knowledge is lost, with teachers participating in summer programs losing more rapidly than those who attend programs that occur during school years. The implications of these findings on designing and evaluating PD programs are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to assess the emotional intelligence (EI) of the student in the process of training for teaching in secondary schools. The findings reveal that the participants show acceptable levels of EI and skills that are adequate to feel, express and understand their emotions according to the criteria that each of the instruments used present: MSCEIT and TMMS-24. Furthermore, the authors found differences among students enrolled in the various specialities of the Master’s degree in Teacher Training in some aspects of EI, namely in the strategic EI area and the branch of emotional management in the Physical Education and Educational Guidance specialities.

This study investigates the attitude of mentors toward student teachers’ team teaching in general and toward parallel and sequential teaching in particular. Furthermore, the authors also examine the advantages and disadvantages the mentors see for the actors involved (mentors, student teachers, and learners) and the conditions they consider necessary for successful implementation. The findings indicate that mentors demonstrated an openness toward the use of team teaching during field experiences. The mentors identified both advantages and disadvantages for mentors and student teachers.

Current studies indicate that the requirements of academia in recent years have been low and that students today devote significantly less time to learning than in the past. The name of the game today appears to be high grades at sale prices, making 80% the new “fail.” This disconcerting phenomenon, known as “grade inflation,” can be defined as an upward shift in grades without a demonstrated increase in the knowledge-based performance of students. The author argues that the solution is understanding the causes and effects of grade inflation requires, first and foremost, education professionals to conduct a discussion on the organizational level regarding evaluation within their respective institutions.