Andrew C. Porter

What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers

This study uses a national probability sample of 1,027 mathematics and science teachers to provide the first large-scale empirical comparison of effects of different characteristics of professional development on teachers’ learning. Results, based on ordinary least squares regression, indicate three core features of professional development activities that have significant, positive effects on teachers’ self-reported increases in knowledge and skills and changes in classroom practice: (a) focus on content knowledge; (b) opportunities for active learning; and (c) coherence with other learning activities. It is primarily through these core features that the following structural features significantly affect teacher learning: (a) the form of the activity (e.g., workshop vs. study group); (b) collective participation of teachers from the same school, grade, or subject; and (c) the duration of the activity.

Effects of Professional Development on Teachers’ Instruction: Results from a Three-year Longitudinal Study

This article examines the effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction. Using a purposefully selected sample of about 207 teachers in 30 schools, in 10 districts in five states, we examine features of teachers’ professional development and its effects on changing teaching practice in mathematics and science from 1996–1999. We found that professional development focused on specific instructional practices increases teachers’ use of those practices in the classroom. Furthermore, we found that specific features, such as active learning opportunities, increase the effect of the professional development on teacher’s instruction.

Upgrading High School Mathematics Instruction: Improving Learning Opportunities for Low-Achieving, Low-Income Youth

Low-achieving, low-income students are typically tracked into dead-end math courses in high school. In this article, the authors evaluate the success of “transition” math courses in California and New York, which are designed to bridge the gap between elementary and college-preparatory mathematics and to provide access to more challenging and meaningful mathematics for students who enter high school with poor skills. The authors hypothesize that the transition courses—Math A in California and Stretch Regents and UCSMP Math in New York—allow students to keep pace with those who enter college-preparatory courses by covering rigorous mathematical content using a range of cognitive strategies. Data from 882 students in 48 math classes are analyzed using a three-level hierarchical linear model. The results show that growth in student achievement is significantly lower in general-track classes than in college-preparatory classes. Achievement in transition classes falls in between: not significantly lower than in college-preparatory classes, but not significantly greater than in general-track classes. More rigorous content coverage accounts for much of the achievement advantage of college-preparatory classes. The transition classes are judged a partial success in meeting their goal of upgrading the quality of mathematics instruction for low-achieving, low-income youth.

Do Textbooks Dictate the Content of Mathematics Instruction in Elementary Schools

The purposes of this investigation were to (a) describe teachers’ styles of textbook use and (b) examine the overlap between content taught and textbook content in elementary school mathematics. Using daily teacher logs and a three-dimensional classification system as guides, trained raters generated detailed classifications of all problems presented in books and all content presented to students over the course of an entire school year. The results of analyses of overlap between textbook content and content taught challenge the popular notion that elementary school teachers’ content decisions are dictated by the mathematics textbooks they use In each classroom studied, there were important differences between the curriculum of the text and teachers’ topic selection, content emphasis, and sequence of instruction.

External Standards and Good Teaching: The Pros and Cons of Telling Teachers What to Do.

Telling teachers what to do through state and district standard setting policies is seen as antithetical to empowering teachers and strengthening the teaching profession. Policies for empowering teachers are less well articulated; teacher autonomy is often thought to be the automatic product of an absence of external constraints and guidelines. An analysis is provided of whether good teaching of worthwhile content to all students is better served by standard setting initiatives or through leaving teachers alone. There are other alternatives, of course, and they may ultimately prove to be more attractive. The analysis sheds light on that possibility, too.

Curriculum Control and Teachers' Perceptions of Autonomy and Satisfaction.

High school mathematics and social studies teachers were studied to determine the influence of curriculum control policies on their sense of autonomy and job satisfaction. Control policies were found to have their largest effects on content decisions in mathematics. Nevertheless, teachers in all conditions studied reported relatively high degrees of personal control over both content and pedagogy. Further, there was little evidence that teachers felt less efficacious or satisfied about their jobs because of curriculum policy constraints.

Upgrading the High School Math Curriculum: Math Course-Taking Patterns in Seven High Schools in California and New York.

Previous studies have indicated that students enrolled in the general math track do not take as much math and do not learn as much math as students in college-preparatory math courses (Gamoran, 1987; Oakes, 1985; Porter, 1989). State, district, and school initiatives in California and New York have been developing mechanisms to address this problem of inequality by creating new transition math courses and eliminating the general math track. This study examines course-taking patterns of students in seven high schools in California and New York that have attempted to enroll lower level math students in more meaningful initial math courses. By examining students’ transcripts, the success of various policy options to upgrade the math curriculum are evaluated. Our data indicate that the new transition math courses meet with partial success in providing a common curriculum to students with diverse math preparation.

A teacher's bounded rationality in middle school science

Abstract The concept of bounded rationality was used to understand how a middle school science teacher dealt with the complexities of teaching two classes differing in levels of student achievement. The teacher constructed a mental model of teaching for her two classes based on her perceptions, beliefs, emotions, and affects about student characteristics. The teacher had the same mental model for the two classes, despite the fact that the two classes were quite different in achievement levels. Compared to the objective reality of differences between the two classes, her mental model of equal treatment seemed subjective. Her teaching behavior in the two classes was generally consistent with her mental model of teaching. The findings indicate patterns of teacher thinking and behavior that can largely be explained within the framework of bounded rationality. The findings also suggest implications for teacher change.