Douglas Huffman

Collaborative inquiry to make data-based decisions in schools

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a long-term collaborative inquiry project for diverse teams of teachers, administrators, school board members, and parents. The teams engaged in collaborative inquiry to collect and analyze local data to make data based decisions about how to improve teaching and learning. The results suggest the collaborative inquiry not only positively influenced the teachers, but also helped them engage in a continuous improvement process that allowed them to take more ownership over local data and expand their role in their schools’ decision-making processes.

A Collaborative Immersio Approach to Evaluation Capacity Building

The purpose of this article is to describe a new collaborative immersion approach for developing evaluation capacity that was used in kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) schools and to place this new approach on a continuum of existing capacity-building methods. The continuum extends from individualistic training-oriented methods to collaborative real-world methods of building evaluation capacity. The strengths and weaknesses of various evaluation capacity building methods are analyzed and critiqued. Included are examples of capacity building focused on technical assistance, workshops, fellowships, and collaborative immersion. The authors make the case for considering a collaborative immersion approach to evaluation capacity building.

Relationships among student, teacher and observer perceptions of science classrooms and student achievement

This study was designed to examine relationships among observer, teacher and student perceptions of what was occurring in US ninth grade science classrooms to better understand the inter-relationships among the different perspectives. Classes were observed by trained observers, and teachers and students were asked to rate how often various activities occurred on a self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire items were factor analysed to determine the underlying factor structure. These measures were then used as independent variables to predict student achievement on a US science standards-based multiple choice test and a US standards-based hands-on laboratory skills test. The findings show that students and teachers view their classes differently although the factor structures had some similarity and that classroom observations conducted by trained observers are the best predictors of student achievement.

The Archipelago Approach To Mixed Method Evaluation

In this article, we propose a new metaphorical framework for understanding and using mixed methods evaluation. Our re-conceptualization of mixing methods provides important insights into the theoretical and practical challenges of using a mixed method approach. Mixed methods can create philosophical and practical dilemmas in the ways data are collected, analyzed, interpreted and reported. We used an archipelago as a metaphor for resolving these challenges. An archipelago is a set of islands that loosely forms a group. Using the archipelago as a metaphor helped to clarify and re-conceptualize the evaluation approach and its findings by allowing simultaneous consideration of different mixed methods and stances. The results have implications for those attempting to use mixed methods to evaluate programs.

Reforming Pedagogy: Inservice Teacher Education and Instructional Reform

To what extent can a large-scale national teacher-enhancement project help science teachers employ new pedagogical methods in the science classroom? In this study, data from 13 high school physics teachers who taught 23 classes with 401 students were examined to determine the extent to which a teacher-enhancement project can alter teachers’ pedagogy. Three groups of teachers were examined: experienced users of the new pedagogy, beginning users of the new pedagogy, and a group of comparison teachers who used traditional instructional methods. Results suggest the reform effort can increase the extent to which teachers engage students in experiments and use alternative assessment methods; however, helping teachers use constructivist discussion methods and discuss the nature of scientific inquiry appears to be more difficult. The implications for inservice teacher education are discussed.

Policy considerations based on a cost analysis of alternative test formats in large scale science assessments

This article compares the costs of four assessment formats: multiple choice, open ended, laboratory station, and full investigation. The amount of time spent preparing the devices, developing scoring consistency for the devices, and scoring the devices was tracked as the devices were developed. These times are presented by individual item and by complete device. Times are also compared as if 1,000 students completed each assessment. Finally, the times are converted into cost estimates by assuming a potential hourly w age. The data show that a multiple choice item costs the least and that it is approximately 80 times as much for an open ended item. 300 times as much for a content station, and 500 times as much for a full investigation item. The very large discrepancies in costs are used as a basis to raise several policy issues related to the inclusion of alternative assessment formats in large scale science achievement testing.

Implementing and Sustaining Standards-Based Curricular Reform

This paper presents a model for implementing and sustaining standardsbased curricular reform and seven recommendations for principals that are grounded in the results of a comprehensive, longitudinal study. The study examined the characteristics of five schools through data from principals, teachers, students, and external observers over a 6-year period-I year before and 5 years after the implementation.

Pre-Service Elementary Teacher Dispositions and Responsive Pedagogical Patterns in Mathematics

The movement toward viewing dispositions as a construct for the field of teacher education began in the United States during the 1990s. During that time the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) and the National Board for Professional teaching Standards (NBPTS) replaced the construct of “attitudes” with “dispositions” in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes triad.

NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF HELPING TEACHERS USE DATA TO INFORM EDUCATIONAL DECISIONS

In this paper we present a model of collaborative evaluation that has been used to engage teachers in data-based decision making for improving teaching and learning in mathematics and science. We examine three external challenges that threaten the process of continuous school improvement; namely, making sense of data, policy changes, and curriculum changes. In addition, we describe how the collaborative evaluation model facilitated progress beyond these challenges. Keywords: data-based decision making, evaluation, mathematics education, science education