Todd D. Reeves

Contemporary Test Validity in Theory and Practice: A Primer for Discipline-Based Education Researchers

This essay offers a contemporary social science perspective on test validity and the validation process. The instructional piece explores the concepts of test validity, the validation process, validity evidence, and key threats to validity. The essay also includes an in-depth example of a validity argument and validation approach for a test of student argument analysis. In addition to discipline-based education researchers, this essay should benefit practitioners (e.g., lab directors, faculty members) in the development, evaluation, and/or selection of instruments for their work assessing students or evaluating pedagogical innovations.

Coaching in context: the role of relationships in the work of three literacy coaches

In the United States and internationally, instructional coaching has been implemented as a mechanism to increase professional capacity, and in so doing improve student achievement. However, instructional coaches often face resistance from the teachers with whom they work; a manifestation of the egalitarian, isolated culture of teaching in many schools. In this paper, we analyze the daily roles of literacy coaches in three schools in one urban US school district. We explore how coaches’ responsibilities are shaped by the everyday realities of their school contexts. Further, we discuss how coaches manage those realities through the relationships that they build. We found that building relationships and establishing rapport are the foremost concerns for literacy coaches in their first months on the job and continue to be central throughout their time as coaches. Implications for the design, implementation and evaluation of district literacy coaching initiatives are discussed.

A Conceptual Framework for Graduate Teaching Assistant Professional Development Evaluation and Research

This essay proposes a conceptual framework for biology graduate teaching assistant professional development evaluation and research with three overarching variables for consideration: outcome variables, contextual variables, and moderating variables.

Toward a Theory of School Capacity in New Immigrant Destinations: Instructional and Organizational Considerations

Across the United States, immigrant enrollments in the public schools have rapidly increased, particularly in locales with little tradition of immigration, known as ”new immigrant destinations.” Despite the widespread nature of this trend, there is much to be learned about how schools are responding to this influx of immigrant students. This paper explores the nature and distribution of instructional and organizational capacity in this context, drawing on an empirical, statewide study of Wisconsin schools serving the new Latino diaspora to develop a theory of capacity in new immigrant destinations. We end with implications for theory and leadership practice.

Examining the landscape of teacher learning for data use: The case of Illinois

Abstract The use of data to inform instructional and educational decisions is an increasingly important facet of teachers’ professional practice. However, little is presently known about the best teacher learning mechanisms by which to promote data use. This study (N = 329) examined the nature and distribution of both Illinois public teacher data use practices and teacher learning for data use and how learning opportunities and other factors previously identified in the literature (e.g., leadership and teacher beliefs) relate to data use practices. Our study replicates the importance of specific teacher beliefs for data use practices, and contributes new evidence for the role of course-based learning opportunities.

Changing demographics, changing practices: teacher learning in new immigrant destinations

Purpose Changing immigration patterns in the USA have led to a growing number of “new immigrant destinations.” In these contexts, opportunities for teacher learning are crucial for developing the school capacity to serve the academic, linguistic and socio-cultural needs of immigrant students. In response, the purpose of this paper is to examine how schools in Wisconsin provided both formal and informal teacher learning opportunities to develop the instructional capacity to support recent immigrants, specifically Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs). Design/methodology/approach Using descriptive analyses of teacher and administrator survey and interview data, this study examined the focus and within-school distribution of formal professional development, as well as teacher collaboration as a mechanism for informal learning. Findings Most commonly, professional development focused on concrete strategies teachers might enact in their classrooms, rather than developing broader understandings of the needs of immigrant students. In addition, formal professional development commonly targeted particular groups of teachers, rather than faculty as a whole. Finally, general education-ELL teacher collaboration was most often deployed “as needed” and focused on particular student needs, rather than systematically. Research limitations/implications Future work might address the limitations of this study by examining teacher learning opportunities in new immigrant destinations in other locales, the quality and effectiveness of such opportunities, and other mechanisms for the distribution of expertise. Originality/value Findings suggest the need for more systematic and integrated approaches to teacher learning in new immigrant destinations, with an emphasis on pushing beyond the short-term need for instructional strategies to develop more holistic, collaborative approaches to integrating ELLs into schools and classrooms.

Confirmation of the Data-Driven Decision-Making Efficacy and Anxiety Inventory’s Score Factor Structure Among Teachers:

The implementation of data-driven decision-making practices (DDDM) is a key component of contemporary teachers’ professional practice. As such, the measurement of DDDM and related constructs is important for multiple purposes in both research and practice (e.g., identifying teacher needs around DDDM, and monitoring teacher change in response to DDDM interventions). With the present study, we examined the score factor structure and reliability of the Data-Driven Decision-Making Efficacy and Anxiety Inventory (3D-MEA), an existing measure of data-driven decision-making–related self-efficacy and anxiety. Prior work with this instrument has provided some internal structure and reliability evidence in the context of teachers from the Pacific Northwest. Confirmatory factor analysis of 3D-MEA scores from a sample of Midwestern teachers replicates the initially hypothesized five-factor internal score structure. Our study also affords evidence of high score reliability within this population. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

Equipping Preservice Elementary Teachers for Data Use in the Classroom

ABSTRACT Current preservice teacher education practice related to data use has been deemed inadequate, in that it is unevenly distributed and often superficial. In response, this article describes a course-based classroom assessment data-literacy experience for preservice elementary teachers. Grounded in extant theory and research concerning data literacy and data use and interventions to promote data use processes among educators, the 6-hour experience involves preservice teacher scoring of teacher-developed assessments, and analyzing, interpreting, and making decisions based on these data. The pedagogical strategy’s design (objectives, materials, and activities) and implementation process are illustrated for the reader. It is hoped that members of the teacher education community will adopt or adapt the strategy for implementation with preservice teachers within other programs and institutions. In doing so, teacher educators can provide preservice teachers with rich, in-depth experiences by which to equip them for this salient but difficult facet of their professional practice.

Class, capital, and competing academic discourse: a critical analysis of the mission/s of American higher education

In this paper, we critically analyze institutional mission statements as discursive texts replete with symbolic meaning, as we believe these texts reveal a great deal about the ways in which higher education remains increasingly stratified. We argue that beneath the generalized rhetoric of institutional mission statements, lie powerful messages seemingly coded with varying forms of class-based academic capital. We further argue that these messages reflect two distinct, competing discourses surrounding the purpose and value of higher education, that parallel the stratification of the larger system itself. Findings reveal evidence of these competing discourses and contribute to larger discussions surrounding educational inequality.