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Every Day, Every Child:

A Partnership for Research with Elementary Math and Science Instructional Specialists

ED EC

Kim Markworth, PI Western Washington University May 18, 2015

Instructional Specialist

• An instructional specialist is a full time (elementary)

classroom teacher who teaches two or more classes

• f students in specific content areas.

– Departmentalization – Team Teaching – Math and Science Coaches

• Elementary Math Specialists  Elementary Math

Teachers

Filling the Gap

EDEC is an exploratory research project to

• understand and categorize instructional specialist

models in mathematics and science;

• investigate the content knowledge, preparation and

needs of teachers in these roles;

• determine the instructional effectiveness of

instructional specialists; and

• determine the impact of instructional specialists on

student learning and attitudes towards mathematics and science.

Sample

• Instructional Specialists

– 6 local school districts – Elementary (K-5) math and/or science – Mostly intermediate grades (3-5) – 12 Math; 7 Both; 8 Science

• Comparison Group

– Self-contained teachers – Matched for district, school and grade, school demographics, years of teaching experience – 10 Math; 7 Both; 9 Science

Data Collection

• Teacher Participants

– Semi-structured focus group interview – Survey – Content knowledge assessment (LMT) – 6 video-taped classroom observations (RTOP)

• Administrator Participants

– Interview – Survey

• Students

– Statewide Tests (MSP, SBAC) – Attitude Surveys

Models of Instructional Specialization

• Science as a Special
• Team Teaching

– Within Grade Level

• Teams of 2-3 teachers
• Dual language school

– Across Grade Level

• Team of 3 teachers
• Possibility of teaching same students for more than one year

Preliminary Comparisons

Criterion Math Specialists Self-Contained Average time per week of math instruction (per class) 364 minutes 331 minutes Average time per week of math planning 274 minutes 159 minutes Average time spent daily in out of class transitions 27.0 minutes 28.8 minutes Average time spent daily in within class transitions 10.6 minutes 15.3 minutes Monthly meeting time after school with other math teachers to discuss math 90.2 minutes (range 0-420) 111.2 minutes (range 0-240) Teacher participants interested in an EMS certificate or licensure program 54.2% 5.8%

Next Steps

• Complete Data Collection and Analysis
• Manuscripts

– In Progress – Anticipated

• Further questions:

– How might we modify teacher preparation programs to prepare preservice teachers for instructional specialist roles? – How might we use the results of this study to inform

• ur work with EMS certification or licensure

programs?