SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS: A CASE STUDY

Courtney Weber Education 707 Dr. Last

Background Information

In 2002, I began teaching in a special education class grades 3-5. Despite having a very high grade point average and completed all required teaching credential courses, I was ill-prepared for teaching. I had taken 10+ courses on instructional pedagogy and 1 class on behavior management. Upon entering the first day, I found providing instruction to be impossible- without behavior management. I felt unprepared.

How to Define Teacher Effectiveness

Biggest challenge for me as effectiveness is a relative term and we all have different perspectives. For this report, effectiveness will be defined as GPA in Teacher Prep Program, Personality Traits, office referrals at low levels, suspension levels for defiance/disrespect (CA Ed Code K Violation) from within classroom setting, test scores (both standardized and curriculum based measurements).

Effectiveness x Reach
Hassel, B. (2009). How Should States Define Teacher Effectiveness. Public Impact.

Effectiveness How much to the students learn, on average?

Reach How many students receive instruction from this teacher?

Rice, J.K. (2012). Teacher Effectiveness: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes. Economics Policy Institute.

Experience

Preparation Programs & Degrees

Type of Teacher Certification

Knowledge in Area Teaching

Teachers Own Test Scores

Dissertation Plan

25-50 Special Education Teachers Evaluate GPA in Teacher Prep Program Evaluate using a Learning Inventory Profile Observe Teacher Instructing using a coded Effectiveness Scale possibly based on CSTP

Variables

DV: Teacher Effectiveness IV: Grade Point Average, Personality Traits, Preparation Program School, & Grades Taught.

Hypothesis:

Research Hypothesis: Teachers who rate their effectiveness in the top two categories as Above Average or Exceptional will have the highest GPA from their teacher preparation program, less office referrals, & less student suspensions. Null Hypothesis: There will be no difference in teachers who rate their effectiveness in the top two categories as Above Average or Exceptional, in their GPA from their teacher preparation program, number of office referrals, or student suspensions.

Research Questions

Does GPA in Teacher Preparation Program factor into a teacher's perceived effectiveness in the classroom? Does a teacher who rates themselves as effective in the classroom, send less students to the office for referrals or suspension? Does the number of behavior management courses taken impact amount of office referrals or student suspensions given?

Survey Questions
1- What was your GPA in your Teacher Preparation program (inclusive of your Masters Degree if it was a combined program)? 2- How many behavior management courses required in your Teacher Preparation Program? 3- How often have you sent students to the office (for misbehavior) this month? 4- How often have you suspended a student from your class for defiance or disrespect (K Violation per CA ED Code) this month? 5- How would you rate your effectiveness as an overall teacher?

Likert Scale

Each question answered utilized a Likert Scale numbers 1-4. For my actual dissertation, would it be better to allow fill in the blank for GPA & number of courses taken? Or, should I have a nominal band as I did for this project? Still deciding There are numerous Likert scale examples for teacher effectiveness that I may borrow.

Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive Stats

T test @ .05 = CI @ 95%

T Test

T Test Explanation

The t-test assesses whether the means of two groups are statistically different from each other. The t test scores range from 8.302-13.776. According to the t test scale, with df at 53, the t test more than 2.00 would reject the null hypothesis. The results in the upper 5% of the scores. The null hypothesis is rejected.

T Test @ .01 = CI 99%

T Test .01

T test @ .01 Results Explanation

At 99% CI, or .01%, the null hypothesis is rejected. The t test at 2.66 rejects the null hypothesis. The t tests were between 8.056 and 13.466 with df at 53.

Independent Sample T Test

Independent Sample T Test

When choosing my variables for the independent t test, I analyzed teachers who defined themselves as average and above. I compared their self-analysis to GPA in teacher prep programs and number of office referrals and suspensions. The F tests were interesting in that only one question (How many behavior management courses did you take in teacher prep program) didnt reject the null hypothesis at 3.956. Q1 (GPA), Q3 (Office Referrals) & Q4 (Suspensions) did not reject the null hypothesis, which indicated may be correlated to teacher effectiveness.

ANOVA

For the ANOVA test, the 4 survey questions in comparison to the teacher effectiveness rating (Q5). Use of Time produces results showing that the mean square values both between groups (0.82) and within groups (1.262) were very close, showing a difference of .442. F value was .065 with significance at .978. According to the F Critical Value Chart, with a df of 53, anything greater than about 2.2000 rejects the null hypothesis. In all the other question topics, the F Value was 1.594, .081, & .255.

ANOVA

Scatterplot

Regression

Regression Explanation

From the scatterplot, the regression statistics show no correlation between teachers GPA & teacher effectiveness rating from the survey data. The Pearson correlation statistic of 15.850 shows a low strength of correlation between the two variances.

Correlations

Correlations

Correlations
Based on Pearsons Correlation, there is a low correlation between Teacher GPA & their perceived effectiveness.

Chi Square

Best Test for my Dissertation

The one-sample t-test was the only test that allowed me to reject the H0. Using that test, the H0 was rejected at both the .01& .05 levels. All other tests were unable to reject the H0. Because the results were falsified, hopefully with my real data population, I will be able to reject the null hypothesis with the Pearsons & Chi Square.

References
Hassel, B. (2009). How Should States Define Teacher Effectiveness. Public Impact. Rice, J.K. (2012). Teacher Effectiveness: Understanding the Effectiveness of Teacher Attributes. Economics Policy Institute. Kane, T. , Wooten, A. , Taylor, E. , & Tyler, J. (2011). Evaluating teacher effectiveness. Education Next, 11(3), .