Based at the University of Michigan, TeachingWorks is among the lead organisations in the Unites States that is working to define the core work of teaching—the essential practices and tasks that must be done well for all students to learn—so that it may be better taught to beginning teachers (DeMonte, 2017[1]). Established in 2011, the mission of TeachingWorks is to create a system for teacher preparation and professional training that ensures equitable access to effective teaching practices in Michigan and across the US (Teaching Works, 2018[2]).
In the state of Michigan, during the 2003-2013 period, students’ performance in early literacy fell behind most of the other states. For example, in relation Michigan’s relative rank in fourth-grade reading proficiency among white students, Michigan moved from thirteenth to forty-fifth in the nation. State students also suffered a dramatic drop in eighth grade Hispanic students’ relative rank in maths – from fourth to forty-third. Further, Michigan was, in 2013, among the last six states for improvement in fourth-grade reading (Lenhoff, Arellano and Joy, 2015[2]).
This decline, however, was not uniform across schools. As shown in Figure 1, some high-poverty elementary schools had students who far exceeded state averages in achievement. This demonstrates that it is possible to provide effective teaching and turn around Michigan’s declines. The imperative of TeachingWorks is to ensure that every school has teachers who are able to enact effective teaching practices. TeachingWorks approach to research and professional training is based in the recognition that teaching is a complex practice that needs specialised knowledge, insight, and capability, and those competences can and must be effectively taught through practiced-based teacher education.
Clinical Practice
The initial teacher education (ITE) programmes at the University of Michigan (UM) are informed by TeachingWorks and operate in close partnership with local K-12 schools. Strong links between research and practice are prioritized. Teacher candidates progress through the programme in cohorts of 20 to 30 candidates and complete academic coursework and guided experiences in schools.
The secondary programmes at UM, for example, use an approach called Learning and Teaching the Disciplines through Clinical Roundsto integrate the content knowledge and practices that teachers need to teach specific subjects. Candidates present a video of their teaching practice and deeply analyse it with peers, school-based mentor teachers, and university faculty course and field instructors. The approach began in 2005 and has grown in five content areas: social studies, mathematics, science, English language, Arts and world languages.
High-leverage practices
TeachingWorks puts a strong focus on the development of professional practice and training. A key pillar in this approach is the teaching of high-leverage practices (HLP). These practices are understood as the core capabilities of the work of teaching and represent the “best bets” about those skills that are central to foster learning and promote equity.
The challenges when trying to develop strong teacher training is the lack of consistency of professional language, the lack of or contradictory evidence of teaching effects, the opportunities available for grounding teacher education in practice, and the need of a new generation of assessments of teaching practice (Loewenberg and M. Forzani, 2012[4]). The importance of HLP comes from two propositions: first, knowing content and caring about students is not enough, teachers need to be able to effectively implement what they know. Second, teacher competences need to be specific and assessable, rather than general benchmarks for good practice. Box 1 briefly lists the HLPs identified by TeachingWorks.
Networks and partnerships
At the state level, TeachingWorks is part of two networks of university-based teacher preparation programmes in Maryland and Michigan. Although each network focuses on their distinctive interests and needs, for example, in 2017 the Maryland Program Network (MdPN) worked on disrupting biases against children of colour and helping beginning teachers recognise the potential of all children, they also address common challenges such as the development of a common language and understanding of the high-leverage practices.
Across the country, TeachingWorks collaborates with more than 70 university-based and residency teacher education programmes, both focusing on the application of HLPs and improving teacher education pedagogies.
Video resources and streaming seminar series
More than 1 800 instructional videos are available on a dedicated site to illustrate what high-leverage practices look like in real classroom situations. These 200 hours of video footage feature 11 of the 19 TeachingWorks’ HLPs, organised in 3 collections: elementary mathematics laboratory, measures of effective teaching extensions, and video exemplars. Moreover, the livestreaming of the seminar series provides an opportunity for practitioners and scholars together to reflect about diverse challenges in education and innovation. During 2018, the seminars reached more than 2 000 attendees and viewers.
The OECD review team in its visit to the United States on 25‑28 October 2016 concluded that the TeachingWorks approach to preparing teachers was a strength in that it:
The OECD review team also noted that:
DeMonte, J. (2017), Country Background Report. OECD Initial Teacher Preparation Study. U.S., American Institutes for Research, http://www.oecdteacherready.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/United-States-Country-Background-Report-ITP-Study.pdf. [1]
Lenhoff, S., A. Arellano and S. Joy (2015), Michigan Achieves: Becoming a Top Ten Education State. State of Michigan Education Report, 2015., https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED588784.pdf (accessed on 03 January 2019). [3]
Loewenberg, D. and F. M. Forzani (2012), Teaching Works, http://www.teachingworks.org/images/files/032912_MSU.pdf (accessed on 03 January 2019). [4]
Teaching Works (2018), Teaching Works. 2017-2018 Annual Report, http://www.teachingworks.org/about/annualreport (accessed on 04 January 2019). [2]
Disclaimer
This case study describes a “promising practice” drawn from an OECD review of initial teacher preparation in the United States from 25-28 October 2016.
The OECD Review Team identified a number of “promising practices” in each country. These practices may not be widespread or representative, but seen in the context of other challenges, they represent a strength or opportunity to improve the country’s initial teacher preparation system – and for other countries to learn from them.
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