Grantee: / Erikson Institute
Project Title: / Achieving High Standards for Pre-K Grade 3 Early Mathematics Education (EME) Innovations Program
Project Director: / Jennifer S. McCray / 312-893-7249
Amount of Award: / $5,999,999 over 5 years
Absolute Priority: / AP3: High Standards and High-Quality Assessments
List of Partners (with states for each): / Chicago Public Schools (IL)
Description of Project: The Early Mathematics Education (EME) Innovations Program will help Illinois students reach or exceed the Illinois Learning Standards for Mathematics by designing and implementing an innovative professional development (PD) program for teachers who teach prekindergarten through third grade (PK-3). Providing both off- and on-site services in individualized, small-group, and large-group formats, the project addresses teacher attitudes, practices and knowledge as they relate to mathematics, and creates within-school mechanisms to sustain excellent math teaching beyond the intervention. Erikson faculty will provide in-depth learning labs with structured adult learning activities that help teachers build their own foundational math knowledge. Individualized coaching by master teachers will utilize video so that teachers can observe their own math teaching. Each school’s assigned coach will also facilitate grade-level and cross-grade meetings focused on mathematics, and a summer institute will allow thorough math curriculum mapping within each school site.
To prepare for the possibility of program scale-up, the EME Innovations Program includes the publication of training materials that address the Illinois Learning Standards for Mathematics and the Common Core State Standards and are suitable for replication. These materials will be accompanied by a video series, designed to illustrate high-impact math teaching strategies and help teachers “see” the development of children’s mathematical thinking. Targeted to high-needs students, this conceptually and operationally unique approach to PD will serve 4,512 children at eight Chicago Public Schools over 5years. Approximately 80 teachers at eight neighborhood school sites that work with socioeconomically disadvantaged children will be trained.
Outcomes indicating success include: (1) teachers will understand how early mathematics concepts represented by the standards develop in children’s thinking; (2) teachers will demonstrate increased skill in implementing instruction that addresses the standards; (3) teachers will report a greater sense of comfort and competence in mathematics and math teaching; (4) performance of students from high-needs schools on standardized assessments of mathematics achievement, including the IL Standards Achievement Test, will significantly improve; and (5)children’s school readiness, as evidenced by math and literacy assessments, will increase.
Description of Evaluation: Using a quasi-experimental design, SRI International will collect pre- and post-tests of teacher-, student- and school-level outcomes in both the intervention and matched-comparison schools. The evaluation will address four research questions: (1) What is the effect of the intervention on teachers’ mathematical attitudes and beliefs, pedagogical content knowledge and classroom practices?; (2) Are changes in teacher outcomes sustained over time?; (3) Do students in the intervention group make greater gains in mathematics and early literacy compared to contrast group students?; and (4) Are the effects on students’ academic achievement greater the longer the teacher has participated in the intervention.
Project Evaluator: / Ximena Dominguez
Organization: / SRI International
Grantee: / Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching (ASSET)
Project Title: / ASSET Regional Professional Development Centers for Advancing STEM Education
Project Director: / CynthiaPulkowski / 412-481-7320, ext. 202
Amount of Award / $20,230,572 over 5 years
Absolute Priority: / AP3: High Standards and High-Quality Assessments
List of Partners (with states for each):
All projects are in Pennsylvania
School Districts
Aliquippa Elementary School
Aliquippa Junior- High School
Bedford Area School District
Berlin Elementary School
Blossburg Elementary School
Borough of Morrsiville SD
Brookville Area School District
C.M Musser Elementary School
Cambria Elementary School
Catasauqua Area School District
East Forest Elementary School
East Pennsboro Elementary School
Farrell Area Elementary School
Forbes Road School District
Francis H. Sheckler Elementary School
Hickory Grove Elementary School
Homer-Center School District
The School District of Jenkintown
John S. Clarke Elementary Center
Kerr Elementary School /
MAST Community Charter School
Meyersdale Area Elementary School
Mountain View Elementary School
Penns Valley Area SD
Pottsville Area SD
Propel Charter School
Rush Elementary School
Saint Clair Area Elementary/Middle School
Schuykill Haven Area SD
Shamokin Area SD
St. Mary's Area SD
Tamaqua Elementary School
Waynesboro Area SD
West Branch Elementary School
West Creek Hills Elementary School
West Forest Elementary School
The Westmont Hilltop SD
Wyomissing Area SD
State
Pennsylvania Department of Education
Project Website: /
Description of Project: Achieving Student Success through Excellence in Teaching (ASSET) will replicate, expand and sustain its proven K-6 standards-aligned STEM education program statewide through the establishment of strategically placed comprehensive Regional Professional Development (PD) Centers and Satellite Sites across Pennsylvania, targeting teachers in high-needs and rural schools.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of jobs requiring science degrees is growing at three times the rate of other jobs. Yet the number of university students majoring in engineering and physical sciences declined by 25 percent between 1980 and 2004. Research indicates improved K-12 science education leads to more students who choose and succeed at higher-level high school courses and leads to more college-bound students selecting science and engineering majors and improved overall performance. By age 11, students in ASSET schools have received 7 years of science instruction from teachers who are adept at utilizing hands-on, inquiry-based materials, aligned with state and national standards, that spark and sustain students’ natural interest in science. ASSET recognizes that many rural and socioeconomically challenged schools face unique challenges: isolation, lack of curriculum, and the inability to attract and retain highly effective teachers who can be developed as coaches. ASSET can begin to break down these barriers to improving science education through the establishment of Regional PD Centers and Satellite Sites. To sustain professional development, the development of professional learning communities will be supported.
The PD Centers, replicating ASSET’s professional development center in Pittsburgh, will be located in the western, eastern and central parts of the state, and corresponding satellite sites will provide regional access to ASSET’s comprehensive advanced PD offerings; 5-day Institutes for Inquiry, Assessment, Science & Literacy and Foundations for Teaching Inquiry-Based Math; and a leadership development pathway for teachers and ASSET’s Coaching Pathway to provide schools with the option of developing their own science coach(es). The development of rubrics, training materials and online courses will enable the program to scale to new sites.The fully funded Advanced PD Program will impact 400 elementary teachers and 48,000 students.
Anticipated outcomes include curriculum alignment to science standards, increased pedagogical and STEM content knowledge, improved teacher effectiveness, student self-efficacy, student achievement, and professional learning communities to sustain growth in participating schools.
Description of Evaluation:Evaluators will use a mixed-methods approach, incorporating a quasi-experimental design and the constant comparativemethod for qualitative aspects, focusing on six areas: (1) aligned science curriculum, via the Pennsylvania Department of Education rubric; (2) impact of professional development on teachers’ pedagogical practice, via observations, interviews and questionnaires; (3) impact of professional development on content knowledge by science teachers and conceptual learning processes by math teachers, via observations, interviews and questionnaires; (4)impact on student achievement in science and math, via student data; (5) increase in student self-efficacy in science and math curriculum studies, via questionnaires; and (6)development of professional learning communities, via case studies using an annotated rubric. Participants will be sampled based on the intended purpose for the specific evaluation component.
Project Evaluator: / Charles Fox
Organization: / Point Park University
Grantee: / Children’s Literacy Initiative
Project Title: / Children's Literacy Initiative’s Model Classroom Innovation for Raising Teaching Quality and Increasing Student Literacy Achievement
Project Director: / KellyHunter / 215-561-4676, ext. 141
Amount of Award: / $21,726,296 over 5 years
Absolute Priority: / AP1: Effective Teachers and Principals
List of Partners (with states for each): / Camden City Public Schools (NJ) Chicago Public Schools (IL)
Newark Public Schools (NJ) School District of Philadelphia (PA)
Project Website: /
Description of Project:The CLI Model Classroom Modeling Exemplary Literacy Instruction (MELI) project raises student literacy achievement by investing in teachers’ instructional skills and by developing grade-level teams of teachers into collaborative professional learning communities. These teachers have access to the tools, training and support they need to effectively teach children from low-income neighborhoods how to read and write.
In implementing the Model Classrooms, the Children’s Literacy Initiative (CLI) will work with 456 kindergarten through third-grade teachers in 39 randomly selected public schools in four states. Model Classrooms will reach 45,600 students over the 5-year grant period. The goal is to increase the number of K-3 teachers who have the content knowledge and instructional skill needed to teach students to read on grade level by the end of third grade.
Statistics show that teacher quality is the factor that has the highest impact on student achievement; therefore, CLI sees the teacher as the most powerful tool in the classroom. For this reason, through Model Classroom, CLI identifies, recruits and develops one Model Classroom teacher per grade in every school. This teacher then receives intensive coaching and support to prepare him or her to help colleagues use best practices in literacy long after CLI’s intervention is complete. Model Classroom teachers raise expectations, standardize practices, and serve as mentors and resources to other district teachers. CLI also collaborates with school leaders to ensure that they know how to leverage their Model Classrooms to sustain and expand excellent literacy instruction.
Phase 1 schools begin receiving services in the first 3 years of the i3 grant, and Phase 2 schools begin receiving services in the final 2 years of the grant. Phase 2 schools will serve as a control group for comparison to mark the progress of Phase 1 schools during the research study. Phase 1 schools are separated into three cohorts: Cohort 1 consists of third-grade teachers across the treatment schools, cohort 2 consists of kindergarten and first-grade teachers, and cohort 3 consists of second-grade teachers. Training events, coaching and materials will be delivered to these three cohorts over a 3-year implementation period for each cohort.
Description of Evaluation:The American Institutes for Research (AIR)will conduct a randomized controlled trial to measure the impact of Model Classrooms on student achievement and teacher instruction. Primary research questions: (1) What impact did the CLI Model Classroom treatment have on student achievement in early literacy? (2) What cumulative impact did multiple years of the CLI Model Classroom treatment have on student achievement in early literacy? (3)What impact did the CLI treatment have on teacher instruction in early literacy?
Project Evaluator: / Terry Salinger
Organization: / American Institutes for Research
Grantee: / School District No. 1 of the City and County of Denver, State of Colorado
Project Title: / Collaborative Strategic Reading Colorado (CSR Colorado)
Project Director: / AmyKeltner / 720-423-3345
Amount of Award: / 25,136,939 over 5 years
Absolute Priority: / AP1: Effective Teachers and Principals
List of Partners (with states for each): / Padres Unidos, Inc. (CO)
University of Colorado at Boulder (CO)
University of Colorado at Denver (CO)
Description of Project: Denver Public Schools (DPS) will collaborate with the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU-Boulder) to validate an innovative, research-based intervention, collaborative strategic reading (CSR), in content-area classrooms in eight middle schools. Padres Unidos, Inc., a community-based organization that works on education equality issues with Spanish-speaking and other minority parents and youths in Denver, will work with DPS and CU-Boulder to educate and engage parents in support of CSR Colorado. CSR Colorado will catalyze a whole-school strategy to increase teacher, principal, and staff effectiveness and academic achievement for English language learners (ELLs), students with learning disabilities (LDs) and struggling readers.
Built on a foundation of reciprocal teaching and incorporating features associated with effective instruction (such as collaborative group work and interactive dialogue), CSR Colorado addresses four challenges—namely, how to promote (a) students’ reading comprehension, particularly of discipline-specific expository text; (b) text-based content learning among ELLs, students with LDs and struggling readers; (c) student engagement in high-level academic discussions; and (d) ELLs’ language acquisition through academic discourse with peers.
CSR Colorado will be a strategic lever for districtwide change. Program objectives are to (a) validate CSR with ELLs, students with LDs and struggling readers in middle school content-area classrooms; (b) based on the results of the validation study, ensure that the DPS definition of teacher effectiveness includes best practices for ELLs and other high-needs students; (c) increase principals’ professional development opportunities to drive instructional leadership that supports ELL achievement; (d) increase the capacity of school staff to support ELLs, students with LDs and struggling readers; (e)align DPS professional development requirements to best practices for ELLs, students with LDs and struggling readers; and (f) develop a learning trajectory that accurately captures ELL student learning in language and content. Outcomes will be measured by increased reading comprehension; increased student achievement overall; a closing of achievement gaps; wide dissemination of findings; revised definitions and measures of teacher effectiveness; increased percentages of principals, teachers and staff members participating in coherent professional development opportunities; increased parental involvement; and improved assessments that more accurately reflect ELLs’ learning trajectories.
A total of 5,200 students in eight middle schools will be directly impacted by the project. Once CSR Colorado is integrated into the curriculum districtwide, more than 10,000 additional students will be served. This number will grow in the years following the grant period.
Description of Evaluation: The program evaluation will employ a rigorous experimental design that mirrors the teachers-as-own-controls experimental design used in a CSR study by the Institute of Education Sciences.
Project Evaluator: / SRI International
Grantee: / The Curators of the University of Missouri
Project Title: / eMINTS Validation Project: Assessing the Input of eMINTS Professional Development on Student and Teacher Outcomes
Project Director: / MonicaBeglau / 573-884-7202
Amount of Award: / $12,277,674 over 5 years
Absolute Priority: / AP3: High Standards and High-Quality Assessments
List of Partners (with states for each): / School District
New Franklin R-I School District (MO)
Other
CDW-G (IL)
EarthWalk (VA)
Intel Corporation (OR)
learning.com (OR)
SMART Technologies (Alberta, Canada)
School Improvement Network (UT)
Tech4Learning (CA)
Project Website: /
Description of Project: The eMINTS (enhancing Missouri’s Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) Validation Project is a study of the impact of the intensive eMINTS professional development (PD) program on more than 240 teachers and 10,800 students across seventh- and eighth-grade classrooms in 60 rural Missouri middle schools. The official project partner is the New Franklin R-I School District. New Franklin is a small rural district that has successfully implemented eMINTS across multiple grade levels since 2006 and will serve as a mentor/exemplar for participating districts. The project’s goal is to validate the effectiveness of eMINTS PD in helping teachers translate standards and information from assessments into classroom practices that employ technology and support learning for all students. eMINTS PD is innovative because it is one of the few PD programs with data to support the chain of evidence from delivery of a specific PD program to changing teacher practice to positively impacting student achievement.The project has the potential to leverage existing technology investments that many districts already have made by corroborating a PD program that can take full advantage of these investments to increase students’ college and career readiness.
Traditional eMINTS PD provides teachers with more than 250 hours of PD spanning 2 years and with support that includes monthly in-classroom coaching visits. In refining and improving eMINTS PD, eMINTS staff integrated an Intel® Teach program (Thinking with Technology), adding a third year of PD. The third year expands teachers’ abilities to use project-based learning, giving them access to Intel’s suite of online tools designed to involve students in higher-order thinking and problem solving. Technology resources in eMINTS classrooms include a SMART Board (interactive whiteboard), teacher laptop, printer, digital camera and at least one computer for every two students. Software is limited to productivity software; eMINTS PD and the required technology create classrooms that equip students with 21st century college- and career-readiness skills.
Based on the results of this study and subsequent program adjustments, eMINTS plans to scale to new sites through a train-the-trainer program that has already been demonstrated to result in successful program implementation in nine states and in New South Wales, Australia. Project success will be measured by significant changes in teachers’ practices that are reflected in significant, positive changes in student achievement in language arts and mathematics as well as in 21st-century skills.
Description of Evaluation: This evaluation is a random control trialin which 60 rural schools are randomly assigned to one of three groups: a traditional eMINTS PD intervention, a traditional eMINTS PD intervention plus an additional year of Intel Teach, and a control group. Confirmatory questions are (1) What is the impact of eMINTS PD on students’ performance in mathematics and language arts? and (2) Does eMINTS + Intel Teach result in greater impact on students’ performance in mathematics and language arts relative to eMINTS PD and to control? Additional exploratory questionson student outcomes (e.g., 21st-century skills) and teacher practice outcomes (e.g., inquiry-based instruction) will be examined.