Other News
Dana Center presents at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting
Dana Center researchers made the following presentations at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association March 24–28 in New York City. Download available Dana Center presentations here.
Monday, March 24
2:15–3:45 pm
Dana Center Presenter: Bill Hopkins
Hilton, Murray Hill Suite B, 2nd floor
2:15–3:45 pm
Dana Center Presenter: Pamela L. Paek
Sheraton, Liberty Suite 5, 3rd floor
Wednesday, March 26
3:05–3:45 pm
Opening the Door(s): A Complication of One Principal's Leadership Considerations for a New Campus
Dana Center Presenter: Jodie Flint
Marriott Marquis Times Square, Broadway Ballroom, Broadway North, 6th floor
Thursday, March 27
2:15–2:55 pm
School Improvement Focused on Mathematics and Science: A District Case Study
Dana Center Presenter: Cynthia L. Schneider
Marriott Marquis Times Square, Broadway Ballroom, Broadway North, 6th floor
4:05–5:35 pm
The Relationship between AP Biology Teacher Practices and Student AP Exam Performance
Dana Center Presenter: Pamela L. Paek
Hilton: Concourse H, Concourse Level
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Dana Center researchers were among the 195 members of The University of Texas at Austin community presenting research at the 2008 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association March 24–28 in New York City. More than 15,000 educators attended the meeting.
According to its website, the mission of the AERA—the premiere educational research association in the United States—is to advance knowledge about education, encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good.
Following are more detailed descriptions of the presentations that Dana Center researchers will give.
Symposium: Enhancing Mathematics Learning with Technology: Civic, Teacher, Student, and Content Perspectives on Scaling Up SimCalc
Accepted by the Learning Sciences Special Interest Group
Monday, March 24, 2:15–3:45 pm / Hilton, Murray Hill Suite B, 2nd Floor
Presenters: Bill Hopkins, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin; Jennifer Knudsen, SRI International; Stephen Hegedus, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; Theodore Chao, The University of Texas at Austin; Philip J. Vahey, SRI International; Nicole Shechtman, SRI International; Susan B. Empson, The University of Texas at Austin; Luz A. Maldonado, The University of Texas at Austin; Steven Greenstein, The University of Texas at Austin; Deborah G. Tatar, Virginia Tech University
This symposium focuses on the Scaling Up SimCalc Project, an experimental investigation of a learning-sciences-based approach used by a wide range of middle school teachers to teach complex and conceptually difficult mathematics to a wide range of middle school students. The study compared the results of teaching rate and proportionality using an integration of SimCalc technology, curriculum, and teacher professional development with the results of using the best available professional development and existing curriculum. A comparison of learning gains from pre-test to post-test demonstrated that students whose teachers taught using SimCalc learned more mathematics.
District Approaches to Strengthening Teacher Instructional Practices in Diverse Education Systems Across the United States
Accepted by Division K—Teaching and Teacher Education
Monday, March 24, 2:15–3:45 pm, Sheraton, Liberty Suite 5, 3rd floor
Presenter: Pamela L. Paek, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin
This presentation documents eight school districts' efforts to improve the instructional practices of secondary mathematics teachers through various forms of professional development. The common elements across these efforts are a focus on secondary mathematics topics, opportunities for teachers to observe each others' classrooms, and regularly planned times for teachers to work together as a professional learning community. A goal of this project was to find out what types of professional development are actually happening in the field and, since districts do not always incorporate research into practice, to help districts find ways to study the effect of professional development on teacher practices and student learning.
Opening the Door(s): A Complication of One Principal's Leadership Considerations for a New Campus
Accepted by the Critical Issues in Curriculum and Cultural Studies Special Interest Group
Wednesday, March 26, 3:05–3:45 pm, Marriott Marquis Times Square, Broadway Ballroom, Broadway North, 6th floor
Presenter: Mary Jo (Jodie) Flint, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Principals exist within the tensions between the social and organizational responsibilities of leading a school community. Through an examination of the considerations and perceptions of one principal as she grapples with opening a new high school campus, this qualitative case study surfaces evidence of purposeful leadership practices that may inform effective school leadership. Further, this study attempts to complicate the principal’s perceptions—deepening awareness of the limitless possibilities implied by the impossible certainty of teaching/learning—and expand the vision of the possible structures and social milieu of a school community.
School Improvement Focused on Mathematics and Science: A District Case Study
Accepted by the School Effectiveness and School Improvement Special Interest Group
Thursday, March 27, 2:15–2:55 pm, Marriott Marquis Times Square, Broadway Ballroom, Broadway North, 6th floor
Cynthia L. Schneider, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin; Jennifer Westrick, independent consultant; Milton (Chip) Gentry, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin; and Darlene Yañez, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin
Qualitative and quantitative data highlight the changes over time in the practices and effectiveness of secondary teachers and administrators who received multiple years of technical assistance focused on mathematics and science instruction. In general, teachers’ and administrators’ positive attitudes and behaviors increased over time. The district’s varying levels of growth in student achievement illustrate the long-term nature of improvement programs.
The Relationship Between AP Biology Teacher Practices and Student AP Exam Performance
Presenters: Pamela L. Paek, Charles A. Dana Center, The University of Texas at Austin; Henry I. Braun, Boston College; Catherine Trapani, Educational Testing Service; Eva Ponte, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Don Powers, Educational Testing Service
Accepted by Division K—Teaching and Teacher Education
Thursday, March 27, 4:05–5:35 pm, Hilton, Concourse H,
Concourse Level
This paper discusses Advanced Placement (AP) Biology teacher characteristics, the contexts in which these teachers work, their teaching practices, and the relationship of these factors to student performance on the AP Biology Exam. We developed models to link teachers’ contexts and their teaching practices with their students’ AP exam performance and found that the contexts and teaching practices that were statistically significant varied across these models. Professional development, smaller class sizes, and daily class meetings were all statistically significant and correlated positively with student success on the exam.