Gold-Standard Study From 100Kin10 and University of Chicago’s Urban Education Lab of Mathalicious Finds Cost-Effective Solution to Improving Teacher Quality, Student Outcomes
Press Release – New York — A new quantitative study finds that providing middle school math teachers with access to high-quality lesson plans and support can significantly impact student performance and teacher effectiveness. The study suggests that real-world, inquiry-based lessons paired with additional supports can elevate student outcomes at a fraction of the cost of most interventions aimed at improving teacher quality. The research was made possible by 100Kin10’s competitive randomized control trial opportunity, with a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York and conducted by the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Lab, with teaching materials designed by Mathalicious.
“There is a dearth of evidence about the most effective—and cost effective—ways to prepare and support STEM teachers,” said Talia Milgrom-Elcott, executive director and co-founder of 100Kin10. “Through a diverse suite of learning-oriented efforts, ranging from rigorous ‘gold-standard’ randomized control trials to faster-paced action research opportunities like Networked Improvement Communities, 100Kin10 is working with our network of best-in-class partners to identify and build evidence for the most promising approaches to developing excellent STEM teachers. Because we’re a highly connected network, we are then positioned to seamlessly and quickly share that knowledge with other relevant organizations.” Founded in 2011 following a call-to-action in President Obama’s State of the Union, 100Kin10 seeks to train and retain 100,000 new, excellent teachers of science, technology, engineering and math by 2021.
The study, Simplifying Teaching: A Field Experiment with Online “Off-the-Shelf” Lessons, was published this month in the National Bureau of Economic Research. It is the outcome of 100Kin10’s Research Design Competition, in which the Urban Education Lab partners with members of 100Kin10’s network of 280+ organizations to generate deep data about the most effective teacher-focused STEM education interventions, including evidence concerning for whom those interventions work, where, and why.
According to the Urban Education Lab, test scores improved on average 8.5% of a standard deviation, equivalent to reducing class size by 15% or moving a statistically average teacher into the 80th percentile. Instructors who struggle to improve student performance experienced the greatest impact on student outcomes. The study additionally found that lesson plan access and support improved student perceptions of their teachers’ instruction abilities.
“A well-designed lesson is one of the most powerful tools we have for helping teachers succeed,” said Karim Ani, founder of Mathalicious. “When teachers are supported with excellent lessons, they can focus on cultivating deeper learning among their students.” Mathalicious develops lessons for grades 6-12 in which students apply mathematical thinking to explore real-world questions. “We’re thrilled to see that teaching even a small number of Mathalicious lessons has such a powerful impact on teaching and learning, and we’re grateful to have been a part of such a rigorous study with the University of Chicago and 100Kin10.”
The study randomly assigned over 350 teachers in three VA school districts to three groups: teachers who had access to Mathalicious lesson plans only, teachers who had access to Mathalicious lesson plans and were also invited to participate in an online community that offered lesson specific support and encouraged usage, and a control group that had access to neither. Each lesson is intended to span two to four instructional days and each revolves around a guiding question (e.g. “How is wealth distributed…and how should it be?”). Teachers were provided seven lesson plans and on average implemented two or three, demonstrating impact with just a handful of lessons.
“Finding low-cost ways of boosting teacher performance and student achievement has been an enormous challenge for schools across the country,” said Roseanna Ander, Executive Director of the Urban Education Lab. “This study suggests some additional resources and supports we can offer teachers in order to deliver the best educational experience possible to young people.”
“We want to foster open, experimental thinking for organizations trying to prepare and support teachers. From this study we can see that there are low-cost, effective approaches to improving instructional outcomes.” said Milgrom-Elcott.
Click here for an overview of the study.
Click here for the full NBER working paper, Simplifying Teaching: A Field Experiment with Online “Off-the-Shelf” Lessons.
