Uzbek Language Arts and Mathematics: Results of the teacher guide uptake study

• In Event: Using teaching and learning materials in Uzbekistan: Lessons from observations and interviews

Proposal

In this presentation, we will report on results from Mathematics and Uzbek Language Arts pilot in primary schools (Grades 2 and 4). Under the UEEP Program, we have developed student standards, a daily scope and sequence, and teacher guides and student textbooks aligned to the standards. These materials aim to introduce new methodologies to teachers to focus on the government’s aims of improving students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
In mathematics, we developed lesson plans in the teachers’ guide that integrate several high-impact instructional strategies. In particular, we focused lessons around the strategy of Explanation and Justification, which involves asking students to explain and justify their thinking when they describe how they solved a problem (Author., 2019). Included in this is responding to other students, questioning incorrect responses, and working in groups to solve problems (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Blank & de las Alas, 2009; Ding, Piccolo & Kulm, 2007). Explanation and Justification is a proven strategy that allows children to do mathematics with deep understanding and helps build a flexible number sense, which are essential skills for higher mathematical content (King, 1991; Chi, 2000).
In Uzbek Language Arts, we developed lesson plans that focus on integrating core literacy skills and strategies, moving away from the traditional separation of reading and grammar instruction. Reading instruction focuses on the intentional development of comprehension skills through exposure to a diversity of text types and text structures and strengthens the reading-writing connection through writing for purpose activities and the use of graphic organizers. Evidence shows that explicitly teaching children text structures increases understanding of the relationship between information in a text and improves reading comprehension (National Reading Panel, 2000; Oakhill, Cain & Elbro, 2015).
Given that these materials contain new methodology to teachers in Uzbekistan, our study will focus on understanding how teachers are making sense of these methodologies, including modifications they might make to the materials to adapt them to better suit their cultural contexts. We will use a proven framework to capture changes teachers make to the lesson plan as they are teaching, and why they are making these changes. We will be able to understand how fidelity to the lesson plans (through the number of modifications that the teacher made) translates, or does not translate, into quality instruction. Finally, we will show how we revised materials to encourage changes teachers made that led to high quality instruction, and how we tried to discourage changes that led to lowered quality instruction.

Authors

• Zukhra Salieva, RTI International

• Yasmin Sitabkhan, RTI International

• Chelsea Peters