Observing Classroom Instructional Differences Between First-Year Teachers From High-, Average-, and Low-Poverty Schools

• In Event: 42.062 - Classroom Observations: Reliability, Validity, and Use in Determining Teacher Effectiveness

Abstract

Although there are several studies and reviews of research that have found that high-poverty schools have less qualified teachers than lower-poverty schools, there are very few studies that have examined the classroom instruction of first-year teachers from higher- and lower-poverty schools. Systematic classroom observations of first-year secondary teachers were conducted across three types of schools with high-, medium-, and low-poverty student populations. We found several significant classroom instruction differences between first-year teachers in these three types of schools. Surprisingly, first-year teachers in high-poverty schools were often observed using more effective classroom practices than teachers from middle- and low-poverty schools.

Authors

• Nancy Dubinski Weber, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Manjari Banerjee, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Lauren Ashley Williams, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Larry J. Kelly

• Hersh C. Waxman, Texas A&M University