During the ITE CoP project, we collated and produced a series of resources on continuous improvement in teacher education, covering topics such as use of data, improvement cycles, and program evaluation.

This page contains two papers written by Learning First, and a series of external resources we found insightful during the CoP project.

Working papers are in draft format and not for citation.

List of resources produced during the CoP:

• A working paper written by Learning First to help stakeholders think about the purpose of evaluation and data collection, Evaluation and Assessment.
• A paper published by Learning First in 2015 that discusses the state of ITE reform, A New Approach: Reforming Teacher Education

Links to external resources we found insightful during the CoP

General readings on evaluation

• Behn, “Why Measure Performance? Different Purposes Require Different Measures” Public Administration Review, 2003
• Centre for Education Statistics and Evaluation, “Five Essentials for Effective Evaluation“, New South Wales Government, 2016
• Peck et al, “Driving Blind: Why We Need Standardized Performance Assessment In Teacher Education”, Journal of Curriculum and Instruction, 2014
• Tatto et al, “Variations in Teacher Preparation Evaluation Systems: International Perspectives“, University of Michigan, 2013
• Melbourne University, “Teacher Effectiveness Systems, Frameworks and Measures: A Review of International Approaches”, Australian Government Department of Education and Training, 2017

Reading and resources on data use in teacher preparation

• Reports on how various US states are using data in teacher preparation from Bellwether Education Partners, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Center for Teacher Quality(2015 State Teacher Policy Yearbook)
• TNTP, “Getting to better prep: A state guide for teacher preparation data systems”, 2017
• The Data Quality Campaign’s resources for the effective use of education data

Examples of using data in teacher preparation

• The National Center for Teacher Residencies’ 2015 Network Impact Overview Report
• Tennessee’s Teacher Preparation Report Card, its design process and a brief case study
• A case study on Texas Tech University’s use of data in district-university partnerships
• TNTP’s report “Leap Year: Assessing and supporting effective first-year teachers”
• Massachusetts’ teacher preparation stakeholder surveys and reports
• A case study from Massachusetts and Endicott College on using data to drive success in educator preparation
• AACTE and the University of Washington’s “Using data for program improvement: A study of promising practices in teacher education”

General readings on change

• In “Slow Ideas”, Atul Gawande, surgeon and public-health researcher, raises the question: why do some innovations spread so swiftly, and others so slowly? This is a key question for anyone looking to bring about institutional or system-wide changes. Gawande takes a look at the incentives, penalties and stakeholders involved when leaders strive to create new norms or to shift practices.
• In “From Bureaucracy to Profession: Remaking the Educational Sector for the Twenty-First Century”, Jal Mehta explores the challenges faced particularly in American schooling, the reasons behind the apparent failure in American school reforms to achieve successful education reform at scale, and how to to bring about system-wide improvement in the quality of education.