Systems for Instructional Improvement: Creating Coherence from the Classroom to the District Office

by Paul Cobb, Kara Jackson, Erin Henrick, Thomas M. Smith, Michael Sorum (Afterword)

Overview

In Systems for Instructional Improvement, Paul Cobb and his colleagues draw on their extensive research to propose a series of specific, empirically grounded recommendations that together constitute a theory of action for advancing instruction at scale. The authors outline the elements of a coherent instructional system; describe productive practices for school leaders in supporting teachers’ growth; and discuss the role of district leaders in developing school-level capacity for instructional improvement.
 
Based on the findings of an eight-year research-practice partnership with four large urban districts investigating their efforts to enhance middle school math instruction, the authors seek to bridge the gap between the literature on improving teaching and learning and the literature on policy and leadership. They look at the entire education system and make recommendations on improvement efforts with a focus on student learning and teachers’ instructional vision. In particular, the authors offer insights on the interplay among various supports for teacher learning, including pullout professional development, coaching, collaborative inquiry, the most instructionally productive uses of principals’ time, and the tensions that tend to emerge at the district level. They provide a guide for district-level leaders in organizing their work to support significant teacher learning.
 
Systems for Instructional Improvement provides an invaluable resource for school and district leaders, while outlining a clearly focused agenda for future research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682531778
Publisher:	Harvard Education Press
Publication date:	05/15/2018
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	185,834
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 6.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Paul Cobb is a research professor at Vanderbilt University. He is the principal investigator of the MIST study. He received his doctorate in mathematics from The University of Georgia. He has taught courses in elementary mathematics teaching, design research methodology, and the school and district setting of mathematics teaching and learning. His research focuses on improving the quality of mathematics teaching and student learning on a large scale, and on issues of equity in students’ access to significant mathematical ideas.

Kara Jackson is an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Washington, Seattle. She received her doctorate in Education, Culture, and Society with an emphasis in mathematics education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Dr. Jackson is a co-principal investigator of MIST. Her research focuses on specifying forms of practice that support all learners to participate in rigorous mathematics and how to organize educational contexts to support teachers to develop such practices.

Erin Henrick is a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University. She is the project manager and is a co-principal investigator on the MIST project, and received her doctorate in Education, Leadership, and Policy from Vanderbilt University. Dr. Henrick’s research interests include district-level design research, researcher practitioner partnerships that support improvements in the quality of teaching, and school and district supports to foster instructional improvement.

Dr. Thomas M. Smith is the Dean of the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside, and is a co-principal investigator of the MIST project. He earned his doctorate in education theory and policy from the Pennsylvania State University. Previously he was associate professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Vanderbilt University. His research focuses on school and district instructional improvement in mathematics, and on research practitioner partnerships.

Table of Contents

1 Investigating and Supporting Instructional Improvement Paul Cobb Kara Jackson Erin Henrick Thomas M. Smith 1

2 Investigating Instructional Improvement in Partnership with Districts Paul Cobb Erin Henrick Kara Jackson Thomas M. Smith 15

3 Specifying Goals for Students' Mathematics Learning and the Development ofTeachers' Knowledge, Perspectives, and Practice Kara Jackson Anne Garrison Wilhelm Charles Munter 43

4 Overview of the Teacher Learning Subsystem Kara Jackson Ilana Horn Paul Cobb 65

5 Pull-Out Professional Development for Teachers Kara Jackson Megan Webster Jonee Wilson 77

6 Teacher Collaborative Time: Helping Teachers Make Sense of Ambitious Teaching in the Context of Their Schools Ilana Horn Britnie D. Kane Brette Garner 93

7 Understanding Content-Specific Instructional Coaching: On-the-Ground Support for Teacher Development Britnie D. Kane Paul Cobb Lynsey Gibbons 113

8 Teachers' Advice Networks Anne Garrison Wilhelm Paul Cobb Kenneth Frank I-Chien Chen 135

9 Instructional Materials as Tools for Instructional Improvement Erin Henrick Mollie Appelgate Mahtab Nazemi 149

10 Educational Assessments Brette Garner Nicholas Kochmanski Erin Henrick 159

11 Supplemental Supports for Currently Struggling Students Jonee Wilson Denice Kelley 169

12 School Instructional Leadership Charlotte Sharpe Adrian Larbi-Cherif Erin Henrick Paul Cobb Thomas M. Smith 179

13 District Instructional Leadership Kara Jackson Paul Cobb Jessica G. Rigby Thomas M. Smith 193

14 Assessing the Impact of Partnership Recommendations on District Instructional Improvement Strategies Erin Henrick Amanda B. Klafebn Paul Cobb 209

15 Putting the Pieces Together Paul Cobb Kara Jackson Erin Henrick Thomas M. Smith 221

Afterword: Fort Worth Independent School District: Context And Charge Michael Sorum 241

Appendix: How Educational Leaders See MIST: A Case for Long-Term, Mutualistic Partnerships Between Educators and Researchers Anna-Rutb Allen William R. Penuel 253

Notes 271

Acknowledgments 309

About the Authors 313

About the Contributors 315

Index 321

Editorial Reviews

"The authors’ detailed and concrete recommendations serve as a large-scope roadmap for districts to improve instruction while keeping students’ learning at the center." —Joy Esboldt & Travis J. Bristol, Teachers College Record


"Readers are encouraged to consume every morsel of the rich text in order to appreciate the requisite need for these strategies to work in concert with one another, rather than in isolation." —Judy Paolucci, School Administrator

From the Publisher