Indiana Wesleyan University Transition to Teaching Research Project Fall 2005

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Indiana Wesleyan UniversityTransition to
TeachingResearch ProjectFall 2005

• Presented by
• Project Director Alli Robertson, IWU DOL
  Student
• Cynthia Tweedell, Associate Dean for
  Institutional Effectiveness
• Indiana Wesleyan University

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Research Objectives

• To determine the effectiveness of IWUs TTT
  program
• Are graduates of IWUs TTT program as effective
  in teaching as graduates of more traditional
  teacher education programs?
• To establish a baseline of data for future
  research studies of the TTT program

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Background

• Predicted Teacher Shortages
• In the fall of 2006, Florida will need 30,000 new
  teachers due to surges in students, a spike in
  teacher retirements, demands of the 2002
  constitutional amendment to reduce class sizes
  (Matus, R. (2005, February). St. Petersburg
  Times)
• The U.S. Department of Education has created
  grant opportunities for educational institutions
  to recruit highly qualified mid-career
  professionals into the field of teaching.

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• Teacher shortages and new grant opportunities
  have lead to the creation of transition to
  teaching programs within many universities
  throughout the United States.
• As a result of the innovative nature of such
  programs, there has been much speculation
  regarding the effectiveness of transition to
  teaching programs.
• Thus, a call to research is born. Are transition
  to teaching programs effective in producing
  quality teachers for todays schools?

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Sample Population

• Beginning Teachers
• Just completed their first or second year of
  instruction
• Such graduates would have, according to state
  regulations, an assigned mentor teacher and
  administrator
• Graduates from IWU TTT program
• Graduates from traditional teacher education
  programs from a variety of universities

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Methodology

• Method of measurement was a 20-item survey.
• Survey questions were based on the ITASC
  (Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support
  Consortium) standards for beginning teachers.
• used in the certification process for new
  teachers to establish that all teachers receiving
  certification are highly qualified to continue in
  the teaching profession

Surveys were completed by the mentors and
administrators of the beginning teachers.
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Timing of the Study

• Contacts were made through phone conversations,
  e-mails, personal contacts, and traditional mail
  correspondence.
• Contacts were made in the fall, several weeks
  after the start of school, to ensure participants
  had adequate time to adjust to school routines
  for a new school year.

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Methodology for Analyzing Results

• At the conclusion of the study, the results of
  the surveys were recorded and analyzed using a
  two-tailed t-test for each of the variables in
  the study.
• The test was set up with a 95 confidence level.

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Results

• T-tests for each variable were significantly
  above the .05 critical scores which might have
  indicated significant differences between the TTT
  and non-TTT graduates.
• (Figure 1)
• Mean and standard deviations for each variable
  were tabulated to compare the TTT graduates with
  traditional graduates for each variable. (Figure
  2)

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• Results of the Study
• No statistically significant differences between
  the TTT graduates and traditional graduates
  (Figure 1)
• Mean scores of TTT graduates on 12 of the 20
  variables were higher than the mean score of the
  traditional graduates (Figure 2)
• TTT graduates demonstrated greater effectiveness
  on variable 18, being a lifelong learner.

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Limitations of the Study

• Small sample size
• Some of the TTT graduates contacted were not
  currently engaged in teaching
• Low response rate
• Limited demographic information
• Limitations inherent with surveys

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Future Possibilities

• Further research to include a larger sample size
• Inclusion of other graduates from other TTT
  programs, compared with IWU grads
• Expanded study examining TTT graduate portfolios
  against portfolios of traditional education
  graduates