Reimagining Teacher Preparation Programs

Tools and Resources to Use Data to Improve Over Time

To get better, teacher preparation programs need to know what to keep doing and what to do differently. Prep programs in Center networks collect data about teacher educators, teacher candidates and the quality of their programming to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. Centers developed the tools and resources below to help the prep programs in their networks make data-driven decisions and continuously improve over time.

Name	Type	Audiences*	Description
Stakeholder Surveys MA DESE		Program Recruitment staff Teacher Prep Program Director Policymakers	DESE surveys principals, teacher completers, supervising practitioners and teacher candidates annually to help assess the quality of its engagement in the field, inform future initiatives and measure impact. DESE compiles data into an annual report (see 2017 report here) that it shares with the field.
2017-2018 Network Partner Report NCTR		Program Recruitment staff Teacher Prep Program Director Researchers	This report summarizes data points about new teachers in the NCTR network, where graduates are teaching and how long they are being retained in partner districts. Audiences can use this resource as a model for collecting and sharing similar data points on teacher candidates and recent graduates.
Annual Culminating Report MA DESE		Program Recruitment staff Teacher Prep Program Director Policymakers	DESE drafts an annual report summarizing findings, trends and best practices from its formal review of teacher preparation programs (referred to as “sponsoring organizations” in the report). Audiences can use this report as a model for summarizing and sharing data about preparation programs with external stakeholders.
Continuous Improvement Efforts Webpage MA DESE		Teacher Prep Program Director Policymakers Researchers	DESE maintains a webpage that describes the state’s continuous improvement work, reinforces expectations for preparation programs and houses Massachusetts-specific research. Audiences can use this resource to organize their continuous improvement resources.
Data Cycle NCTR		Program Recruitment staff Teacher Prep Program Directors Researchers	The Data Cycle helps teacher preparation programs make sense of complex data. It consists of four steps: 1) Collect Data,  2) Analyze Data, 3) Plan Actions, and 4) Take Action. Audiences can use this resource to codify their own data collection and analysis processes.
Educator Preparation Annual Snapshots Overview Reference Guide MA DESE		Teacher Prep Program Director Policymakers Researchers	This guidance document explains how DESE collects and shares data with teacher preparation programs (referred to as “sponsoring organizations” in the report). DESE also publishes a reference guide to orient preparation programs to data points in the annual snapshot, and the questions those data answer. Audiences can use these materials to inform their efforts to share data with teacher preparation programs.
Feedback Tracker: Glows and Grows TeacherSquared		Course instructors Candidate Supervisors	This Google-based tracker allows teacher educators to see, at a glance, candidate successes and struggles across small practice groups. Teacher educators can use that information when providing batch feedback to the group.
Feedback Tracker: Criteria for Success TeacherSquared		Course instructors Candidate Supervisors	This Google-based tool can be used to facilitate large groups of novice teachers during practice/rehearsal sessions. The teacher educator inputs the Criteria for Success, and teacher candidates rehearse in pairs or small groups and input their progress. The tool shows teacher educators summary data for the class and candidate-specific data and next steps.
Highlights from 2017 Instructional Rounds Affinity Mapping Tool NCTR		Teacher Prep Program Directors Policymakers Researchers	NCTR uses the Instructional Rounds structure as a professional learning opportunity for members of its network. Participants examine data related to a problem of practice and collaboratively identify solutions using an Affinity Mapping Tool. Audiences can use this approach to plan similar professional learning opportunities for teacher preparation program staff in their networks.
Measuring Effectiveness in Teacher Residencies NCTR		Candidate Supervisors Teacher Prep Program Directors Researchers	NCTR supports its partners to design robust program evaluation systems that measure the effectiveness of teacher residencies, prepares successful graduates and ensures continuous improvement. Audiences can use this resource to identify research questions and data sources to assess the effectiveness of their own teacher preparation programs. This resource is an interactive PDF. Please download the document to access its functionality.
Program Development Planning Template NCTR		Teacher Prep Program Directors Policymakers Researchers	NCTR and its partner preparation programs use this template to identify areas for improvement, set goals, develop metrics, create action plans and monitor progress. Audiences can adapt this resource to set goals, collect data, and monitor improvement over time.
Site Visit Toolkit TeacherSquared		Teacher Prep Program Directors	This open source toolkit enables a single teacher preparation program (or a network of programs) to engage in a 1.5 day on-site consultation event with peers in the field to solicit evidence and action steps aligned with high-leverage areas of growth.
Student Perception Survey Teacher Reflection Toolkit US PREP		Candidate Supervisors Cooperating/ Mentor Teachers	This toolkit–developed by the Colorado Education Initiative–includes open source resources, research, and tools related to the administration of a student perception survey, which gives teachers an opportunity to reflect on their practice and develop strategies to improve students’ school experiences.

This icon denotes tools that can be adapted and customized to meet your specific needs and context

This icon denotes resources that cannot be customized but can provide helpful guidance and reference material

*For the purposes of these toolkits, we define audience roles as follows:

• Candidate Supervisor: An individual employed by a teacher preparation program to supervise, observe and give feedback to teacher candidates in the clinical placements.
• Mentor Teacher: A classroom teacher who hosts a teacher candidate in his/her classroom.
• Course Instructor: An individual who teaches courses to teacher candidates in a teacher preparation program.
• Teacher Educator: An umbrella term that applies to all three of the roles above.