Category: Educational Administration and Leadership

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Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Secondary School Education

Effects of later school start times on teachers

Considerable research has explored the impact of delayed school start times on students’ academic achievement and well-being. However, a recent study in The Journal of School Health goes beyond and investigates the effects of later school start times specifically on teachers’ health and daytime functioning.

The study took place in the Cherry Creek School District in Denver, Colorado, where new start times were implemented in the 2017-18 school year, and whose effects were documented in the Changing Start Times: Longitudinal Effects (CaSTLES) study. High schools started 70 minutes later (at 8:20), grades 6-8 started 40-60 minutes later (at 8:50), and elementary schools started 60 minutes earlier (at 8:00). Subjects were K-12 teachers teaching in each of the three study years, and who were surveyed on aspects of their sleep and performance at three points in the study: four months before the time change, and then six and eighteen months after the time change. An average of 1784 teachers responded each year, for an average 49.9% participation rate.

Results showed that high school teachers reported better sleep quality (a 65% increase at post-change) and increased alertness (a 51% increase at post-change), with no significant changes in either reported for elementary teachers.

Overall, the later start times for secondary schools and earlier start time for elementary schools yielded 85-90% of teachers reporting that they got enough sleep; the authors contrasted this with 64-74% of adults in Colorado reporting the same.

 

Source: Wahlstrom, K. L., Plog, A. E., McNally, J., & Meltzer, L. J. (2023). Impact of changing school start times on teacher sleep health and daytime functioning. The Journal of School Health, 93(2), 128–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.13254… Read the rest

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Achievement Educational Administration and Leadership Primary School Education Secondary School Education

Improving student outcomes through school meals

An increasing body of literature connects the benefits of school meals and dietary interventions to student academic outcomes and attendance. Despite this, 15 states rejected federal funds for summer food programs targeting hungry children. Those states quick to cut or devalue such programs may want to examine the results from Olarte and colleagues’ systematic review of alternative school breakfast service models.

The authors drew from 332 articles, resulting in a sample of 37 studies and reports, to examine the effect of Breakfast-After-The-Bell (BATB) programs on student diet and academic outcomes, including classroom behavior, program participation, dietary quality, body mass index, school attendance, and academic performance.

The study found strong ties between BATB programs and increased school breakfast participation, as well as improvements to student diet quality and classroom behavior. These results were found to be particularly strong for students from racial and ethnic minority backgrounds, as well as for students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Although there were no significant results on student achievement, there were positive results regarding attendance. Of the ten studies conducted in elementary schools, six found increased student attendance, while all four studies conducted in middle or high school settings found improved student attendance. Studies that examined the effect across elementary, middle, and high school also saw positive impacts on attendance. The authors suggest these results might point to greater impacts for older students of BATB programs.

 

Source (Open Access): Olarte, D. A., Tsai, M. M., Chapman, L., Hager, E. R., & Cohen, J. F. W. (2023). Alternative school breakfast service models and associations with breakfast participation, diet quality, body mass index, attendance, behavior, and academic performance: A systematic review. Nutrients, 15(13), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15132951… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Maths and Science Learning Secondary School Education

The positive effects of higher grading standards on student math achievement

Do higher grading standards encourage better student performance, or do they discourage students instead? A study by American University’s Seth Gershenson and colleagues at SUNY and the Thomas Fordham Institute examined the effects of higher grading standards on student achievement in math. The authors applied data from the North Carolina Education Research Data Center to link report card grades to teacher-student pairings and student standardized test grades from 2006-2016, and focused on the students who took Algebra I in eighth or ninth grade between 2006-2016 (n=365,004 students; 4445 Algebra I teachers). Teachers whose students had higher standardized test scores than other teachers’ students, yet had comparable report card grades, were classified as having higher grading standards.

Results showed that students who had teachers with higher grading standards demonstrated higher student achievement in Algebra I, and subsequently in Geometry and Algebra II. Authors also examined the possibility of higher grading standards discouraging students, or causing decreased effort and engagement, as evidenced in this study through attendance data. Results showed that students of teachers with higher grading standards had slightly better attendance than those of teachers with lower grading standards. Of further note was that the positive effects of higher grading standards on both student achievement and attendance were consistent among subgroups of students, including low-performing students.

The authors concluded by observing that their study findings, when coupled with the fact that low grading standards were found more often in schools serving low-SES communities, suggest that lower grading standards might contribute to the differences in student achievement often found between high- and low-SES communities.

 

Source: Gershenson, S., Holt, S. B., & Tyner, A. (n.d.). Making the grade: The effect of teacher grading standards on student outcomes. Contemporary Economic Policy, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12637… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Higher Education

Does the honor code system work? A randomized study

An honor code system comprises rules that govern the conduct of members in an academic community to promote academic integrity, fair play, and discourage cheating. Unproctored exams, a key component of the honor code system, have gained popularity globally, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zhao and colleagues conducted two double-blind randomized studies to investigate the prevalence of cheating under different scenarios during unproctored exams.

Second-year undergraduate students enrolled in the same introductory psychology course at a university in eastern China were recruited for a midterm quiz. Quiz booklets with different forms of honor code reminders were randomly distributed to participants during the quiz. In study 1, students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) No Reminder condition (n=82); (2) Policy reminder condition (n=85): description about academic honesty policies (no course-related material or electric device is allowed)  without mentioning consequences of cheating; (3) Exemplar Reminder condition (n=93): two real-life examples illustrated the consequences of academic cheating, including recording the misdemeanor on student’s file and denial of a degree.

In study 2, participants were randomly assigned to the following conditions: (a) Consequence Reminder only (n=128); (b) Trust Exam and Consequence reminder (n=125); (c) Policy and Consequence reminder (n=129); (d) Exemplar Reminder (n=128). In study 2, all conditions included a description of the negative consequence of academic cheating. Moreover, conditions (b) to (d) informed students that the quiz was a trust exam. Researchers measured the extent of cheating by counting the number of target questions answered correctly. The cheating rate indicated whether a student had cheated or not. The findings of both studies are shown below.

  • In study 1, the cheating rates were: No Reminder condition (54.2%), Policy Reminder condition (31.8%) and Exemplar Reminder condition (22.6%). In study 2, the cheating rates for conditions (a) to (d) were: 26.6%, 24.0%, 17.1%, and 15.6%, respectively.
  • Unproctored exams without honor code reminder or consequence of cheating had the highest cheating rate (54.2%) and cheating extent.
  • Reminding students of the trust exam policy significantly reduced cheating extent compared to No Reminder condition.
  • However, providing negative consequences for academic dishonesty, through adding a statement or telling actual examples, had an even greater effect in reducing cheating.

The authors noted that mentioning negative consequences of academic cheating may imply a threat, contradicting the principles of the honor code system. However, the research results provided evidence that this strategy effectively reduces cheating during unproctored exams. Despite various reminders, approximately 20% of students still cheated on average. The authors speculate that the honor code system has not yet become fully integrated into university academic culture.

 

Source: Zhao, L., Peng, J., Yang, X., Yan, W., Ke, S., Dong, L. D., Li, Y., Ma, J., & Lee, K. (2023). Effects of honor code reminders on university students’ cheating in unproctored exams: A double-blind randomized controlled field study. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 75, 102213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2023.102213… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Kindergarten Maths and Science Learning Primary School Education

Six recommendations for improving elementary science teaching

Recently, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) released the “Improving Primary Science: Guidance Report”, highlighting the importance of high-quality science teaching in elementary education for fostering students’ curiosity and critical thinking. Drawing from a systematic review of international evidence and in consultation with academics and expert practitioners, this report presents six recommendations for making meaningful improvements to primary science teaching for students ages 5-11.

The six recommendations are as follows. First, develop students’ scientific vocabulary so they can participate in science learning, engage with new concepts, and communicate their understanding. Second, encourage students to explain their thinking in either verbal or written forms. This creates opportunities for students to recall, organize, and refine their understanding. Third, guide students to work scientifically by including activating prior knowledge, explicit strategy instruction, modeling of learned strategies, memorization of strategies, guided practice, independent practice, and structured reflection. Fourth, connect science learning to relevant real-world contexts. Fifth, use assessment to facilitate learning and responsive teaching. Sixth, strengthen science teaching by incorporating effective professional development into the implementation process. It is suggested by EEF that the six recommendations should be considered together, with careful reflection on how to align them with the specific school circumstances and teachers’ professional judgment.

 

Source (Open Access): Improving Primary Science. (2023, November 24). EEF. https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/primary-science-ks1-ks2… Read the rest

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Educational Administration and Leadership Programme Evaluation Secondary School Education

An evaluation of a teacher coaching program during the Covid-19 pandemic

MyTeachingPartner is a coaching program delivered online that aims to support teachers in improving classroom instruction, student engagement and performance. The program targets classroom practice dimensions of “Classroom Assessment Scoring System-CLASS,” an observation measure widely used to collect data on classroom interactions.

A recent evaluation assessed the effectiveness of MyTeachingPartner-Secondary – targeting middle and high schools – with a sample of 87 public school teachers for two years. This version of the program included an initial 2-hour teacher training and six to ten coaching cycles per year. Teachers were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=44) or the control group (n=43). Teacher outcomes and student achievement were the outcomes measured in the study.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted implementation of the program, and only four of the six original districts participated in the study’s second year. This resulted in a final sample of 39 teachers. After two years, results showed a non-significant negative impact on the quality of classroom interactions (overall CLASS ES = -0.23) and a significant positive impact on teacher enthusiasm (ES = +0.77). Impact on student outcomes was only measured after one year, showing non-significant small effect sizes in English Language Arts (end-of-grade test ES = +0.04; end-of-course test ES = +0.05) and non-significant negative effects in Math (end-of-grade test ES = -0.01; end-of-course test ES = -0.09). The authors concluded that results need to be interpreted with caution because of the consequences of the pandemic.

 

Source (Open Access): Wayne, A. J., Song, M., Bishop, A., Graczewski, C., Kitmitto, S., & Lally, H. (n.d.). Evaluation of MyTeachingPartner-Secondary Delivered Using Local Coaches During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment. Extracted from: MTP-S-Final-Report-508… Read the rest