About My Research
My research examines the social and organizational characteristics of the school workplace—particularly teachers’ and school leaders’ work-related social interactions—and their impacts on teacher and school leader retention. My work also explores the impacts of federal, state, and local policies on school working conditions and the retention of teachers and school leaders.
Background
Teachers learn about their work through on-the-job learning opportunities such as conversations with peers, peer observation and feedback, and instructional advice and information sharing. A variety of research suggests that this on-the-job learning from colleagues leads to significant improvements in teacher effectiveness. This makes sense, given that teaching is complex, unpredictable, knowledge-intensive work that requires teachers to assess and respond to a variety of instructional situations, largely without the guidance of widely agreed-upon practices and methods. Teachers’ on-the-job interactions with their colleagues, then, allow them to access the information, knowledge, and other resources they need to be effective.
My Work
Despite the demonstrated importance of teachers’ on-the-job interactions to their effectiveness, however, we know relatively little about those interactions. This lack of understanding has made it difficult for schools, school systems, and policymakers to encourage and support the interactions that are most likely to lead to improvements in teacher learning. My research addresses this need by examining the patterns, content, and impacts of teachers’ on-the-job interactions with their colleagues. The goal of my work is to inform policies and practices that encourage those on-the-job interactions that are most likely to develop teacher learning and improve teacher effectiveness.
Impacts
My work informs debates at the school, local, state, and federal levels over the best ways to allocate scarce resources to promote continuous teacher learning and development. My work suggests that schools and school systems should work to build infrastructures that support teachers’ on-the-job interactions about instruction, as these interactions can have significant impacts on teacher learning and effectiveness. In addition, my research informs the design of the specific policies and practices that schools and school systems can implement to support those on-the-job interactions most likely to lead to improvements in teacher effectiveness and retention.
I am part of the research team of the Distributed Leadership Study.
Background
Teachers learn about their work through on-the-job learning opportunities such as conversations with peers, peer observation and feedback, and instructional advice and information sharing. A variety of research suggests that this on-the-job learning from colleagues leads to significant improvements in teacher effectiveness. This makes sense, given that teaching is complex, unpredictable, knowledge-intensive work that requires teachers to assess and respond to a variety of instructional situations, largely without the guidance of widely agreed-upon practices and methods. Teachers’ on-the-job interactions with their colleagues, then, allow them to access the information, knowledge, and other resources they need to be effective.
My Work
Despite the demonstrated importance of teachers’ on-the-job interactions to their effectiveness, however, we know relatively little about those interactions. This lack of understanding has made it difficult for schools, school systems, and policymakers to encourage and support the interactions that are most likely to lead to improvements in teacher learning. My research addresses this need by examining the patterns, content, and impacts of teachers’ on-the-job interactions with their colleagues. The goal of my work is to inform policies and practices that encourage those on-the-job interactions that are most likely to develop teacher learning and improve teacher effectiveness.
Impacts
My work informs debates at the school, local, state, and federal levels over the best ways to allocate scarce resources to promote continuous teacher learning and development. My work suggests that schools and school systems should work to build infrastructures that support teachers’ on-the-job interactions about instruction, as these interactions can have significant impacts on teacher learning and effectiveness. In addition, my research informs the design of the specific policies and practices that schools and school systems can implement to support those on-the-job interactions most likely to lead to improvements in teacher effectiveness and retention.
I am part of the research team of the Distributed Leadership Study.
Research Methods
The influences on teacher and school leader turnover and attrition occur at a variety of levels. Factors at the national, state, and district levels influence teachers' decisions about where and for how long to teach, and quantitative analyses of large datasets are often required to fully understand these influences. At the same time, a more complete understanding of teacher turnover and attrition requires an examination of within-school processes, which are often best studied using qualitative methods. Drawing on the strengths of each of these perspectives, I use a variety of research methods in my work, including:
- social network analysis
- regression discontinuity and other quasi-experimental designs
- participant observation, structured and semi-structured interviews.
- Nationally-representative NCES survey data
- State-level administrative data
- District-level administrative data
- District-level survey data
- Social network data
- Qualitative data (interviews)