DOI: 10.3886/icpsr36620.v1
title: Teacher Quality Grants Texas, 2012-2014
title: Version 1

description: The Teacher Quality Grants Texas project is a broad, ongoing evaluative study with the goal of better understanding the professional growth in teachers who have self-selected to participate in focused, long-term professional development in mathematics or science provided by the Teacher Quality Granting Program (TQGP). The TQGP, funded through No Child Left Behind (NCLB), aims to improve the quality of teaching which, in turn, leads to improved student achievement.
The 2012-2014 cycle of this study includes administrative and qualitative data, much of which contain observation notes and comments from trained raters observing teachers in their classroom environments. The data include ratings on classroom activities, organization, student attention, type of student cognition, instructional inquiry demonstrated by teacher, and types of assessment. Teachers in the classroom were also rated on instructional, discourse, assessment, and curriculum factors. Additionally, the data contain pre- and post-scores of content tests taken by teachers at the high school level. Administrative data on teachers includes academic degree type, college hours in project topic area, whether teacher had an alternative emergency certificate, grade level(s) taught, teaching assignments related to grant topic area, certification exams passed before and after the grant project, teaching assignment after grant project, reason for leaving grant project, and number of project days and hours by year.
Additional qualitative data in this study includes participant reflective writings and interview transcripts. Teachers responded to a series of eight reflective prompts designed to elicit participant growth in subject matter, pedagogy, use of instructional technology, and development within a professional community of practice. A subset of teacher-participants were also interviewed by phone, during the summer following a year of grant participation.
description: The purpose of this study is to better understand the professional growth in teachers who have self-selected to participate in focused, long-term professional development in mathematics or science provided by the Teacher Quality Granting Program (TQGP). In particular to document and better appreciate complex teacher development constructs such as leadership, use of new teaching tools, and habits of mind that bring value to TQGP participants and their students.
description: Content tests: Teacher-participants at the high school level took pre/post assessment of content, using instruments that were authored, administered, and graded by individual project directors.; 
Reflective writing: Teacher-participants were tasked during regularly scheduled professional development sessions to respond to a series of eight (8) reflective prompts designed to elicit participant growth in subject matter, pedagogy, use of instructional technology, and development within a professional community of practice.; 
Participant interviews: A subset of TQ teacher-participants were interviewed by phone, during the summer following a year of grant participation.  These interviews were audio recorded and the audio files were sent to a professional transcribing company; the resulting word files were saved for analysis.; 
Classroom observations: A subset of teacher-participants were observed in their classroom setting. The nationally-recognized Electronic Quality of Inquiry Protocol (EQUIP) was used by raters who were trained and calibrated to use a specially-designed iPad application to record observation data; 
Concept maps: Teacher-participants created pre/post concept maps in the summer and academic year.  This format provided a holistic assess of growth in participants' conceptual understanding of project content.;
description: Presence of Common Scales: 
					EQUIP- electronic quality of inquiry protocol
description: Response Rates: 
					78%
description: Datasets: 
					
						DS0: Study-Level Files
						DS1: Participant Data
						DS2: Pre/Post Test
						DS3: Data by Participant
						DS4: Observations Spring 2013
						DS5: Observations Fall 2012
						DS6: Observations Spring 2014
						DS7: Observations Fall 2013
						DS8: Reflective Writings
						DS9: Participant Interviews
description: coded on-site observation
description: telephone interview
description: web-based survey
description: Math and science teachers from Texas schools participating in the Teacher Quality Grants Program (TQGP).
				   		Smallest Geographic Unit: None
description: The sample consists of a set of teachers who self-selected to attend the Teacher Quality Grant professional development.