Educator Enhancement Academies Evaluation Study: Phase 1--Preparation of RESA-Based, Next Generation CSO Trainers
Author: Hammer, Patricia Cahape
Date: 2014-03-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Trainers,Program Effectiveness,Program Evaluation,Teacher Educator Education,Regional Programs,Elementary Secondary Education,Participant Characteristics,Teacher Surveys,Followup Studies,School Statistics,Data Analysis,Demography,Educational Quality,Faculty Development,Delivery Systems,Time on Task,Transfer of Training,Knowledge Base for Teaching,Teacher Qualifications,Models,Comparative Analysis,Academic Standards,Evidence Based Practice,Change Strategies,Alignment (Education),Common Core State Standards,Education Service Centers

This is the first of three evaluation reports on the effectiveness of a regional train-the-trainer strategy to support classroom implementation of the Next Generation Content Standards and Objectives (NxGen CSOs). This report focuses on six regional Educator Enhancement Academies (EEAs) hosted by the eight regional education service agencies (RESAs) in the spring of 2013. The EEAs prepared RESA-based NxGen trainers who would provide professional development for educators--primarily teachers--in schools across the state. Later phases of this study will examine the extensiveness and quality of training offered by the RESA-based NxGen trainers during the subsequent months (Phase 2), and the ultimate impacts of those training experiences on teachers' instructional practices and student performance (Phase 3). The six EEAs focused on the NxGen CSOs for elementary school (Grades 2-3), middle school (Grades 6-8), and high school (Grades 10-12). They had durations of 2 to 3 days. The WVDE supplied content expert trainers for four of the EEAs. Corwin Press provided trainers for the remaining two. In all, 953 participants were prepared to be RESA-based trainers on NxGen instructional shifts. Slightly more than a third attended Corwin-led with remainder attending WVDE-led EEAs. Attendance at the academies ranged from 140 to 215. All 55 counties were represented, and the largest group of attendees was regular education classroom teachers. An initial evaluation survey, the Event Survey, was conducted using two different methods. At WVDE-led academies, participants filled it out onsite either with paper and pencil copies or online. Participants at Corwin-led EEAs were contacted via e-mail and responded online. A second survey (Follow-up Survey) was administered to all 953 participants online in September 2013; it was intended to collect participants views, after they conducted their own training during the summer. The overall response rate for the EEA Event Survey was 78%. Response rates for the Corwin-led EEAs were considerably lower (54.4%) than for WVDE-led EEAs (89.6%), probably due to the challenges posed by the need to collecting data from them through e-mail communications during the summer months. Both groups were surveyed together in September for the EEA Follow-Up Survey; 62.9% responded overall, with WVDE-led EEA participants' response rate (61.6%) slightly exceeding Corwin's (56.4%). The following are appended: (1) Survey Instruments; (2) Demographic Information About Respondents; and (3) Results of EEA Event Survey and Follow-up Survey. [For phase two &quot;Educator Enhancement Academies Evaluation Study: Phase 2. Teacher and Trainer Reports of NxGen Professional Development and Their Sense of Preparedness,&quot; see ED569929.]