Examining the Development of Beginning Middle School Math Teachers' Practices and their Relationship with Teachers' Effectiveness

Abstract

Research has consistently found that teachers’ effectiveness improves during the first few years on the job. These increases are typically attributed to improvements in the novice teachers’ teaching practices. Yet, we know little about which practices new teachers are most likely to improve during their first years of teaching. This study addresses gaps in existing teacher quality research by examining the development of beginning middle school math teachers' classroom environment and instructional practices, the relationship between these practices, and the association of these practices to teacher effectiveness. I found that beginning teachers began teaching with higher ratings of classroom environment practices and were more likely to improve those practices during their first three years. The beginning teachers who demonstrated higher levels of mastery of their classroom environment practices were significantly more likely to both assign and implement math-specific instructional practices. I also found that the beginning teachers who demonstrated greater proficiency and improved most in their math-specific instructional practices saw greater increases in student learning.