Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina

This paper evaluates the learning impact of different teacher training methods using a randomized controlled trial implemented in 70 state schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A control group receiving standard teacher training was compared with two alternative treatment arms: providing a structured...

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Main Authors:	Albornoz, Facundo, Anauati, María Victoria, Furman, Melina, Luzuriaga, Mariana, Podestá, María Eugenia, Taylor, Inés
Format:	Journal Article
Published:	Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank 2021
Subjects:	TEACHER TRAINING SCIENCE EDUCATION TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS CURRICULUM SECONDARY EDUCATION
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36716

id	okr-10986-36716
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	okr-10986-367162021-12-11T05:10:36Z Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina Albornoz, Facundo Anauati, María Victoria Furman, Melina Luzuriaga, Mariana Podestá, María Eugenia Taylor, Inés TEACHER TRAINING SCIENCE EDUCATION TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS CURRICULUM SECONDARY EDUCATION This paper evaluates the learning impact of different teacher training methods using a randomized controlled trial implemented in 70 state schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A control group receiving standard teacher training was compared with two alternative treatment arms: providing a structured curriculum unit or receiving both the unit and weekly coaching. Following a 12-week intervention, there are substantial learning gains for students whose teachers were trained using structured curriculum units, as well as for those whose teachers received coaching (between 55 percent and 64 percent of a standard deviation more than those students in the control group). Coaching teachers does not appear to be cost-effective, as the unit cost per 0.1 standard deviation is more than twice the cost of using only the structured curriculum unit. However, additional coaching is particularly beneficial for inexperienced teachers with less than two years of teaching science. Coaching teachers also showed specific gains for girls, who both learned and declared to enjoy science lessons more. High-performing students especially benefited from both interventions, with students from coached teachers performing particularly well in harder questions. Using structured curriculum units and providing coaching also affected teacher perceptions: teachers expressed that they enjoyed teaching science more and taught more hours of science, and that their students developed more skills. Results from a follow-up survey suggest persistent change in teacher practice, with the vast majority reporting using the structured curriculum unit one year after the intervention. 2021-12-10T15:10:15Z 2021-12-10T15:10:15Z 2020-06 Journal Article World Bank Economic Review 1564-698X http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36716 CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/igo World Bank Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Journal Article Latin America & Caribbean Argentina
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	Digital Repositories
building	World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection	World Bank
topic	TEACHER TRAINING SCIENCE EDUCATION TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS CURRICULUM SECONDARY EDUCATION
spellingShingle	TEACHER TRAINING SCIENCE EDUCATION TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS CURRICULUM SECONDARY EDUCATION Albornoz, Facundo Anauati, María Victoria Furman, Melina Luzuriaga, Mariana Podestá, María Eugenia Taylor, Inés Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina
geographic_facet	Latin America & Caribbean Argentina
description	This paper evaluates the learning impact of different teacher training methods using a randomized controlled trial implemented in 70 state schools in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A control group receiving standard teacher training was compared with two alternative treatment arms: providing a structured curriculum unit or receiving both the unit and weekly coaching. Following a 12-week intervention, there are substantial learning gains for students whose teachers were trained using structured curriculum units, as well as for those whose teachers received coaching (between 55 percent and 64 percent of a standard deviation more than those students in the control group). Coaching teachers does not appear to be cost-effective, as the unit cost per 0.1 standard deviation is more than twice the cost of using only the structured curriculum unit. However, additional coaching is particularly beneficial for inexperienced teachers with less than two years of teaching science. Coaching teachers also showed specific gains for girls, who both learned and declared to enjoy science lessons more. High-performing students especially benefited from both interventions, with students from coached teachers performing particularly well in harder questions. Using structured curriculum units and providing coaching also affected teacher perceptions: teachers expressed that they enjoyed teaching science more and taught more hours of science, and that their students developed more skills. Results from a follow-up survey suggest persistent change in teacher practice, with the vast majority reporting using the structured curriculum unit one year after the intervention.
format	Journal Article
author	Albornoz, Facundo Anauati, María Victoria Furman, Melina Luzuriaga, Mariana Podestá, María Eugenia Taylor, Inés
author_facet	Albornoz, Facundo Anauati, María Victoria Furman, Melina Luzuriaga, Mariana Podestá, María Eugenia Taylor, Inés
author_sort	Albornoz, Facundo
title	Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina
title_short	Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina
title_full	Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina
title_fullStr	Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina
title_full_unstemmed	Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina
title_sort	training to teach science : experimental evidence from argentina
publisher	Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the World Bank
publishDate	2021
url	http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36716
_version_	1764485758942445568

Training to Teach Science : Experimental Evidence from Argentina

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