It Is Complicated: Unpacking the Flow of Teacher Education’s Impact on Student Learning

• Published in: Journal of teacher education Vol. 61; no. 5; pp. 441 - 450
• Main Author: Diez, Mary E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-11-2010; Corwin Press, Inc; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Company business management; Curricula; Curriculum standards; Education reform; Educational accountability; Educational Change; Effects; Elementary Secondary Education; Graduates; Instructional Effectiveness; Interpretation and construction; Learning; Management; Pedagogy; Preschool Education; Program Effectiveness; Science Education; Teacher centers; Teacher centres; Teacher Education; Teacher Education Programs; Teachers; Training; Universities; United States; reform; educational policy; program coherence; teacher education
• ISSN: 0022-4871; 1552-7816
• DOI: 10.1177/0022487110372927

Knowing that a teacher education program’s graduates affected P—12 student learning may be important, but knowing how the program prepared their graduates to affect learning is critical for ongoing reform efforts. In this essay, the author argues for the utility of looking at three sets of relationships involved in gauging the impact of teacher education programs on P—12 student learning—teacher education program impact on teacher candidate learning, teacher graduate practice of teacher education program outcomes in P—12 settings, and teacher graduate impact on P—12 pupil learning. The author also addresses three issues affecting the efficacy of reform efforts—a focus on proving versus improving, an absence of assessment literacy, and the need for teaching to support learning.