Browsing by Author "Sun, M."

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    Is the Persistence of Teacher Effects in Early Grades Larger for Lower-Performing Students?
    Konstantopoulos, S.; Sun, M. (University of Chicago Press, 2012-05)
    We examined the persistence of teacher effects from grade to grade on lower-performing students using data from Project STAR. Teacher effects were computed as residual classroom achievement within schools. Teacher effects in one grade predicted achievement in following grades using quantile regression. Results consistently indicated that all students benefited similarly from teachers, and differential teacher effects were not evident. Overall, lower-performing students benefit as much as other students from teachers except in fourth grade, where lower-performing students benefit more. Having effective teachers in successive grades seems beneficial to lower-performing students in mathematics and reading. However, having low-effective teachers in successive grades is detrimental to all students especially in mathematics.
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    Using Social Network Analysis to Study How Collegial Interactions Can Augment Teacher Learning from External Professional Development
    Penuel, W. R.; Sun, M.; Frank, K. A.; Gallagher, H. A. (University of Chicago Press, 2012-11)
    This article presents an analysis showing how collegial interactions can augment the mechanism of teachers' learning from professional development. The analysis relies on social network data and self-reports of writing instructional practices from teachers in 20 different schools that were part of a longitudinal study of the National Writing Project's partnership activities. The results indicate that both organized professional development and interactions with colleagues who gained instructional expertise from participating in prior professional development were associated with the extent to which teachers changed their writing processes instruction. Furthermore, the effects of professional development varied by teachers' baseline practices. The study illustrates the potential for using data on teachers' social networks to investigate indirect effects of professional development and the variation in professional development effects associated with different initial levels of expertise.