The pilot test design incorporated multiple assessment instruments and other sources of data to assess the mini-sabbatical's overall effectiveness and success in achieving each of the main goals outlined above (see Table 2).
Teachers were encouraged to write in their journals daily and were also given specific journal assignments (e.g., write a note to one of your colleagues back at school, explaining what makes a "classroom that works"). We collected journals on a weekly basis and wrote summaries of their content for each teacher. In writing these summaries, we paid particular attention to identifying points of change in knowledge and practice.
Sources |
Teacher Survey |
Teacher Journals |
Teacher Evaluation |
Designs
and Curriculum |
Student Journals |
| Goal
1: Increase teacher knowledge of work practice |
x
|
x
|
x
|
||
| Goal
2: Create high-quality, integrated curricula |
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
| Goal
3: Adopt teaching roles to support authentic learning |
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
|
| Goal
4: Develop alternative assessments |
x
|
x
|
x
|
||
| Overall
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
Students wrote journals on each of seven days in response to specific questions or prompts (e.g., "What problems are you facing working in teams?" "What were some challenges you felt as a learner?" "Describe a problem that you solved today.") We wrote summaries of journals written by all the students in each class, by day and by teacher.
At the end of the mini-sabbatical, teachers completed an evaluation form. Teachers rated the usefulness of activities (e.g., journal writing, readings, briefings, and so on) associated with learning the CTW model, worksite observation, curriculum design, and summer school on a scale of 1 (not at all helpful) to 5 (very helpful). Open-ended questions asked teachers to identify the most important way their practice changed and what critical moments or experiences contributed to this change. In addition, we asked what, in retrospect, might have helped teachers accomplish change more easily or would allow them to make additional hoped-for changes. Finally, we asked teachers to anticipate the likelihood that they would incorporate changes into their day-to-day professional practice (see Appendix B).
In addition to surveys, journals, written evaluations, and curriculum and assessment designs, we conducted a focus group with participating teachers in October 1996. The purpose of the focus group was to find out the extent to which teachers had been able to incorporate lessons learned in the mini-sabbatical to their regular teaching and what barriers, if any, they perceived in changing their teaching practice.[7]