Providing beginning teachers with research-based mentoring and instructional coaching increases their effectiveness in the classroom, and ultimately boosts student achievement

To improve student learning, the New Teacher Center developed an instructional support model to accelerate the effectiveness of teachers and school leaders. NTC wanted to know whether the model worked, for whom and under what conditions.

SRI Education designed and implemented a set of rigorous studies to determine the effectiveness and scalability of the NTC model. These studies have supported program refinement and produced strong evidence that the model supports more effective teacher instruction and accelerates student learning.

SRI’s evaluation of the New Teacher Center’s (NTC’s) Investing in Innovation (i3) Validation grant revealed positive impacts of NTC’s induction model on student achievement in mathematics and English language arts. Using randomized controlled trials in two districts—Broward County Public Schools and Chicago Public Schools—SRI  examined the impact of the NTC induction model on teacher practice and student achievement. In addition to the positive student outcomes, the study found that NTC-supported teachers scored similarly on teacher practice measures and had similar rates of retention into their third year of teaching as teachers receiving typical district supports.

SRI found that when teachers participate in the NTC induction model, students gain up to five months of additional learning.

SRI is now conducting a large-scale randomized controlled trial to assess the scaling, implementation fidelity and impact of NTCʼs intensive new teacher mentoring and support in five geographically diverse districts.

The NTC model features one-on-one mentoring for new teachers by trained mentors and formative assessment tools designed to improve the new teachers’ effectiveness and their students’ achievement. To analyze the impact of NTC induction on beginning teacher practice and retention, and student outcomes, SRI researchers developed a rigorous design that uses data from classroom observations, on teacher retention, and on student achievement to analyze outcomes of interest.

SRI is also examining NTC’s implementation and strategies for scaling its induction model, evaluating fidelity and providing formative feedback to NTC. Implementation data will come from interviews at multiple levels of the district system, teacher and mentor surveys, and mentor logs.